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Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Hearts, Stars & Hexies, Oh My!

I found the most amazing quilt yesterday ----

Oh, if this were priced right, or if the condition were better, I certainly would have loved to take it home, but truth be told – this quilt was so shredded that parts were coming off of it – the fabrics were fading, and yet they still were asking an astronomical amount.

The price would be worth it if the condition were better, but it just wasn’t.

Still….I saw these little appliqued hexie rosettes peeking out at me from beneath a stack of stuff folded on a shelf in the antique mall, and I had to get it out of there and spread it out!

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I tried to spread it out on top of a bed, but the light from the window was too blaring…

I was very excited to see that the appliques really had no rhyme or reason other than to fill the space.  There were little appliqued “heart and gizzard” type motifs as well as hexie flowers and large individual hexies interspersed between 8 pointed stars and 4 hears with points touching.

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Close up!

The hexies seem to be placed just to fill the space ---the fabrics are fun to look at --- they just cover the muslin ground in between the checkerboard borders.

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Quite a few of the double pink squares are shot and shredding.

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I didn’t have room to lay the whole thing out without the sunlight blinding the photo, but I tried to get pics of all the sections.

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The bigger solo hexes and “fill in” are kind of fun.  See the big red one near the star?

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This corner shows more of the solid hexies appliqued between the rosets and stars. This really is a great quilt!  If only it had been in better shape!

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Medallion center with stars, hearts and hexies, also showing inner checkerboard border.

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Close up of star in center.

This was just such an UNUSUAL quilt – I was so happy to find it…..and happy to share it with you!

Of course all the usual wonderings apply:  Who was this quilter? I searched all over for initials or dates and didn’t find any,nor did the tag give any information.  No location of origin was listed. 

Lesson to be learned?  LABEL LABEL LABEL!!!

16 comments:

Chris the Quilter said...

I can see some crazy Hexie piecing/appliqué in the future!!

Jan said...

This is a fabulous find! Did you have a sense of the age of it?

Anonymous said...

BEAUTIFUL!!!! that is a lot of work! What are gizzards that you refer to?
Sharon
sharonmamaw@yahoo.com

Sandra said...

Where was the store? The quilt has a British (UK) feel to it. Very interesting. Do you have any closer-ups? Looks like 1870's with earlier fabrics too.

gmp said...

What an amazing quilt! Too bad you weren't able to take it home with you. It is a shame that someone put all that work into the quilt, and now there is no documentation about the quilt or the quiltmaker. I wonder if she followed a pattern, or if this was her own free-form design.

qltmom9 said...

THAT is certainly inspirational! It would be fun to give a quilt like that to a little girl so she could study the colors and shapes and ideas...maybe SHE would also be inspired.

But, now I want to make a hearts and gizzards block! VERY fun.~

Thank you, I hope and pray your Tues in KY is blessed. Having you SO near lately, and not having funds (getting new roof next week) is utter torture.

Lucy (in IN)

farmhousequilter8 said...

Did you fine this in Berea?
It would be a great one for you to reproduce for us.
Paula in KY

Tonya Ricucci said...

wonderful quilt. such a pity about the condition and anonymity

YankeeQuilter said...

I had the same thoughts as Sandra... definitely has a UK feel to it. Wish I could see the fabrics better...

Beth said...

What an amazing quilt. The color, the fabric, and the randomness make you want to keep looking and looking. Too bad it was in such sad shape.

gia gia said...

splendid quilt!!! i would be sooooo tempted to add it to my collection...did you???

Julie Silber said...

Thanks for posting this wonderful piece. I, too, thought U.K. when I saw it. We have had several things from England that share the feel of this piece, and some of the applique shapes. And certainly the combination of shapes and images suggest U.K. Thanks again!

Anita said...

I absolutely love that quilt! It has a very modern look to it with all of the hexies that are floating around now. I think you should have bought it and "repaired" it or make one just like it...it's beautiful!

4dreamsr said...

Sometimes these old quilts just get loved to death. I've got one that I had as a child that is coming apart, but I can't part with it. All the fabrics came from mine & sisters clothes. Seriously thinking if I could glue it back together so I could hang it.

Sandra Henderson said...

I agree about the feel of it. I was thinking the SAME THING!~

Kat said...

I love the the fact that some of the hexies disappear.

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