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Wednesday, September 02, 2015

Apple Red, and Red Apples!

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Mary’s trees are laden with apples!

It’s that time in Pennsylvania – APPLE SEASON!

The first night I arrived I was treated to homemade apple pie, baked by Joe and grandson Tyler. 

DELICIOUS!  There is nothing like a home baked pie from fresh homegrown heirloom apples.

Yesterday I picked a few of my own, grabbed a pairing knife, cut myself some slices and enjoyed the aroma as much as the flavor – crisp and juicy, autumn on my tongue.


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Hooray for apple season!

And hooray for the color red.  I’m staying here at my friend Mary Koval’s – and I am surrounded by oodles of antique quilts and vintage fabric pieces and it is always a quilty good time.

Yesterday Mary needed to do some washing of some vintage quilts, and I got to be here for part of the process –the laying out to dry!

Apple red –and crisp white!

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Vintage red and white on the lawn!

These quilts needed a bit of refreshing.  There was some staining from decades of being stored and a musty smell that had to be removed.  Sunshine will take care of those stains!

After washing we carried the quilts outside in large tubs so there was no stress on the fabric or quilting threads. 

We laid them out to dry in the beautiful September sunshine.

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A fleur de Lis applique circa 1900.

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Check out that cross hatching!

One of the reasons that this 115 year old quilt is still in such good shape is the fact that the very close cross hatching marches right through those appliques anchoring them in place.  Those appliques are not going anywhere!  

Appliques that are left to just sit on the surface of a quilt with no quilting whatsoever on them run the risk of lifting off the quilt surface over time.

Appliques that are just echo quilted inside of the shape, leaving the bulk of the applique unquilted become candidates for the center of the applique wearing out and disintegrating over time.

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Love the 1/8 design appliqued to the borders!

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Drunkard’s Path!

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And another with red, pink and white.

These are also circa 1900 – love that ice cream cone border!

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Drying in the sun, viewed through the window!

When they were dry, we folded them up and brought them inside.  That’s the wondrous thing about that turkey red…it doesn’t fade!  The reds were as clear and crisp as they were when new.  The stains were greatly minimized by the day of sunning, and all of the musty smell was gone.

Sometimes the old fashioned ways are just the best.

There are a couple of stacks of quilts I haven’t gotten to see yet, though I’ve been ogling them over the past week.  Maybe tonight I’ll have time for some show & share, vintage style?

Have a great evening, everyone!


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9 comments:

  1. Such beautiful quilts!

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  2. Lovely quilts! and fresh air & sunshine are the best.
    I'm so grateful for SEPTEMBER!!

    Debra in Ma.

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  3. Tell Mary that we thank her for sharing her quilts. Also, thank you for helping with the laundering. Quilts freshly washed and dried outside make the whole room smell great when brought inside. Beautiful quilt show! I love red and white quilts too!

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  4. vickywestleigh@yahoo.com
    Thank you so much for sharing pictures of these beautiful quilts!!

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  5. Curious as to the type of soap she used for old quilts. Janita

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  6. Beautiful quilts, thanks for sharing.

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  7. My grandmother, born 1903, always said laying a wet fabric on green grass in the sun was the an effective way to remove stains. Nice to have that memory brought to the surface. And I love red and white quilts.

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  8. Anonymous12:00 PM EDT

    sigh... just so lovely, thank you for sharing... Cats Whitcher cwhitcher@roadrunner.com

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  9. Dear Bonnie since a lot of years I have learned so much about history an making quilts from your stories. Now we are able to have an exibition as the APPELGARDEN-QUILTER from Germany. Thanks for your inspiration. I will send pics in the next week.
    Greetings Cornelia

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