Silks, Ribbons, Velvets and the 1887 Jubilee!

When you are in the presence of  Joe and Mary Koval, you just KNOW that some hidden treasures are going to come out to play!

Be prepared for some outstanding, and definitely some unusual!

This is a quilt that was acquired by Jo and Mary from Sharon Hultgren on one of their trips to Minnesota.

It is an outstanding example of fine needlework using silks, satins, ribons, and velvet to commemorate the 1887 Jubilee –the height of Victorian patchwork!

Unlike the crazy quilts of the era with no rhyme or no reason, this beautiful example shows exquisite workmanship including fussy cutting and pattern play.

The whole quilt..

Here is this remarkable museum quality piece and we are laying it out in Mary’s dining area – sun streaming through the window on my last morning before heading to Boiling Springs.

I was completely and utterly GOBSMACKED over this piece!

Oh the discussions we had….the placement of the black velvet triangles are ALWAYS on the lower right of the rectangular blocks.  Was there something significant about that?  We will never know!

And that center medallion.  WOW.  Just wow!

All kinds of ribbons and organizations.

Glorious beyond words!

Floals, and a Duke!

Some ribbons were trimmed and appliqued down.

I love this crest!

Love the sweet little girl and her kitty cat ribhbon!

And check out the strips in that center hex…

The hex next to it was cut whole from a ribbon.

Don’t you wish you could just talk to the maker of this fabulous piece of patchwork and find out the story behind it?  How long had she been collecting ribbons of all varieties, and what made her choose this design to set them in?

The one thing I was unable to determine is whether the diamond designs were English Paper Pieced…but being as this is from England, I consider it highly likely.  It would be an easy way to work with shifty satins and silks and have blocks still be so precise.

Upper edge.

There are a lot of those RACER ribbons in this quilt.

I am just fascinated by this whole piece!

What a wonderful commemorative piece!

This quilt has been written about in publications, and I took snap shots of the pages for some more info:

First page.

Second page.

As I continue to work on my hexagons as I travel, and hand quilt in the evenings at the cabin when I can…and fit needlework in between all the other chores of the day, I am completely struck with awe at how much time this must have taken the maker.  It is all done by hand. 

Yes, I wish I knew more…and I love the thought that we are all connected by needle and thread.

I have many more antique quilts to share over the next several days.  I can’t do them justice in one slide show.

I’m planning on spending the next week mainly at my computer tackling the 5 remaining book patterns and the front matter – I won’t get it all done in the time I have before I leave for Missouri, but I’m giving it a good shot.

I’m also dealing with a bit of a tummy bug – I was in bed last night by 9pm and slept until 7am – 10 hours!  It’s been hanging on for a few days now and I’m just not feeling “Normal”.  so I think it best to push Quilt-Cam to a later evening.  This week already feels short sheeted with Monday being a holiday.  I’m thinking Monday evening should see me right – give me the week and the weekend to set things in order here and we’ll have a good time then.

Stay tuned and I’ll keep you updated.

Have a great Wednesday, everyone!

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