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Saturday, August 29, 2020

Crazy Quilt Love!


Beauty in a Box!

This wonderful old quilt arrived from Hope in Georgia who thought it would have a much happier life being seen and enjoyed by many instead of being stored wrapped in acid free tissue in her closet.

I am THRILLED to give this beauty a home!

The first thing I noticed right off the bat?  The blocks are rectangular and not square.


Look at these wonderful fabrics!

While a few patches are traditional cotton, the majority of the pieces are post-1900 suitings.  gabardines, sateens, crepes.

I can only imagine the wardrobe the maker wore – the outfits that these scraps came from.


All of the patches have their edges turned under and are secured in place by the abundance of “crow foot” embroidery.  No other applique stitches are present besides the crow foot.

There are a few other embellishing stitches, a flower here or motif there – but they are few and far between.


How many evenings were spent stitching?

The other very interesting thing is that this quilt top is backed and quilted.  I forgot to get a photo of the backing fabric, but that also dates the quilt to between 1900 – 1920.

How do we know? (I had my friend Pauline who is a certified quilt appraiser in on this assessment!) In the 1920s lighter brighter colors were introduced – leading into those fabulous 1930s pastels.  There are none in this quilt.

We think we discern a layer of flannel inside the quilt used as batting, and the quilting is minimal – just barely enough to hold the layers together.


It has a brown cotton applied binding -

And I have plans to hang the quilt in the Hen Den at Quiltville Inn for all to enjoy.  There is one big blank wall that this will really warm up.

It fits the time period of the house – the house was added on to in around 1905 -

Thank you, Hope – for your crazy quilt gift.  it’s a gift that will keep on giving as we study it for years to come.

Oh – the conversations this quilt will bear witness to!  it has me all warm and happy just thinking about it.

Now to find a rod long enough to hang it – the plan is to stitch a hanging sleeve to one long side – and hang it side ways which will keep it off the floor, and support the weight of the fabrics better.



Meet Diane!

She attended Free Motion Quilting Academy and graduated this spring, and she is one of the most prolific quilters ever!

Before she even finished FMQA , she had also quilted two full size quilts! What a Rockstar!



Check out all of this gorgeous stuff she learned during the 12 week course!

Wondering how you can be an FMQA Rockstar, too?  TODAY is the LAST DAY to register for the Fall 2020 session!

This course will not be offered again until Spring of 2021, and a little birdie told me that due to hosting cost increases, the price is going to be going up for next spring.  Don’t wait.  Register for Free Motion Quilting Academy RIGHT NOW! 

Registration closes TONIGHT.

Free Motion Quilting Academy will be a fun, positive and confident learning experience for you. HollyAnne is your number one cheerleader in helping and encouraging you to succeed!

Not only is this is a 12 week course,  you also will have lifetime access to the online course materials and Quilting Rockstars Facebook group.

New student orientation starts August 31, 2020. The course runs through December 3rd.

FREE MOTION QUILTING ACADEMY  IS THE FIRST COURSE OF ITS KIND THAT:

️Allows you to learn Free Motion Quilting from the privacy and comfort of your own home.⁣

️Encourages you to start with what you have, keeping supplies minimal and affordable, rather than urging you to buy a fancier machine.⁣

️Is ready when you are, regardless of geography or time zone, with on-demand, pre-recorded video lessons.⁣

️Offers you ongoing access to the instructor so you never feel alone or stuck and you can get near-real-time help during live streamed Q&A sessions.⁣

️Connects you to other rockstars-in-training around the world so you can help and encourage each other.⁣⁣


I can’t wait to see what progress you chair as you work your way through to reaching FMQ Rockstar status!


Ivy Lea wishing everyone
Happy Caturday!

It’s rainy here – Bands of rain from Laura’s fall out are giving us a great excuse to stay in and sew!


Quiltville Quote of the Day -

Vintage star quilt found in Pennsylvania.

Don't waste your energy trying to reopen that unopenable door, It's time to try a different door.

And the secret is - there is ALWAYS another door!
However you spend your Saturday I hope you find SOME time to pet the fabric and apply some needle and thread.

Have a great one!


13 comments:

  1. Ivy is way too busy checking out the outside to pay any attention to those indoors! What a cutie. I'm amazed at the condition of the crazy quilt. I have my grandmothers', made circa 1905, and so many of the patches have just disintegrated. I covered the whole thing with tulle just to keep it together.

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  2. This Crazy Quilt brought back memories of one I slept under as a kid (half a century ago) that was made by one of my great aunts. Burgundies, blues, greens, black. A lot of velvet/velveteen. And gold Crow’s foot stitching. Wish I still had it.

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  3. Love that quilt! It's raining here and we needed it. I will be picking up a quilt from my friend who quilts for me and then going to spend the day with my mom. She wants to go thrift store shopping! Tonight will start binding the quilt.

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  4. Regarding the rectangular block in the crazy quilt, I’m wondering if the felt layer you detect is a foundation layer, and whether the rectangular shape results from fabric was used for the foundation — possibly something like a feedsack?

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  5. Beautiful quilt, so many wonderful fabrics. Do you think a dress maker or tailor helped supply the scraps? It will live happily at the Inn. Thank you for sharing.

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  6. oooh love that vintage star quilt....raining furiously here in frederick, md...

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  7. What a truly beautiful quilt, a very generous gift which I am sure all the retreaters who attend the inn will love.
    Ivy looks very content in her new home, thank you for sharing her with us.
    Stay safe
    Love and quilty hugs
    Anne xxx

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  8. you may wish to consider no sleeve for that crazy quilt and just draping it over the rod. You can rotate the positioning of the quilt on the rod---and you won't have to sew on a sleeve.

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  9. What a beautiful gift of the crazy quilt! Was Lola excited to see your son?

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  10. Bonnie, These quilter hangers have been around for a few years and I an just now hearing about them. One of my friends has used them for a variety of sizes and loves them. I just recently order 2 from Joann’s Fabrics and will use them soon. Hang It Dang It is the name of the hangers. It hangs from one nail and is self leveling. The larger of the ones I recently purchased will support a 40 lb quilt....it is adjustable from 35” to 63”.

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  11. What I use for a rod is a small diameter pipe. That can take the weight of any quilt.Love the quilt.

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  12. Ivy is think how happy she is that you gave her a home and she doesnt need to be out in that rain anymore!

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  13. I love that each block in that crazy quilt is different. Not like the template quilts, where each block shares all the same pieced shapes.

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