Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Vintage...

I have had this awesome quilt top that a friend of mine gave me back in the fall - it is a 1930's quilt top that was given to her grandmother and her grandmother has had it in her possession for fifty years plus - she never did anything with it - I was shocked she would give it to me ( I am friends with her grandmother as well)  - She said since you like to quilt that I would appreciate it and could have it.  Wow!
I had it appraised and it is worth about $100 as is without being quilted  - it is all hand pieced and the pattern is called "Hummingbird Pattern" - Quilted it would be worth $500 or more - but I love it so much I am keeping it.
I had the appraiser who is also an avid hand quilter come back and show me how to quilt it and how it would have been done to match its time - larger quilt stitches and 1/4" away from seam - so that is what I am doing.
I am using wool batting which is a dream to quilt with and I am loving every second I can work on it.  I am using quilt quality muslin on the back.
Here it is:
It took me a week to hand baste the quilt.  One of the issues I had to deal with is that some of the blocks were not flat - so no matter what I did I could only baste it the best I could - that is the human aspect of hand quilting - love the fact that I am continuing on with what someone started oh so long ago - this quilt was appraised at the 30's - I am tickled!  I have such a warm feeling and sheer delight that comes over me every time I just look at it!  Handling it is awesome - has such a cozy feeling to it especially with the wool batting - nice loft!  Please slick on the photos to really appreciate it:

Just wanted to give you an idea of the different prints included in this quilt.  I am not a fan of yellow but I love it in this quilt and the white is refreshing .  There were no holes in this quilt at all - a few fingerprint stains which I tried to get out with a special cleaner from the quilt shop.  It didn't fully remove it but it is so light , it is hard to see it.





Now to keep with the vintage theme - this is a fat quarter piece of vintage sheeting that was sent to me along with a pincushion .  I just adore this fabric and now I have started my own collection of vintage sheets and pillowcases to make a quilt.






So many photos to share I have been so busy - but will work on updated this blog more often.  I have a new computer and trying to get used to how to upload photos from my phone to the blog.  It is easy , I just keep forgetting what I need to click on.

In reading news - I am trying to read Romeo and Juliet - never ever read it - time to catch up !  Also an interesting historical book - "A Midwife's Tale"    I am in for some good reads I think!


Please do leave comments :)  Love them!





5 comments:

Rebekah said...

What a beautiful quilt! I love finding old quilts at estate sales, resale shops, antique shops, ect.

barbara said...

How wonderful! I love old handmade things!

Vanessa said...

Thanks everyone! I have tried to find old quilts at estate sales and other places, for some reason I have not had any success. But this just fell into my lap. Things like that just don't happen to me. Quite pleased that this one did :)

Anonymous said...

What a treasure!!! I can imagine how elated you must be to have this great heirloom piece and be able to hand-quilt it!
Look forward to your progress in it :-)!
Have fun collecting vintage sheeting & with your reading!

Eva said...

Thank you Vanessa, for your comment on my blog! Your quilt top is beautiful! I love the fabrics! Like you, I'm not usually a big fan of yellow, but the white and the prints really go with it so well! Have fun with the hand quilting! It takes time, but the plus side is that one can watch TV at the same time ... ;-)