Little Quilts

On Monday I visited a  quilting friend to see her quilt collection. I met Dianne on the Flickr board for Barbara Brackman's Austen Album Quilt. We both had quilts in the 2013 American Quilt Society show in Grand Rapids. She entered a hand pieced and hand embroidered quilt which included the Gettysburg Address.

Dianne Little's interest in all things fiber was evident throughout her home with her collection of antique samplers, needlework, quilts, and woven coverlets. Spinning wheels and 1830s grandfather clocks, a rope bed, and porcelain headed dolls were part of the decor.

Dianne's collection of 19th c quilt tops was delightful to see. I will share photos from her collection over the next days.

This hexagon quilt top was full of wonderful fabrics, lots of madder browns, pinks and reds, Prussian blues, and some Chrome Yellow. I am sorry I did not get a better photo of the pieced triangle border. You can just see it on the right and left sides of the quilt in the first photograph.

 Burgundy and Turkey reds pop up, as does a grayed lilac.

 There are lots of stripped fabrics, two colored and multi-colored.

 The lovely pale aqua shade in the center hexagon is unexpected.

 So wonderful that polka dots were prevalent in the mid-1800s!

 Another lovely pale aqua fabric.

+++++

I have been reading books from NetGalley, but as they are not being published until next year I can't post my reviews yet! Coming up in 2015 will be reviews on:

• West of Sunset by Stewart O'Nan is fiction about F. Scott Fitzgerald's last years in Hollywood
• How To Be A Heroine by Samantha Ellis explores how literary heroines influenced the author
• Madison's Gift: Five Partnerships that Made America by David O. Stewart considers Madison's political partnerships with Washington, Jefferson, Monroe, Hamilton and his wife Dolley
• Amhurst by William Nicholson is a novel about Alice Dickinson who is writing a screenplay about Austin Dickinson, the brother of poet Emily Dickinson.
• The Children's Crusade by Ann Packer, author of The Dive From Clausen's Pier
• Behind Every Great Man: Forgotten Women Behind the World's Famous and Infamous by Marlene Wagman-Geller

Meantime I am reading Zelda by Nancy Mitford and some short stories by Michigan writer Pete Wurdock who I met at Leon & Lulu's authors fest.

One Patch Quilt

I found this many years ago in an antique mall outside of Lansing, MI for $20 or less. Simple, but it is fun to look at the fabrics. The fabrics were in good shape, but I did have to replace some fabrics which had rotted. I appliqued a fabric square over the original fabric. The quilt was not stained, so it was in pretty good shape for being so cheap. The batting is quite heavy and bulky, and makes the fan quilting stand out more.

In the photo below the purple colored blocks is new fabric appliqued over the rotted blocks. You can tell because they are not quilted.