Vintage Archives - Page 2 of 2

Mom was helping friends clean out their house and move into an assisted living facility. In the process of cleaning, they found this sweet, vintage baby quilt that needed a loving home. I gladly stepped up to honor this work of art. I keep it on this rocking chair that belonged to my great grandmother when she was a child in the 1870’s!

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The artist is unknown as the quilt does not have a label! This is a good lesson for me because I often wish I could skip the label step…but who will know I created quilting masterpieces if I don’t label my work?

This quilt measures 34 inches square and was hand embroidered, machine pieced and machine quilted. The embroidery is well done and very detailed. The colors have remained vibrant over the years. The fawn and the kitten are two of my favorite blocks but the puppy is very cute too…those furry ears are flopping in the wind!

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I think the french knot buttons are special. How about that house on the left with the red chimney and smoke drifting up into the sky?

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Of course we have a Sunbonnet Sue! She’s pushing her baby carriage through a flower garden. More cute details to admire!

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Here is the entire quilt on display.

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I am going to add a hanging sleeve to this so I can use it as an inspirational wall hanging in my sewing room! It seems like every time I look at it, I see another detail that makes me smile!

One of my favorite memories growing up on the farm was playing in the back yard around the clothes line. Someone put a lot of work into that line. The end posts, one on each end of the line, were thick metal pipes with a cross bar ‘T’ at the top. Hooks on the T were used to loop the cotton clothesline rope to make the hanging rows. The pipes were sunk in concrete — they had to be sturdy because I recall climbing on them frequently. Every couple of years my sisters and I had to repaint the posts to keep them shiny white or silver, depending on my mother’s whim.

When Mom hung up sheets, we’d hide inside the drapes and run between the rows. There is nothing better than the smell of sheets and clothes that have dried in the sun. Mom is still hanging clothes out on that line — even in the wintertime. As long as there is sunshine, she’s got her clothes on the line.

The next best thing about clothes on the line is the clothespins. Mom hoards hers like a miser. The old fashioned pinch kind with the really tight spring are her favorite. A while back we were wandering through a tag sale and I spotted a beautiful antique clothespin holder full of pins. Score! The bag had a few rough spots, but I was intrigued with the design.

I found this laundry pin bag at a tag sale. Mom wanted those good antique spring-loaded clothespins. I wanted the bag for a quilt.

I discovered that the Champion Clothespin Bag Company was based in Minneapolis, MN.

After I took the bag apart (and gave mom her clothespins) I put the panel on my design wall while I contemplated its future. A couple of months later I felt confident enough to trim it so that the torn bits were eliminated.

Trimmed panel — all the messy bits are gone. Measures 10.5 inches square

Next I added some borders. I took my inspiration from the cool graphic — I tried to mimic that funky mid-century modern vibe.

Skinny orange-red accent and blue checkerboard border

I had to get outside of my color comfort zone for this design. The tea-stained checkerboard squares match the panel fabric. I’m usually a stark white kind of girl.

The full checkerboard border

I added some wide borders and some corner pinwheels to remind me of the wind at the farm, then sent if off to the quilter. She did a beautiful job. I am so happy with this quilt! It’s hanging in my laundry room, far away from the sunshine and fresh air <sigh>.