~~AN AMeRiCaN TRaDiTioN~~

Well I think i took enough time off from Blogging and am ready to get back on track so here goes.............

Quilts began many years ago as a necessity to survive. It was part of everyday life. People couldn't just run to the store to buy blankets or clothing. In the past, a quilt would be pieced together from the left over (scraps) of fabric that one might have made clothes out of. Quilt pieces were also taken from the best parts of old worn-out clothes. Can you imagine that you would have to save the best part of your clothes now, and have to make a blanket for your bed, just to keep warm? (they didn't have heaters either)
Quilted jackets were even used as armor for soldiers because of their thickness.

Feedsack is fabric that was made into a sack that held seeds which farmers used. Once the feedsack was empty, the fabric sack was kept to make aprons, and other clothing. Once the apron and other clothing were worn out enough not to wear any more, the best part were cut off into squares and strips and made into quilts.

But as time went on, and with the creative minds of humans, quilts are much different now. Many are made to hang on a wall as art decor. While others are still used to keep warm on a bed or throw across a sofa for cool nights while watching television. My how things have changed! There are so many new ideas and techniques that when you combine these with art, creativity, and personality, some quilts today are breathless to see.

~~TaKiNG aLiTTLe BReaK FoR THe HoLiDaYS~~

Hi just wanted to let you all know that I have not given up on Blogging...I am just taking a break during the Holiday Season which is so hectic...and I am way behind so after the holidays keep an eye out for my new entries....Thanks and HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!

~~BeauTiFuL OHIO STAR QUILT~~

Here is a picture of a striking Ohio Star Quilt made by Mattie Bontrager, Topeka, Indiana in 1915..for her oldest daughter, Fannie, born on October 28, 1896.

~~HeRe iS A CRAZY QUILT~~

I came across this picture of a Crazy Quilt block and wanted to show you what it looks like...it is a very different kind of Quilt from the others which I will be posting pictures of other patterns for you to see and enjoy!!!

~~Too TiReD To PoST ToNiTe~~

It has been a very very long day and I am so tired so the only thing I am posting is Good Night and I am on my way to bed to get under my comfy Log Cabin Quilt..

~~Yo~Yo QUILTS~~

This novel pattern is used to make a decorative bedspread but lacking warmth, has no utility value as a Quilt. It is an all over design, usually made of varicolored materials scattered throughout the Quilt in no set pattern. The patches must be of the same general type of material throughout the Quilt; that is, the pieces must be entirely of silk or all cut from cotton materials such as calico, gingham or percale--also, the texture and quality must be the same. The spread has no inner layer of cotton and the foundation lining is sometimes omitted, so the planning is quite different from an ordinary Quilt.

~~CRaZY QUILTS~~

Crazy Quilts, born of necessity, were made in an all-over design consisting of pieces of material, regardless of size or color. With the scarcity of materials in the early days of our country, women cut from worn and discarded woolen clothing any parts that were intact or considered useful. They were sewed together in crazy fashion, usually on an inner lining as it helped to hold the pieces in place while they were being sewed. On the better quilts, yarn was sometimes employed to join the pieces in simple embroidery stitches.

In 1870 the lowly crazy pattern was elevated to the parlor by substituting scraps of silks and velvet for the worn woolen pieces. It was used as a throw for the couch or as a slumber robe. The pieces were fastened together with fancy stitches, silk floss was used instead of yarn, and even the centers of the patches were decorated in flowers, fruits and hearts, in hand-painted designs. Certainly a Quilt of this type was a challenge to any needlewoman--the keener her sense of the artistic the more intricate her embroidery stitches!

It is not difficult to make a Crazy Quilt if you enjoy combining colors and have some knowledge of embroidery. If you are a novice at the art, you should study a few "fancier" stitches if you want to imitate the old Quilts.

~~SiLK QUILTS~~

Among our most cherished and beautiful Quilts are the silk ones, with designs fashioned from silks, satins, velvets and brocades and embroidered in elaborate stitches that gave elegance and charm to the finished Quilt. It is not unusual to find a hundred different embroidery stitches worked and blended into the design of a single Quilt! The exquisite loveliness of these Quilts should inspire many women to make one to add to their collection, using the soft, blended colors we have in our silks today.

The silk Quilts are usually made by combining a number of different materials such as silk, velvet, wool and satin into the design, so the planning must be quite different from a cotton Quilt where the appliqu'e or patchwork decoration is from the same type or quality. Silk is delicate in texture so the block must have an inner lining of thin muslin or cambric; the design is stitched to the silk and lining at the same time. A different technique is also used for turning in edges, for appliqu'e. Silk frays easily and the edges cannot be basted down as the holes made by the needle would remain after the threads are removed.

Silk Quilts can be divided into two general groups--the appliqu'ed type with designs applied to a neutral background, and the crazy patterns arranged in an all-over design resembling patchwork. I suggest you read up on the directions carefully if you decide to make a Quilt of either type.