Valerean

When I'm thrifting online I often see quilts that most folks probably should not bid on. Take this vintage crazy quilt: it looks authentic, and likely dates back to the early 20th century What I see: it appears to be made out wool and homespun fabrics that (like the materials in most authentic crazy quilts) are deteriorating, and it's probably never been laundered. Dirty wool and homespun tends to reek. You can't launder something like this; it will fall to pieces and/or shrink. Finally, while the construction is interesting it's not very well done, and the embroidery isn't special enough to merit saving the quilt. Here's a more modern patchwork quilt that appears folded up in all the photos. This is either to hide damage or staining, or perhaps because it measures 94" X 106" (according to the listing.) Whatever the reason, never thrift a quilt unless you can see all of it front and back. Here's a quilting project that ...

I picked up a lot of three quilts at the thrift auction that were not photographed very well, and (because of the lack of good pics) kind of a mystery. They just arrived, so let's take them out and see what I got. All three were in rough but still usable shape, with staining being the biggest issue. A small polyester and wool utility quilt that is topstitched together with a vintage sheet backing, probably from the sixties or seventies. No issues other than a few seams that need to be sewn down. I love that the maker cobbled together scraps to make this piece. A machine stitched queen size quilt top with patchwork depicting a very long dachshund pup. Stained but adorable. A very old unfinished crazy quilt top, probably from the turn of the twentieth century, with exquisite embroidery. Sadly someone tried to launder it (never ever ever wash vintage crazy quilts.) There are obvious signs of dye migration, silk patch shattering and overall age and water damage....

A bunch of lovely quilts showed up on the online thrift auction at the end of April, and I decided to bid on three lots (although I was pretty sure I'd be outbid on all of them.) The first one was this velvet crazy quilt -- in need of some repairs, but the colors are gorgeous, and I don't have a velvet crazy quilt in my collection. So I bid. The second lot offered these two quilts. Both look more modern, and the green and brown quilt has what looks like a Minky backing. I like them both, so I bid. The third lot was for this vintage blue and white quilt with what looks like hand quilting. There wasn't a full pic of the quilt, so it could be a disaster, but I had a good feeling about it, so I bid. As it turned out I didn't win any of them, because I don't get drawn into bidding wars or go over the maximum I'm willing to pay (in the case of these three lots, my max bid was $15.00.) The final winning bids were: Velvet crazy quilt: $47.99, two qui...

Vintage quilts can be tricky things to thrift online. Last month two crazy quilts went up for auction at ShopGoodwill.com that turned out to be little mysteries. I bid on this first one, which may date back to 1905 (there's a silk flag dated that on the top), with a max bid of $50.00. When I was outbid on the second day of the listing I decided to drop out; to me it wasn't worth more than fifty bucks. It finally sold for a whopping $289.99. The problem with this crazy was the photos that showed the general condition, but not very clearly. Despite that I noticed signs of shattered fabrics (also an indicator of age) that made it less valuable. The embroidery seemed pretty simple, too. Gambling on a vintage quilt's condition that you can't inspect in person is always risky, but a quilt that is probably 119 years old is not a good investment unless it's in pristine condition. By the time I noticed this second crazy, incorrectly listed as an embroidere...

After much brooding, I've picked another stack of patchwork I bought from KnJ Studio to make Mom's birthday quilt: Tonight I'll lay out the blocks and start piecing the top. I've also made more progress on the little fox crazy quilt block:

I was able to acquire some lovely vintage quilted pieces that I hope to incoporate in some holiday projects: These bear paw blocks are nice and big, although a bit worn and fragile. I'll know if I can make pillows out of them after they get a bath. If they fray more I just might use them to decorate the front of some canvas gift bags, or frame them. I really love the bold red color of the paw patches. Both blocks are hand-quilted, too, with lovely stitches. I don't like to cut up old crazy quilts, but this long salvaged strip might end up in two or three pieces. The stitching is cute, and the colors are nice. Maybe I'll try to make it into a table runner. I fell in love with the hand-painted flowers on the end velvet patch -- gorgeous.

Last night I finished the pink crazy tote: For the lining I used a floral/vintage French print: Close-ups of the details: Glad to be done, although I'm not thinking oink when I look at it. :)

With one side done and the other halfway there I'm close to finishing the crazy pink tote. Here's the section I worked on last night, where I added a few more lace appliques and some bead work: I liked how luxe-looking this lace trim came out with the additional of ivory pearls and metallic gold seed beads: Never going to love pink, but I wouldn't mind doing one of these in autumn colors.

Making a little more progress on the crazy pink tote, which is turning out prettier by the day: For the Duponi silk patch I decided to add a gold-tone rose brooch I've been saving for something special. I also added some pink crystal montees to the ribbon of maroon lace right above it. I'm also experimenting with different beads to embellish the feather stitching. Swarovski crystal bicone beads have such great sparkle, which never translates to photographs. Sigh.

I broke out the beads for the crazy pink tote project: Using an abalone shell as a bead holder isn't especially practical (smaller beads fall through the holes) but it's one of those artistic things I do. I love the colors of abalone. Because I'm slow and clumsy it can take up to a week for me to do this sort of beading, but it's probably the most fun part of the project, too. Satin doesn't quilt well, so I added a ribbon rose with a chenille feather stitched stem for this patch. Turned out better than I thought it would. On the writing front, I got an e-mail from the folks at National Novel Writing Month asking me if I want to announce I'm in this year. Am I in? I don't know. I wasn't even thinking about it yet. Theo, are you going to give it a shot this year?

I'm almost finished adding embroidery and some lace appliques to the pink tote: I like how this corner turned out: Once I've sewn the last of the appliques in place then I'll quilt some of the patchwork, and add some beads.

Now that I have all the patchwork basted in place I'm adding lace and ribbons over the seams on the crazy pink tote. That means working out of this wee suitcase. I'm trying to be tidier with my trims while I work, and using some interesting containers helps. :) Also, Happy National Sewing Month!

Oliver's mom asked me to make one of my crazy quilt totes for her grandmother, Marie, a lovely lady who is in her nineties. How could I say no? It's also good for my creativity to do little projects like this. So I started working on it last night, and got the patchwork tacked to the tote foundation: Did I mention Marie's favorite color is pink? Ha. Obviously not my favorite color, but I'm thinking of it as peachy and rosy instead. :)

I could not resist purchasing this notebook-size crazy quilt block from the late 19th century, as it is probably the strangest piece I've ever found: The peacock is actually an intricate applique sewn onto the patchwork, which is silk, velvet and damask (with one oddball patch of blue/white gingham.) On the velvet leaf directly beneath the bird the maker added some veins in red ink: I'm entirely perplexed by the curving strip (which is beautifully embroidered) as well as the gingham patch: And then there's this creepy little clown boy trying to grab a huge fly on a richly embroidered silk patch: On the wine velvet patch is a primitive painted flower bouquet, which is the only embellishment I'd call normal: The patchwork was sewn to muslin and embroidered, and then covered with another piece of muslin, and embroidered again: Under the outer muslin layer: Some of the stitching is expert, like the different stitches decorating the yellow silk patch ...