Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Vintage CQ - Day 2

First of all, thank you all for your nice comments. It's wonderful to see how enthusiastic we all are over our CQ heritage. This quilt is truly a lovely one, and I'm so thrilled to share it and hear how much it's being enjoyed by others. So, here we go.

This is a beaded piece on the quilt. I'm not sure what to make of it. Was it once a choker necklace? (It's about 9" from tip to tip of the horseshoe ends) Did she bead it just for a quilt decoration? Is it something else? If anybody has some thoughts about this, I'd love to hear them.
Here are some more chenille flowers - pansies this time - placed along the left edge.

This is a fan that is actually along the upper right border (I've photographed it upside down). The motifs throughout the quilt are very randomly placed and are oriented in different directions. These tabs, with alternating pointy and rounded edges, comprise the right border. There are a couple instances of cross-stitch work on this quilt, too. I wonder if she used some sort of waste canvas? Or just carefully cut away the woven base?

This is a photograph of the right half. I had the quilt down on the floor to photograph it, so it looks a bit wonky. Before the week is over I'll try to get it hung to get a full picture, without distortion.

The horse motif is appliqued. Rather nicely rendered, don't you think? You can also see some of the shattered silk pieces.

"The Vacant Chair." This embroidered piece was done in black thread. The lettering was painted, however. It's a rather crude drawing, but I get the feeling it came from another source - an ad? A book of designs? The style itself is so different than the rest of the quilt. Maybe it had some special significance to the quiltmaker. The rest of the photo is just fun for purposes of looking at the fabrics and stitching.

I just got the quilt out again as I prepared this post, and I see little things I've missed photographing. So, I'm going to "go back in" and capture some of these individual, smaller motifs for us to ponder over, too. As well, I think I want to play "Carole Samples" and catalog some of these stitch combinations! Probably nothing She hasn't seen, but interesting nonetheless!

So, here is one final post for today. I have NO IDEA what this is. It looks like a little pillow.It measures 3 1/2" square and is securely attached with stitching to the quilt. And it feels like there's a thin layer of cardboard or card stock at its base. Maybe it was covered in a fabric that has long since shattered away? Or a print that has totally faded?? The "tufting" is done with stitches. Any ideas on this one?

So, I'm off to photograph more. I hope you enjoyed the pictures today. We'll see you tomorrow!

6 comments:

  1. Hi Friend...What a beauty you have with so many interesting tidbits of important things in this ladies life. The beading reminds me of fancy smocking for a little girls dress. The tufted pillow...could it have been a sachet? A little far out but maybe those thoughts will prompt some other ideas. Half the fun is in the speculation. Looking forward to seeing more. Oh yes...loved your purse. Congratulations on being a winner.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow! This is great! Congradulations!

    Kerri Murphy

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have noticed a bunch of stitches that Miss Carole has in her book. That would be a good idea, when did you say you got this quilt? It is a treasure to have?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great quilt. It reminds me of the famous one that hangs in the airport in Louisville. A lot of the same motifs are used. I need to go look at it again and compare pics. Thanks for posting your quilt for all to see.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is so much fun...thanks for sharing this gem, Cathy.
    That empty chair motif is especially intriguing to me!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Cathy: does it look like, at one time, there might have been some flowers of other stitching on top the pillow? Or perhaps the fabric came from her wedding gown? Or something from a loved one.......?

    ReplyDelete

I appreciate your visit to my blog and love your comments!