Friday, April 12, 2013

Focus on Life~Week 15 Aged Beauty

Week 15? Has it really been that long? I'm really enjoying this weekly challenge, and once again want to thank Sally Russick for all her hard work to keep us informed and challenged...for 52 weeks!

This week's challenge is Aged Beauty:

"This week focus on the aged beauty that may be an old building, or an aged vehicle in a parking lot, items in a local barn, flea market, garage, or in your jewelry box and snap a shot of a vintage beauty!"

I had finished my photos for this week before half an hour had passed from Sally's announcement; I knew immediately what I wanted to "snap". In fact, I have many, many items I could have used, but the backstory of these ones I think is quite unique, so I'm going to bore you with a little story and LOTS of pictures this time. *ok, can it, those of you in the back whispering to yourselves...and every time!* 

From the time I was about 3 I've been a hand-stitcher; not at my mother's knee, but at the side of my babysitter, who was a milliner back in the 1950's. Her work was amazing....all hand done from gorgeous expensive fabrics, with exotic trims and filmy veils. Likely in order to save her sanity *g* she taught me how to sew as soon as I was able to hold a needle. She let me use the scraps of those wonderful fabrics and trims to make clothing for my dolls, and later taught me how to use a pattern to make my own clothing, and how to embellish household linens of various kinds with beautiful embroidery.
When I went to school for the first time, I made my own first-day outfit....a pleated short skirt and a white blouse with a little Peter Pan collar...very fashionable for the time! 

As I grew older, my sewing evolved into making quilts; by this time I had my own sewing machine, but I always enjoyed doing handwork of various kinds as well. As I was now the "quilter of the family", when an elderly friend of the family died in about 1970 at age 93, they gave to me the quilts her parents had brought to the West when they left Ontario to homestead in Alberta. I have had them since, and fittingly, when I was transferred by my company in 2004 to Ontario....they came home again. 
I also inherited from my mother, my great-grandmother's crazy quilt; this one is about 128 years old. When my sisters and I were children, it was used as a coverlet when we were ill, so it has been very well-loved over the years, and there isn't a lot left of it. Nonetheless, I treasure it. 

Here's the 128 year old crazy:


The cream patches you see are backing, where the fabric originally used has disintegrated completely; amazingly, some have held up quite well! 

Detail:





This is the backing; those are not stains you see, they are the remains of pattern on the floral backing fabric. You can also see that the quilt was hand-tied, which was common for crazy quilts. 



Here are the quilts from the Peller family that emigrated west in about 1890 to homestead in Alberta. 

This one is the oldest one. The pattern, for those of you not quilters, is called Log Cabin. Even if you're not a quilter, you'll likely recognize that name, as it has been a pattern used very commonly for much longer than 150 years. It is completely hand-stitched, with the narrow "logs" common to older Log Cabins; these ones are about 1/4" wide, although as you can see the quilter had a little difficulty keeping them even *g*. Modern Log Cabin quilts generally have about 1" or wider logs. Log Cabins can be "set" (the arrangement of the blocks) in many different ways. This set is called Barn Raising. From the fabrics, my guess would set the age of the quilt at early 1900's, or late 1800's. It is in excellent condition. 



Detail:


This next one is from approximately the 1920's (from the look of the fabrics). It's a Bears Paw variant which I've never seen before or since. Can you see the Bears "Paw"? It's the square, with the 4 triangle pieces above and to the right, forming the "claws".  A very appropriate pattern for a quilt from what was at that time the Wild West! This one has a muslin background, and is hand quilted and hand pieced. Again, it is in excellent condition. It graces the back of my living room sofa. 


Detail:



I'm delighted to have them "home" again, and hope that when I pass on, I am able to pass them to someone who will love them as much as I do. 

Now run and see what the other photographers have captured in their Aged Beauty segments.



   


17 comments:

  1. Beautiful, Great subject and great pictures!

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  2. I think crazy quilts are amazing. How lucky for you to have grown up with them and also to be in possession of the Peller quilts.

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  3. Wonderful post! How lucky you were to have that milliner for your babysitter. Love the closeup of the stitching.

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  4. really beautiful work! and how amazing that you've kept the craft alive!

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  5. They are glorious. I know nothing about how they are made but I love quilts.

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  6. Love the shots and the stories about the quilts...what amazing handwork..wow! My grandmother was a quilter and I also have a few of them. They really are treasures...thank you for sharing your story about the milliner...what a lost art!

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  7. What!?? You stitched your own outfit on the first day of school! *Bows*

    Those are some gorgeous antiques and fascinating stories, Lori!

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  8. Wow! How wonderful to have all of those beautiful handmade quilts to keep. Wonderful subjects for "Aged Beauty"

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  9. wow! the stitches on that crazy quilt are just beautiful! when i first went to the states, to meet my husband's family, his sisters took me to a quilt show - and i fell in love! then when we left to come back to england, one sister presented us with a quilt, which is a future family heirloom (she has since sent our children their own quilts!) it's a fantastic american tradition, and each quilt ever made, needs to be treasured!
    a really wonderful post - thank you :)
    no.21

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  10. Wow, what a great family story and keepsakes you have with these quilts. I don't know much about quilts but I do know the Log Cabin pattern is one of my favorites! :-)

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  11. I love quilts... I made a tumbling blocks quilt when I was in high school and an artsy one with fish one summer when my gallery was on the beach... both were stitched entirely by hand... I tend to prefer mobile 'crafts' not sure where my facisination for glass came from! But my favorite quilt was a red and white one that lived on my bed for years as a child... I think they/it came from my fathers side of the family but I don't know who made them!

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  12. What a wonderful, wonderful skill! I love your quilts - so beautiful and filled with history.

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  13. These are beautiful indeed!! What details and history they hold. That 'crazy quilt' is so awesome - love that one the most! I've seen the Log Cabin and the Bear Paw ones running around my relatives homes,...only I had no idea what their names were - thanks for the history lesson, it was great! Super post!

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  14. Thank Lori for sharing the history of your love of stitching and for the lovely old quilts. There is just something about an old quilt all the love poured into it's makeing and the stories that it could tell if it could talk. I have one of my Great Grandma's quilts that I saved from the house that was beginning to fall down. It is tattered and torn, but I charish my find.
    Therese

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  15. So beautiful and love that you have these since you appreciate them so much. Thanks for the info on them as well - the story was beautiful as well.

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  16. A 128 year old quilt, that's amazing. I love the stitches on it they remind me of birds feet.

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  17. Oh, wow, how much work and love is amassed in those truly aged beauties! I love them - like Nicole said, the stitching reminds me of little birds walking around :)
    Thank you for sharing this fabulous story!

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