Random Gratitudes and Complaints

Nothing is more responsible for the good old days than a bad memory. 

Robert Benchley

I am an avid reader.  I have been since grade school it is an ongoing obsession.  When I was young I daydreamed about how it would have been so great to live in a previous era.  As I grew older and faced some of the harsher realities of life I realized that I wouldn't have lived very long if I had been born in a different time.

It is very likely I would have died from the pneumonia I had at age 6 or the appendicitis I had at age 10.  Modern medicine has saved me several times and I am grateful even though I complain about the number of pills I take daily.  I am thankful for all the great modern conveniences we have too.

Here are the pictures of a few from the good old days that I'm glad I don't have to use.  I do remember helping my Mother use a wringer washer when I was very young.  I wasn't allowed near it most of the time but the turning of the handle fascinated me.  The tub was electric but the water had to be drained and filled with the hose.  No automatic cycles just an agitator.  I saw one very similar but didn't get a picture at one of the Antique Malls on vacation.  

I had heard of Coleman Irons but never seen one.  This one was in great shape and a pretty blue.  Have you known anyone that used one?  I have a couple of the old Sad Irons that my Mother used before she had electricity.  The were just heated at the fire or on the wood stove.

 This is a tabletop wringer.  It clamps to the table.  These things were very hard on buttons.  That's why Grandmother always kept a button box.

This contraption unfolded on each side to hold a wash and rinse tub.  The wringer is in the middle.  It was the smallest model I've seen.  There were some that were much larger.

Just think of having to pump the water at the well, heat it at the fire or wood stove and then move it to the wash bucket.  Scrub the clothes.  Rinse them, then hang them to dry.  There would have been a lot of children to keep clean.  Having baby diapers to deal with in the winter would not have been a small chore either.

Aren't you glad for modern washers and dryers?

This display reminded me of some of my all time favorite commercials.  Do you remember the ones from the California Raisin Commission?

Are you singing 'I heard it from the grape vine' yet?  I think these were in the McDonald's kids meals for a while.  I know my kids had a few of them but I'd never seen this many.  My other all time favorite commercial is the Taco Bell chihuahua saying "Lizard, Lizard".  I had hoped that they would do another round of those with the new Godzilla movie but they didn't.  We went to see it last week.  It was good, it lasts over 2 hours so I felt like I was getting my monies' worth.  ( I feel cheated by the short ones! )

You'd think that a major chain would have a proof reader check the spelling on their packaging before thousands are produced.  Even spell check should have caught this one.

Just to prove I am a normal quilter here is a picture of the stash enhancement that found it's way home with me.  Batiks and black and white prints.  Alas there has been a few more purchases since these were made also.  I need to get back on the fabric diet.  There was also a Hoffman Batik strip pack that I didn't get a picture of.  The rainbow stripe will make a great binding.  

I have been doing some sewing and got a top together this week.  I share it soon as well as some of the other special things I've been working on.

Exciting News!  I went over the 100,000 pageview mark this week!  I'll be announcing a Giveaway for my followers in the next few days.  I've also written over 200 posts now and went over the 300 followers mark on Bloglovin.  Thank you all for reading my ramblings!

The Waiting Game

I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning... 

J. B. Priestley

I'm sure you are tired of waiting on me to tell you more about the quilts I found on my trip.  I have had a busy week so I am finally able to get another post written.  Thank you for you patience and nice comments.  The thing about waiting for something is you may also get a few surprises along the way.

Our family is awaiting the birth of a new grandchild.  My daughter called me Thursday and invited me to go with her to what is probably her last ultra sound appointment.  So I haven't seen the baby yet but I've seen fingers and toes and a cute little nose.  She is at 38 weeks so it won't be long now.  There have been showers for the Mom and Baby and I will share the pictures of some of those in another post.

Now back to the Antique Malls and a few of the more interesting quilts that DID NOT come home with me.  I don't want to disparage another quilter's work but I would like to hear your thoughts and comments on some of these.

This one was hanging in the entrance of the first Mall we went into.  The name of it was Satin Girls because all of the hair was made of shiny fabric.  It looked more like poly lining than satin to me.  The quilt was hand quilted and applique.  The borders were at least 14 inches wide.  You can see the close up below.

The dresses were in a wide range of fabrics.  The orange plaid for example was a double knit from the 60s or 70s.  The pink apron above had metallic threads running through it.  The embroidery work was well done and neat but the eyes ,,,  I can't decide if they remind me of clowns or the Chucky doll from the movies.  It was prices at $450 and if you would like to buy it I'll send you the name of the Antique Mall where it is probably still hanging.

This was a block I hadn't seen before.  It has a nine patch center and then a Churn Dash variation around it.  I want to draft it in EQ7 and play around with it some.  I think it has possibilities. The quilt was quite scrappy with a large variety of prints.  I love the navy polka dot.

This one has me stumped.  I'll have to draft it on graph paper.  The blue squares were solid and inset so it is hard to tell where the block is.  Anyone know the name of it?

This one intrigued me also.  It was made of different colorways of some of the same prints.  It was used under an attractive display so it was hard to get a full shot of it.  It was a strippy with rows of diamonds alternating with plain strips of the prints.  I thought it was interesting and modern looking.

I've played with this one in EQ before I think but I need to look up the name.  The blocks were framed with different prints.  The contrast between the light and dark prints gave it a positive and negative effect.

The side border was just odd rectangles added to make it big enough for the bed.  I've seen that before for sure.

I've never seen a kaleidoscope center in a pineapple block before.  The blocks must have been over 20 inches.  It is filling a chair seat.  This could make an interesting quilt I think.

Red and White quilts look great even with great holes in them.  So simple and stunning.

This was the oddest color combo for Sunbonnet Sue I've seen.  Acid chrome yellow on a purple background.  I know it reads gray in the picture but it was purple.  It was in good shape and just a top.  Wonder why that one wasn't quilted?  What do you think?

This blue and white block just sang out in this quilt.  I don't think it was because of the other fabrics fading.  The low contrast used was soft and pretty.  I still need to look the block up, it looks like and easy one.

The sashing and cornerstones are almost a big as the blocks.  That's one way to keep from making so many blocks.  LOL  It works well in this one I think.

So what came home with me?  Some of you guessed in my comments.

This lovely nine patch with the cheerful red centers.  I love the points on the edge.

It's full of 30s prints that I'll never get tired of looking at.  See the thimble?

There is a boy rolling a hoop. Little ginghams and flower prints.

Scissors and buttons and polka dots too.  The blocks measure about 3 1/8" across.  The quilting is finely done.  There is an X in the nine patch blocks and a grid in the plain ones.

Here is a view of the back.  It is in great shape.

I bought this top.  The piecing is neatly done and I loved the scallopy edges.

The stripes go in all directions which adds a lot of movement to the top.  Here is a view of the back side.

Here is a view of the edge.  Two corners look like this:

The other two look like this:

Let me know what you think about these 'quilt gems' from my trip.  Which ones do you like the most and which ones did you have other opinions of.  I can't wait to read your comments!

More Old Quilts

The road of life can only reveal itself as it is traveled; each turn in the road reveals a surprise. Man's future is hidden. 

Unknown

I never know what I will find when I head into an Antique Mall.  Some of them are kind of junky and full of things that you would find at a yard sale.  Others are full of true antiques and the booths are neat and all items carefully staged and displayed.  It's possible to find treasures in all of these places.  One must just look carefully because you never know what is just waiting to be discovered.

So here are some more of the quilts that I saw.  There were even more but I didn't take a picture of all of them.  Shopping with a camera can save you a lot of money!  LOL

I loaded this picture sideways so you could see the butterflies.  I liked this shape a lot.  I couldn't decide if the white butterflies were intentional or if the fabric used had faded.

This was a nice Grandmother's Flower Garden.  When I first saw it I thought it was just a top.  Upon closer inspection I saw it was made as a Summer Quilt.  There didn't seem to be any batting but it was quilted in the ditch by hand.  The edge did not have a binding but it had a line of top-stitching by machine.  I don't think I had seen orange used as a center color before but it look nice.

This was a delightful little LeMoyne Star.  The blocks were probably about 6 inches.  It didn't have a lot of quilting but just look at those tiny even stitches.  I loved the little print used for binding too.

I love Yellow and try to use it in my quilts often.  This basket quilt was delightful.  I couldn't get a good look at the whole thing because it was hanging behind this huge mirrored hall bench.  The blue border was a bit faded looking and there were a few age spots but I just loved the yellow.  

I couldn't see all of this one  because there were other things on top of it.  I loved the simplicity of the block.  See how one petal was pieced?  The sashings and cornerstones were wide but the border was narrow.  Don't you wonder why?

This was a nice Cactus Basket with a nice happy pink alternate block.  Many of the fabrics were faded and the binding was frayed.  I loved all the angles in the shirting where the pieces were cut because the shape fit there not because the grain was straight.  The points didn't all survive the piecing either.  This didn't stop it from being loved and used.  Your quilts don't have to be perfect either.

Would you think to set tan and blue four patches with a double pink?  There were more colors used too but mostly the blue and tan.  I really liked this one even though pink is not one of my favorite colors.

What do you see here on the massive leather couch?  Can it be a quilt top?  Gotta take a closer look at this one.  I got my handy quilt holder to help out.

The stripes add so much movement to this top.  They go this way and that.  The solids are not consistently placed in the same direction either.  Don't you think this gives it a modern feel?  I wonder why it was never quilted.

I have a few more to share that were remarkable but for different reasons.  If you didn't read my previous post Home Again you will find more old quilts there.  I'll share the rest later and show you which ones came home with me.  Can you stand to wait another day or two?

So what do you think about these treasures?  Do you think I brought one of them home?  Which one do you like best?  

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