Mystery Quilt Revealed

A week or so ago I posted some random quilt pieces I’d come across, curious if anyone recognized them.  Then a few days later someone gave mom some quilt books she was getting rid of and as I flipped through one of them I was delighted to recognize that curve.

Turns out I was trying to make something round, when the actual pattern is square. The curves go to the middle. I rough-cut the pieces and just scooched them into place so I could show what it’s supposed to look like.

And you can tell by the “hands” at each of the four corners, it utilizes the diamond shape too.

It’s called Hands All Around and here is a pretty red and white one and a vintage scrappy one.  Here’s another one with the blocks assembled on the diagonal with a vintage lady featured in the center. Here’s a pretty blue and white one.

This is one of the quilt blocks that’s used for Friendship Quilts. These quilts include a blank space for individuals to sign their names or record other information that’s then embroidered permanently on the block. They are also called Signature Quilts or Autograph Quilts.

The googling I did for Hands All Around didn’t turn up anyone who had made one recently and I saw comments that weren’t really excited about the curved lines in the block. Several of the quilt tops I saw had been hand-pieced.

I’ve already figured out a way to eliminate the corners, by making more triangles, it’s a technique I’ve seen on Fons and Porter and Eleanor Burns. But I don’t think there’s a way around the curves. I’ll just have to stitch slow.

I’ll make one Hands All Around block in the red, white and blue just to say I did.  Then  we’ll see if I want to make more or if it just becomes a pillow or maybe a tote bag. With just a few I could make a table runner or some placemats for the 4th of July.

What do you think? Would you color match it, or make it scrappy?

What is this curved piece used for?

My mom participates in activities at the senior citizen’s center and it’s not unusual for some of the folks to bring in random things to share when they move or downsize. Lots of books, art supplies, plant cuttings, and fabrics make their way to the table out front. Not long ago mom brought home a stash of quilting leftovers. In amongst the scraps she found some already cut quilt pieces.

And there’s one we can’t figure out.

She’s already made two quilts (that I know of) from rescued already-cut quilt pieces. This blue and pink is twin sized. The solid blue and floral print rectangles were rescued and she pulled the pink out of her stash for the border.

This print fabric is from the 70s or 80s and coincidentally it’s a fabric she’d used before. She tracked down her own scraps to cut an extra piece or two. I think I suggested the saw tooth edge. It’s one of my favorite borders, but there wasn’t enough to go all the way around so it’s just on the sides.

More recently she took a pile of squares we found and came up with this.

These fabrics are more recent, maybe ten years ago?, and I had some of this collection in my stash. It’s a double size quilt.

But back to this recent find. There were stacks and stacks of diamonds in a variety of calicoes. And there was a smaller batch of a curved piece.

Now there are lots of things to do with a pile of diamonds: make stars, stitch them end to end into rows, assemble a V pattern make rows of chevron; but we’re having a hard time with the curved piece. We tried to fit the curved piece and the diamond together, but the angles and edges don’t fit together.

Any idea what quilt pattern this piece makes? Does it go together to make a circle? Or maybe every other one flips and makes a snake-like row? Is it all pieced together to make a block, or is it stitched to a block like an applique?

I’m sure Mom will come up with something great once she wraps her head around these curves. I’m the one who wants to know what it was cut for.  I haven’t found an index of quilt pieces and what they’re used for, but surely there’s a quilter out there who can help.

Any ideas? And what would you make out of it

Jan

Cutter Quilts ~ It’s Almost A Sin

Quilts that are so ragged they can’t be used as blankets anymore are called “cutter quilts.”  These are the quilts people buy to cut up and make into something else.

So far I haven’t been able to cut into an old quilt, and I have quite a few, but I love finding things other people have made out of them.

This teddy bear is one. He was probably made in the 80s from a much older quilt.

This primitive kitty is another one. I love her little hand embroidered face, complete with whiskers and her little red tongue.

She’s made from a hand pieced quilt and is a bit misshapen so it appears she was cut without benefit of a pattern. I get the feeling she might have been made by a young girl as an early sewing project.

Her tail was tacked to the body in one spot and when I got her it had ripped away, taking a chunk of the quilt with it. I found a ragged crocheted doily that was perfect to  use as a patch. The tail is back in place and the repairs add to, rather than take away from the primitive charm.

She could probably stand to have another old doily or two added to her cheek and shoulder to protect the fraying top layer of the quilt. If I come across the right little doily I’ll make some more repairs and update the pictures.

A few months ago someone gave me an old “cutter quilt”. There’s a lot of red in it so it would make some beautiful Christmas stockings. I don’t need to keep another ragged quilt so it’s time for me to bite the bullet and make something out of it. As Christmas stockings it will have a whole new lease on life and brings smiles and laughter for many more years to come.

What do you do with old quilts?

Do you store them? Toss them?

Or do you cut them up and make something new?

Jan

One Bright Abstract Baby Quilt

My mom is an amazing artist! And so today I’m announcing a new category—Darlene Made It—to showcase some of her work.

So for starters, don’t you just love this baby quilt she designed for Great-Grandchild Number Eight?

It’s all triangles that she pieced together into this beautiful bright abstract.

My mom doesn’t do abstract. But she should do it more often. This is absolutely gorgeous.

She’s hand quilting it with criss-cross diagonal lines and she’ll seal up the edges with some equally beautiful trim when that’s done.

She plans to finish by Christmas so she can come up with something for Great-Grandchild Number Nine.

Stay tuned. I’ll be showcasing a half-dozen or more quilts she’s recently completed.

Jan