The Endeavourers’ Reveal Day 13 – Memories

I am part of an online art quilt group that does quarterly challenges, The Endeavourers.  This quarter, the theme was “Memories.”

Few things evoke as many sweet memories for me as the tools and supplies of textile crafts. I have inherited yards of crocheted edgings from my great-grandmother, needlebooks from my grandmother, silk threads from my husband’s aunt, and much more.  My sewing machine sits on my grandmother’s table, and I use her iron.  And present-day friends also pass on a wealth of fabrics, books, technique tips, and ideas!  All day long as I work on projects, these treasures spark thoughts of friends and family members.

One of the books a friend gave me is Crazy Patchwork by Janet Haigh, published in 1998. I was not a huge fan of crazy quilts, but the fresh slants on tradition in this book gave me lots of inspiration.

Book cover of Crazy Patchwork by Janet Haigh.
Crazy Patchwork by Janet Haigh, 1998.

Before reading this book, my only idea of crazy quilts was of the traditional silks and velvets  — Janet Haigh showed so many alternatives!

Lace patchwork in Janet Haigh’s book.
Crazy patchwork beaded heart from Janet Haigh’s book.
Red embroidery patchwork from Janet Haigh’s book.
Lace patchwork in Janet Haigh’s book.
Old embroidery patchwork in Janet Haigh’s book.
Drawing on Haigh’s ideas, I decided to make a crazy quilt from some of my textile treasures. 

This little happy artist needed to be the focal point (she was embroidered for me on a baby bib by my mom). 

A favorite embroidered piece.


I placed her and started adding in embroidered handkerchief corners and bits of old lace. 

Some pieces placed on a muslin foundation.

I stitched the raw edges of the handkerchiefs down to the foundation, then flipped them back over the stitching line.  This took advantage of their beautiful tatted and crocheted edgings, giving that embellished crazy quilt look. 

Afterwards I did some free motion quilting to pull everything together.  I knew a lot of it would get covered up; I just wanted it to be in the background of any blank spaces.

Free motion quilting, inspired by (but not equal to!)  Doreen at Treadlemusic.


Then I just kept adding scraps, trinkets, and treasures!  You can click on the image to see a larger version.
crazy quilt of vintage embroidered textiles

“Stitches in Time,” a memory album quilt.

My grandmother had one of those vases that looks like a hand, so I combined the glove and an embroidered bouquet. The teething ring came from a donation that the Texas Historical Commission asked me to write about.

The vintage fabric on the bottom right was part of a scrap collection kindly sent to me by Paula B.

I am so glad for these pieces to see the light of day, and of course I have baskets of them still.  So I would love to do more of these!

All of our pieces will be posted on February 1, here at The Endeavourers blog.  I hope you stop by for a look at everyone else’s memory quilts!

 

Category : Quilting
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