New Books and Antique Fabric Study

Not much work gets done around here when New Books arrive!!!  I first go through new books looking at all the photos and reading the captions.  Then, I go back and Read!  And make Notes!  Feels like I am back in school!

The "Chintz Book From the Poos Collection" is new from Quiltmania.  Great (the Best!) closeup photos of Chintz for studying!  Will provide many hours of reading and learning!  The book on the right is "Interwoven Global" from the Metropolitan Museum Exhibit of the same name.......look at the cover......it is Fabric in the Indigo Resist method!  What a wonderful idea to cover a book in Fabric!!!

Now for some antique fabric study!  This 1790-1800 quilt is owned by my friend Judy Roche and I had the Privilege of analyzing it at one of our quilt study days!  Cannot imagine why I did not take a shot of it lying on the bed for an overall view!  I will try to do that later!  The Quaker quilt is a medallion style with the brown chintz fabric below as the center.  

This is the wide border.

The center is surrounded by a broken dishes blocks, 4 patches and others in a random pattern......no matter the fabrics are the Star here!  The quilt is signed in one corner on the back "Ellen A Fell", likely a descendant of Margaret Fell, the Mother of Quakerism (1614-1702).  The handquilting is 2" diagonal grid with brown thread.

Some damage is with the brown fabric but for a quilt made from Many Brown Fabrics, it is in wonderful condition!

As I was about to fold the quilt for the storage box, I noticed through a tiny break in a seam that the sewing method was what we call English-Piecing......not EPP (English Paper Piecing).  It is a method I've seen done on American blocks made as late as 1870's......I have some and will find them for a future post.  Observing English Piecing from the back of blocks, the narrow seam allowances appear to have been folded (even creased) and then with two squares such as in 4-patches, right sides together,the seam are whipstitched together in the method popular today (and nearly 200 years ago!) with the construction of hexagon blocks.

Getting ready for a quilt show in Belfast Maine..........the Giveaway box of Scraps is Full and will give it away soon!!

Jo Morton and Linda Collins visited the shop!

 Got a call that Jo and Linda wanted to come to the shop on Monday as they are traveling around New England and Pennsylvania.  Nice to visit with them and talk quilts!  Very rainy day Monday but Tues/Wed have been perfect Fall days so I hope they are enjoying their travels!  And, yes, they both found fabrics they liked!!

 Linda brought along some Show & Tell...... on the left is the beginning of a quilt from  "Small Pieces, Spectacular Quilts" by Kinch and Storms......the little squares are 1/2"!  The quilt on the right is the result of a swap of 16-Patch blocks between American and Australian friends.......actually may have been made from Leftovers............can't remember!  Linda is the Quilts in the Barn Lady from Australia! 

The Tumbler quilt uses Jo Morton fabrics.

Linda gave me the little coaster made with precious Dutch fabrics and the red fabric is vintage!  I love it!  Below the coaster is a Fabric Postcard I received recently as a Thank You for the donation of crazy quilt fabrics.....velvets, satins, etc.  I donated them as part of my purge from the sewing room that I blogged about earlier......More about that later!!

Fabrics received in the shop this week......Josephine by French General.

 Bordeaux and Sienna from Paula Barnes!

 Two purples and a pink from Party of Twelve by Judie Rothermel.

The Just Judie contest winners (300 entries) have been announced and the two Honorable Mention winners were sponsored by my shop!  Both made beautiful quilts!  This one is by my friend, Wendy Reed......used over 600 Judie fabrics!!  Beautifully pieced, appliqued and hand-quilted!!

This quilt is by customer Denise Isherwood from Connecticut.....another original design beauty!

Check out the Marcus Fabrics Blog to see all the winners!