On the fifth day of Christmas...

...my true love gave to me

five plastic advertising thimbles...

No, I don't collect thimbles.  I am unaware of their history, the diverse materials they have been made from and the years advertising thimbles were produced.  I just thought these were colorful and fun - something we don't see given out anymore.

I do have a jar of thimbles in my sewing room where thimbles that once served a more utilitarian purpose have been tossed in because I just didn't like how they felt on my finger.   Some ended up in the jar because of the frustration caused when my thread would fray and break when coming in contact with its metal surface when quilting. 

I  have had small ones when the humidity was low and big honking ones for hot and sticky days.  My favorite now is by Clover.  It is snug around my finger, yet the tip is sturdy, protective and guides my needle accurately.  Leather ones were nice, but quickly developed holes in the wrong places. 

But, I never thought about them as collectible or for advertising, or having value other than protecting my hands from sore fingers. 

 I do have one special thimble given to me as a gift by my son after his visit to Bath, England.  I keep it on a shelf in my kitchen with some other curiosities ....  the Monopoly thimble game piece, sewing machine salt and pepper shakers, a card with a flower made of shells, just little things given to me by friends or kids that I treasure.

Here's a blog I found - Simple Thimbles  - for those of you who are fascinated with advertising thimbles.  Olly writes that she currently has 400 thimbles!  Maybe I should send her some plastic ones!!  :)  

Red and Green

Back in 1994, I had a major obsession with red and green quilts.  It started when the Quilt World December '88 magazine ran a 1860's design of the Princess Feather in its traditional four block design.  The front cover had an older woman in a moppet hat sitting and quilting this beauty with a hoop in her lap. 

I had admired the quilt for six years before I finally started the applique.  I was quick to finish one block, then, years went by without  the ambition to complete the remaining three blocks. 

A few years ago I decided the last three blocks just weren't going to happen.  That is when I had a brainstorm to just put the one feather star block on point and fill in the outer corners with half square triangles.

While I enjoy this quilt, especially during the holidays when red and green fills the house, I still think about the original quilt design.



This past fall, while I was browsing through Etsy, I came across a red and green quilt from southwestern Ohio.  I think I only looked at it for two seconds before I "clicked" the purchase tab.  The classic four blocks of the Princess Feather in red and green could still make my heart skip a beat.  

Isn't it beautiful!   Do you notice something else just wonderful about this quilt?  It is an early machine quilted quilt.  The "feathers" are masterfully appliqued onto the white background by hand and then each block section is quilted independently of each other.  When finished they are joined together and then the seam is covered over with binding.  The borders are then attached and the seams are again concealed on the back.

Barbara Brackman discusses the history of sewing machines in American Patterns of Progress: Quilts in the Machine Age.   Woman who were fortunate enough to have a sewing machine wanted to display their skills and machine quilted their quilts.  This quilt was sure to have been a family treasure. 

 The applique was finely executed.  The background was quilted in a grid work pattern while the feathers have only diagonal line quilting.

Look closely at the binding.  It was also applied by machine!

I admire this early quilter.  She was skilled with her machine and she didn't hesitate to put her beautiful applique workmanship under the needle.

A Christmas treasure for our family for many years to come!

When you're least expecting to find a treasure....

Anyone who knows me is aware of my love of sewing; especially quilts.  But lets just make it simple and say anything having to do with creating with a needle and thread brings me joy.  I have been known to leave the house with bits of clipped fabrics and threads attached to the back of my sleeves or dangling from my pants where I am the least aware of their presence.  It doesn't bother me, just as a gardener is not alarmed having a bit of dirt on their hands and nails; often their badge of caressing the earth and flaunting it.  At times, for me at least, those threads were conversation icebreakers with those next to me waiting in line at the post office or grocery store. 

So you are warned....stare at the threads, you're getting a story about what is underneath the needle of my machine!

I have always found writing difficult.  For this I apologize.  But, hopefully, I can share enough beautiful quilts, vintage fabric and funny stories to coerce you into returning to my blog.  So, I will begin...

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This past summer, I reluctantly decided to go to an estate sale.  Reluctant and garage sale are seldom in the same sentence for me, I even feel akward writing them together.  However, for some reason, this day I had prematurely decided from the estate sale advertising that it really didn't fit my needs.  Maybe it was the location of the sale, or the goods listed, or just that it was one too many rainy days in a row, but I went late in the day, and I was wrong.

I was warned the house had been "picked over" by the crowds who came early, but there were still plenty of counters filled with china sets or holiday decorations and odd pieces of vacation memories.

But, how many had passed over this early piece of quilting history?

Personally, I know the style to be a Medallion Quilt.  The fabrics are early 19th century.  I inquired with the woman whose household good were on sale as to how she had acquired it.  She said her mother had gotten it from the Humes Family from Watertown, New York. 

The quilt design, style, fabrics, quilting, backing, binding, appliqued shapes - everything was consistent with dating the quilt to the 1840's.

At the sale, the quilt had been draped on a rack with a late 18th century chintz quilt with family provenance from Ireland pinned on the back.  The hefty price tag of the chintz quilt was still pinned next to the quilt's paper history.  The price was a deterrant to attracting a new owner.  I understand how the medallion quilt may have been deemed the ugly duckling next to the more pristine quilt whose fabrics did not have the daily use.  Its colors were not faded from the sunlight, washings and everyday use.  The chintz quilt had well established fold marks which indicated its value and seldom use.  I wondered how many times it had ever been brought out in the sunlight for others to admire in the past two centuries.

This quilt speaks.  It says it served its purpose with its worn bits of fabric.  I believe it says it has loved and been loved.