50's Fabrics

Today is the day for 50's..birthdays and fabrics. I promised earlier that I would share close-ups of the nifty 1950's fabrics in my Amish Dahlia quilt. Since there are 49 blocks I've posted all of them to an album on my Photobucket site so you can go there and look if you are interested, but won't be bothered by the slow loading of this page if you aren't. I just love looking at them and remembering how many are scraps from Grandma's dresses and even one that was my own skirt.

Tom spent part of an afternoon this week practicing his free motion quilting. I think we need two Jukis!

The Story Behind the Dahlia--50 Years In The Making

It's time I told the story of how this quilt came to be and what it means to me.

My maternal grandparents raised me from the age of 5 1/2 months. There were six children in their blended family (both had been widowed..Grandpa had two daughters and Grandma had 3 daughters and a son). Grandpa always said I was the child they wished they had had together. There were 23 grandchildren. Grandma, Esther, made a quilt for each of her children and grandchildren, and a few of the great-grands as well, though by the 1960's she was spending most of her time crocheting and very little quilting.

Being the oldest grandchild I was the first of my generation to get a quilt from her and I received it somewhere around Jr. High age....not sure of the exact year. I loved it and as we tended to do with most quilts in those days, I used it.

I was still using it regularly after I was married and had children of my own. One day in about 1972/3 a friend was visiting with her baby and when she was ready to leave it started to pour down rain. I had just washed bedding, including my quilt from Grandma and without thinking just grabbed the quilt and told her to cover the baby and bring it back to me next time she visited.

Some time passed and though we saw each other often she didn't bring the quilt back. Then one day I was at her house and realized my quilt was being used as a pad in the bottom of a play pen and now had some tears and stains. I quickly retrieved it and from then on kept it folded and stored away for safe keeping since I now realized the value (emotionally) of what it represented to me.

The quilt traveled with me and my sons to Arizona in 1975 and back to Iowa at the end of 1976 and continued to be stored away for safe keeping.

In 1984 a gas barbecue grill that I was lighting caught fire (the fuel tank wasn't attached securely and let too much gas out) and I lost my entire house when parts caught fire and the tank actually exploded. Most of what I owned was either lost or severely damaged. One of the things that could not be salvaged was my quilt. It was so smoke stained that the already fragile fabrics couldn't hold up to cleaning.

Most of the "stuff" we accumulate in life is replaceable. Some items are not. And of course human life is by far the most important concern. No one was hurt and that was what mattered most. But I considered that quilt one of the most valuable things I lost.

Following Grandpa's death in 1979 Grandma had come to live with me and so she had been there at the time of the fire. Her room was one of the least damaged and that was a blessing as she had many boxes of fabric, yarn, and projects she had made or was working on in the closet in her room. I didn't even know what all was in them, just that we had been able to salvage most of it.

I had moved to Kansas in late 1986 after meeting Tom and Grandma stayed in Iowa. She died in 1994...15 years ago next week...and I miss her still so very, very much.

I started quilting in 2002 and a couple of my early projects were made using a very small box of scraps that Grandma had given me at some point. I treasured those little pieces as they were left over from clothing she made for herself as well as clothing I made in 4-H and Home Ec.

In 2004 we were in Iowa visiting my son, and my mother, and other relatives. I had taken some of my quilts to show my mom and after looking at them she gave me some 5" squares that she had found in Grandma's belongings after she died. I was thrilled to get them as they were more of the same fabrics that I had the smaller pieces of . I used most of them along with some other vintage fabrics I'd collected from various sources to make this quilt which I call "Roads To My Past". It was made using the Sunny Lanes block from the first Nickle Quilts book and is still one of my favorites.

The next trip we made to Iowa in 2005 I took the quilt to show my mother. The next day she brought a box over to my son's house where we were staying and said she thought I might like to have some more pieces that Grandma had left when she died. I didn't even open the box until I got home. And when I did........................................

..................................... I had to just sit and cry...............................

Inside were many quilt pieces of various shapes, strung together like this.

I can't imagine having the patience to sit and just cut blocks out and string them all together like this. I need gratification quicker. I cut a few pieces and make blocks, then cut a few more pieces, etc. And remember this was long before any rotary cutters or acrylic rulers, etc.

But what really took my breath away was a bag of pieces for a quilt block I immediately recognized, though I had no idea of the name. It was the block she had used for MY quilt..the one I lost in the fire. She had hand pieced 6 1/2 of the blocks..the center flower portion at least. And there were pieces cut out and meticulously pinned together to make 45 more blocks!!!!!! A total of 51 blocks. I couldn't believe it and it almost seemed like Grandma had reached from beyond the grave to give me back my quilt. The bag also contained the cardboard templates she had used to cut the pieces.

I researched the block and discovered it was frequently known as Amish Dahlia. It wasn't until a couple of years later that I realized some other cardboard templates that were in this box were actually stored in a Fairfield Batting bag that contained the pattern for this block, calling it the Missouri Daisy. The pattern and name had been right under my nose all that time and I didn't realize it!

I set to work handpiecing the center portion of the blocks. I'm sure not all of the fabrics are even cotton but that doesn't matter. I recognized the bulk of them as being scraps from her dresses and a couple of my skirts. Precious memories. I worked on the blocks over the next year or so then set them aside for awhile before adding the background pieces by machine.

After the blocks were all made I set them together in a top..49 of them..with the two left over being made into the wall hangings I showed you yesterday.

And then I waited while I decided how it should be quilted. I felt it needed to be hand quilted and so I asked the ladies at our church and they agreed. I marked it last November and they began quilting in January.

Now it is on my bed and we're going to sleep under it tonight. The pieces weren't cut perfectly and therefore it didn't go together perfectly. There are mistakes in it. But every time I look at it or sleep under it I will feel Grandma's love and realize how lucky I am to have been raised by this giving and caring woman and to have a reminder of that love in the form of this quilt.

And now you know the rest of the story................................

Done!

7 1/2 hours later the binding is finished. Whew...this is a big quilt and it takes a lot of time to hand sew binding, but I feel it's worth it.

It hasn't been washed yet, but my oxygen delivery person was just here and volunteered to help Tom hold it up for a picture.

A little bit closer.

I'll get some better pics after it comes out of the washer and dryer. And I may take some close ups of some or all of the blocks and post in an album on Photobucket so all you lovers of vintage fabric can admire the treasures in this quilt.

Tom says it is a "purty" quilt.

The story is still coming...I promise.

Answering Questions

I've been asked about the pattern for the Amish Dahlia quilt. It is also known as Missouri Daisy. These are the cardboard templates my Grandmother used when she cut the pieces for this quilt (the end of the larger piece is broken off). Some time after I finished piecing these blocks I found the pattern printed on an old plastic bag that had held Fairfield batting. Grandma had stored other pieces in the bag and I'd never noticed before what the free pattern was.

The rest of the story about this quilt is still to come, but I needed to say that much to answer the inquiry about how the block is made.

This is a close up showing part of a block prior to the background pieces being set it. I pieced it by hand, appliqueing the center circles after the petals were gathered. I set the background pieces in by machine.

I made this wallhanging from one of the extra blocks last year. It may show better how the petals are gathered around the center circle and produce the 3-D element. (click to enlarge)

When I first received these pieces and researching the block name I found and purchased this book. The templates provided are the same size except the center circle is much bigger than in Grandma's version. I personally like the smaller circle better.

There are many Amish Dahlia quilts sold at Amish Country Lanes.

Here is another example, this time being called Missouri Daisy or Dahlia

And here

We took the top back over to the church this morning and used several tables to lay it out and trim it.

My helper......................

I haven't re-measured, but I think it's about 100" square

Lots of day lilies blooming right now in our yard...

Now on to binding.

Excited

What a fun way to start a new month and the second half of the year!

Night before last I actually finished a Dutch Treat block. When I opened my spreadsheet to record it I was shocked to see the last one I made was April 10! I knew it had been awhile, but I sure didn't think it had been that long! This one is called Phazer and now I have 36 more to go.

So I figured I'd get back in the groove with both the Dutch Treat and Dear Jane blocks and get both of them finished, plus continue working on my "Flowers For........." quilt.

But I decided to go over to our church yesterday and help the ladies who have been quilting my Amish Dahlia. I knew it would probably be the last day they would work on it before Bonnie (the "ringleader") leaves on vacation. I was also hoping they might even finish it.

If you've been reading you might remember I marked this quilt for them last November. They actually started quilting on it in January. It's a big quilt and a has a lot of quilting in it.

One of the ladies had to leave early before I took this picture. Here they are on the last row in the center of the quilt, as they roll from both ends. This is Bonnie, Mardell and Irene..my sweethearts. They do such a fabulous job! And Irene is 95 years young!! She's made a quilt or two............................ And she's had so much fun kidding me about going a little crazy with all the motifs. She says they could have quilted at least two quilts in the time they've spent on this one. I think she is right.

We quilted from about 9 until 1:30, stopping briefly for lunch. At that point there was maybe a total of 12" of motifs left unquilted so I decided to bring it home and finish it myself. And I did! Wow...it's finally all quilted. I am so happy. Now to get it trimmed and binding sewn on the front by machine today. Then it will probably take me at least 2 days of hand sewing it on the back.

I can't wait to get it washed and the blue markings removed.

It looks so pretty on the back. I normally used printed backs, but this one wanted a plain backing.



When it's completely done I promised you the story behind the quilt. Soon now...........

Progress On the Dahlia

Yesterday at church I couldn't resist peeking in the storage room to see how the ladies are coming quilting my Amish Dahlia. Since they roll from both ends the middle rows are the last to be quilted. You can see they don't have a lot left to do. On the other hand each row has enough quilting in it that a row isn't completed in one session.


I can't wait!

Working on the Dahlia

Tom had his last eye appointment on his (corrected) left eye this morning. He'll have the cataract removed on his right eye Thursday. When his appointment was over we stopped by our church for a bit and I joined the ladies who are working on my Amish Dahlia quilt. I'm definitely a machine quilter..not a hand quilter.. and especially not a hand quilter using a frame. I do okay if I can have the fabric free and manipulate it with the thumb of my left hand. I don't do as well when my left hand has to remain under the quilt.

The ladies were kind and tried to reassure me that my stitches are just fine. But I think they could be a whole lot better!

Tom took lots of pictures...

These are the hands of a 95 year old quilter. Irene is having fun giving me a hard time about what she says is way more quilting design than necessary. But then she agrees the quilt is going to be awesome when it's done.

I just know it's a good thing it's not up to me alone to get this quilted...or it might never happen.

Quilting The Amish Dahlia

Tom and I had several errands to run today and while we were out and about we stopped at our church. It turned out that the ladies were working on my Amish Dahlia quilt.

They have just really gotten started, and it will take a long time as there is a lot of quilting to be done. As one of the ladies, who happens to have just turned 95, told me..." I think you kind of out did yourself marking some of this". She thinks it would have been just fine with less quilting! You can check out the link above to the post where you can see the marking up close.

Long time to quilt or not..it's going to be awesome I think!

I apologize for the out of focus pics. I didn't have my camera with me and took these on my cell phone.

One of these days I'm going to go sit with them and try to do a little quilting myself.

I Don't Enjoy Marking

I have done the quilting on all of my quilts except one. Since I hand pieced that one I had it hand quilted by my friend, Elaine. But normally I do my own quilting on my Juki (not on a frame).

My Amish Dahlia top is very special to me. I'll tell the story of how it came to be and what it represents another day. For now I'll just say that since the dahlias are hand pieced (the background pieces were set in by machine and the blocks joined by machine) I want it hand quilted also. I don't hand quilt, aside from a couple of small pieces. So I've asked the ladies at our church to quilt it for me.

That means it has to be marked, something else I'm not used to doing...I usually quilt free motion without marking. This is a slow and back breaking process..makes me glad I don't have to do it often. I did a good chunk yesterday and have to finish it today so I can take it with me to church tomorrow.

I'm using a stencil for the flowers and free-handing vines and leaves. Other dahlias and inner petals will be outline quilted. Don't you just love the old fabrics? Many have special memories for me.

What do you think?