Monday, September 20, 2010

Home again, Home again, Jiggety Jig....

I'm back from a whirlwind trip!! My brain is not really functioning very good this morning. Hubby and I took the red eye out of Portland to Philadelphia on Wednesday night, arrived Thursday morning, got our car and headed to Gettysburg by way of Hayloft Fabric, Sauders and Burkholders. The museum at Gettysburg was awesome as was the town. The next day we saw the cemetery that President Lincoln gave his two minute address and did a little shopping. Then it was off to downtown Philadelphia. We did the walking tour and basically flopped into bed a little after dark! The next day I met my friend Jill, Susan and Barb at the Pennsylvania Quilt Show. After that we did a little tour of Valley Forge and saw a little of the suburbs. We didn't fly out until the next afternoon so we went to a Towne Fair in Media, PA then a stop at Fort Mifflin which is very close to the airport. We got home about midnight last night. Every night we pretty much flopped into bed exhausted!! Fun but tiring.


I thought I'd keep it simple for my brain today and show you this charming quilt top I picked up at an antique store in Bird in Hand. It was a steal I couldn't pass up!!


A simple 4 patch. The fabric is in really good condition. The majority of the quilt is sewn by machine but one seam in almost every 4 patch is done by hand. It is put together like a strippy with that wonderful bright double pink.
Oops, that strip was too long.... I love how the maker cut it right off!
I would say most of the quilt top is from 1880's-1900's.


I do believe the turkey red is older than that. The dyes they used then tended to disintegrate, but this is in fine condition. My plan at this point is to remove the border and give the top a bit of a soak. Despite the wrinkles and folds it is pieced pretty well.

The girls thought it was funny that I collected acorns to bring home. I live in the high desert and there are no acorns near me! I thought they were so cute!! Does anyone know if they will dry out? Or will they just rot? I'd like to keep them if it is possible.
I'm glad to be home. I'm sure it will take me all week to get caught up, so bear with me.





39 comments:

  1. Neat quilt top. Glad your home safe. Sometimes I think the best part of a trip is getting home.

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  2. It sounds like you had a great trip! What an interesting find - it will be fun to see this project progress! I like your acorns too - we don't get them up here either so I have no idea what happens to them - I hope they'll keep for you. They're perfect for fall decorating.

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  3. Lori, I live only 45 minutes from Philadelphia. We are fortunate to have so many wonderful historic places to visit. I went to the show on Thursday and had a great time. By the way, I have a yard full of acorns.

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  4. glad you're home safe and sound - it was so great to meet up with you at the show.
    I love your top - that double pink with the red it a hoot and a half.
    great four patches

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  5. In Hawaii, the way they 'dry' the kukui nuts is to drill a hole in them and then put them where ants can get into them and clean them out. It takes a while, but if you are patient...

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  6. I saw Barb's post that you had meet up. Wow that was a whirlwind tour. That quilt top is very nice, Will you quilt it or keep it just as it is?
    DH and I did the trip to Lancaster county and Gettysburg 8 years ago. Nice fond memories I have of that trip.

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  7. What a find this top was! Hope it will wash fine too.
    I am not sure about the acorns, I think it depend on how humid it is in your area. I remember having a box full of chestnuts in my bedroom and after a few months the maggots crawled out of it... But we have other things from the woods that stayed fine for ages, like huge cones. Maybe some drying in the oven might help?

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  8. Great find! I live in a low desert and love to have things like acorns and seashells around!

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  9. Sounds like a wonderful trip. I really enjoyed Gettysburg, too. Congrats on your new find!

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  10. I would suggest that you put those acorns in a ziploc bag in the freezer for several days to kill all the nasty little bugs that live inside. Otherwise, they'll emerge when you least expect it and it's kinda gross! Sounds like you had a great trip!

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  11. Your new quilt top is fabulous! I love that particular red print on the border - it features in an old quilt that was my very first antique quilt purchase. The "just make it fit" attitude is fun to see!! Not many of us are game enough to do that now.

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  12. Gayle is right - don't leave the acorns laying around the house or you will have a not fun surprise. I didn't know freezing would take care of the worms inside, but it makes sense.

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  13. What a great trip you've had and what a find with the quilt top. The fabrics look very pristine and who would have thought to put pink and orange together.
    Have you seen the wee pincushions made out of the acorn tops with a felted ball in them?

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  14. What a fun trip! I have a couple of big oak trees and I collect the acorns to fill a bowl for fall decor. They seem to hold up well for several years but eventually the little hat part falls off the seed as it dry out. Don't store them in a plastic bag, they will mildew. Just keep them in a paper bag. I'd be happy to send you a fresh supply next year!! Those little buggers sprout everywhere the dang squirrels bury them at my place.

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  15. Around here, even freezing wouldn't keep the worms from showing up from the acorns. Sorry. I've never heard of a way to keep them without ick.

    L~

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  16. Welcome home! Diggin' the fabrics in that quilt. Placement of strips is interesting to me. Fun how the quiltmaker just said "hey, I'll slice it." We could all learn a thing or two from that approach I reckon. I'm still in the 101 class. Hope you had some good rest and I my eyes are tired (stupid story) so I'm reading fast (stupid again) and read "saw a little of the suburbs." as "saw a little of the shrubburbs" which made me giggle.

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  17. Love that top. I think the sides chopped off give it so much character. I wish I could be so free and easy with my projects!

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  18. great quilt...wow love the red border with the double pink ok that quiltmaker had a sense of humor!
    so sorry I missed you on Saturday, next time for sure!
    what a great tour you had of Pa...
    a little bit of all it has to offer sounds like
    Kathie

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  19. That's funny, I keep acorns all the time and have never had worms. However in case, I agree with the oven theory. I would put them in a hot oven for a bit to kill anything inside and them keep them in a pretty bowl. I wouldn't bother with the freezer. I live in Michigan and it gets awful cold here and if there are worms, they are well hidden until spring. I doubt that a freezer would work. I love the quilt.

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  20. I love how the Penn turn of the century quilts combine pinks, reds, yellows, blacks and blues with such abandon! (You may want to test a corner of that red border fabric before washing...I had a similar one and the black/gray dots almost completely washed out...)

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  21. Sounds like such a fun trip. I love your quilt top. It's so interesting to study an older piece and speculate about the maker's design choices.

    The acorns remind me of the time when my dad found some giant ones. He snipped off some of my hair and put it on an acorn and painted a face on it. (It didn't take much to entertain me at that age!)

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  22. I don't know the answer to your acorn question but I can understand you bringing them home. Sounds like you had a wonderful trip.

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  23. Oh, MY! I am literally 10 minutes from the Oaks venue!!!!! (Oaks is part of our school district) Too bad, my friends and I could have met up with you. We also go to the shops in Lancaster Co that you went to. It's almost a biweekly trip for us...we are so close.

    I'm sure I read this somewhere...but Portland, MAINE?? Our son lives in Western Maine. The other in VT.

    THe wonderful world of quilting and blogging sure makes this a small world. We sure had a beautiful weekend for you, didn't we? haha

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  24. To avoid anything living making its way out of your lovely stash of acorns, paint them with clear nail polish or maybe polyurethane spray would work too. Good luck and thanks for sharing!

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  25. I like the title of your post :) Glad you had a good trip.

    Love that antique quilt. Simple and oh so effective!

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  26. I know how you feel, I got back from 2 trips and I'm exhausted. Love the little quilt.

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  27. Great quilt top! At Sentimental Stitches website, Gay is covering her acorns with fabric. Go over and take a look! Glad you had a nice trip. Joyce

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  28. I love the "home again, home again.." saying--my mom always used to say that. And I LOVE acorns. I think they'll keep for a pretty long time.

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  29. What a great trip. I wish I could have gone to the show and met up with you. What fun!

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  30. What a fun trip! It is nice to be home though I'm sure.

    Very sweet little quilt top that you found.

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  31. Lori - your trip sounded incredible
    - you really know how to squeeze in every little bit of fun! I use the oven method for preserving woodland finds like acorns. Cover a cookie sheet with alum. foil, bakein a slow (200) oven for at least 1hr. This will kill any critters and dry out any moisture so you won't have any mildew problems. Caps may fall off as you dry but you can just glue them back on. I've used this method for over 20yrs and never had a problem! Enjoy!

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  32. I collect acorns too wherever I go. They will dry out .. but some of my nuts shrunk ... I think it depends on which kind. Often the cap and nut will separate but I just glue them back together and they look like new :) Enjoy!

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  33. What a fun trip! Interesting stops for both of you.
    I love the quilt top you bought. Isn't it funny how the maker just lopped off the end?
    I have acorns by the tons here. Last year I decided to gather some to put out for the squirrels later in the year. My neighbor told me to freeze them or they'd get wormy. I did..they didn't. Baking sounds like a good idea too? :)

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  34. I really like the red and pink in the quilt too. What freedom the maker had to just trim it down!

    Acorns? I don't know but I think I'd try the oven method just in case. Sure wouldn't want to find bugs or worms later.

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  35. Bellissima la trapunta che hai trovato!
    Un saluto dall'Italia
    Ciao Domenica

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  36. How fun that you packed so much into one trip. Just love the quilt that you rescued. Glad it found you! I'm mailing your seeds tomorrow.

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  37. Lori, I made that trip last fall and loved it! I recognized the cornfield by Sauders immediately! Save those acorns. Dry them to make sure there are no worms. I saw a pack like that at Pottery Barn for about $12--no lie!

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  38. What a lucky find! I love the old prints in that top -- especially the double pink which I guess is my favorite antique fabric. I can't believe she cut off the ends of those blocks -- if you would like some replacement antique fabric for those patches, please let me know and I'll put some scraps in the mail.

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