Friday, September 6, 2019

Reruns Lecture, Antique Quilts and Outings

I had a whirlwind trip to Washington state to present my lecture, Reruns; Quilts Inspired by the Past. 
I had checked out my map earlier to see what was on the way to my SIL's that I could stop and get a bit of exercise. 

I ended up about 15 minutes away from where I was staying. I stopped at the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. Of course, the middle of the day, at 85 degrees,  isn't the best time to see wildlife, but there was a nice breeze blowing off the Puget Sound. This was an estuary where the fresh water creeks meet the salty sound. 

 The tide was out and I brought my binoculars and saw blue heron, bald eagles, and salmon. It was right off the freeway and worth the stop if you are ever in the area. Be forewarned, it is a 4 mile out and back to the end of the boardwalk overlooking the Puget Sound.
  This was more of the refuge off the water. 
The next morning I got in a quick urban run before heading to Gig Harbor for lunch and my first lecture. It looks nice and cool but it was warm and humid at 8AM!

I asked guild members to bring antique/ vintage quilts to share and we had a lot! So much fun for them to be able to share these lovely quilts with others! (and me!) It goes right along with the lecture.
I loved this setting and had never seen anything like it. It was beautiful!


 I give a guesstimate on the age of the quilt and assure them I'm not an appraiser or a certified expert.
The quilt above, the quilt below were the oldest ones. Look at the quilting!
Look at this amazing border!!

The quilt was enormous! Also an indicator of age. 
The solide color blocks had corners on them that once made the snowball block. I'm not quite sure why we cannot see any color. 

 This was very sweet. The blocks were found in the woman's MIL's house so she set them into this charming quilt.
This courthouse steps block had lots of 40's prints. I'm not sure what to think of the lime sashing- other than I love it!

 My favorite. A man brought this in and said he got it from his grandmother's estate. They lived very primitively in Tennessee and were tobacco farmers. He remembers they used an outhouse for a long time and didn't have electricity until the mid- 50's. (please correct me if I have the story wrong!) I'm trying to wrap my head around where she would have gotten all that cheddar..... AND
 The backing is this lovely print. I suggested maybe she traded work for fabric. His cousins (or siblings) have 2 more quilts and he is anxious to see them- I'd love to see them too!!
These may have been 4" blocks. There is quite a variety of prints and the large fan stitching looks very primitive compared to the blocks. 
If quilts could talk.......

Then I was off to Port Orchard. I had a little time so went to the harbor and had a snack. 


 How beautiful is this??
 Right across the inlet is the Puget Sound Navy ship yard in Bremerton. 
Here is the lovely group who assembled in Port Orchard!! 

Thank you all for your warm welcome and kind comments!!

18 comments:

  1. Antique Quilts galore on my Blog roll today from you and Bonnie. Thanks for sharing. That is a lot of Cheddar. Bonnie would love it. My favorite is the 2nd and 3rd pictures. Thanks for the close-up on the Quilting.

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  2. Thanks for sharing. I love the walk way. Hugs

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  3. That zig zag yellow sashing is stunning! WOW.

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  4. Amazing quilts glad you shared them with us. The cheddar is wonderful. Electricity story caused my memory gates to open. Cousins on the family homestead in north western Minnesota got electricity in the mid 1970’s, yes 7-0. When the new house was built and the old (including the original log cabin) ca. 1880 was tore done. Cousins still Iive on the property.

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  5. That refuge was something! I'd go there every day. It is truly a refuge. Lovely quilts. I liked that cheddar star one best.

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  6. OH drool, drool. They are lovely. I am so drawn to those oldies. You are a lucky duck indeed. Do you know the name of the pattern (block) of that second quilt? (The one with the stunning quilting!)

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  7. I can't help but wonder if the tobacco farmers lived close enough to one or more of the fabric mills in that region to have been able to score the yardage of cheddar and the lovely print on the back. Or maybe had family that did? In any case, those are some pretty amazing quilts.

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  8. What a fun trip! So happy you are able to share your love of quilts.

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  9. You found some lovely places to get in your steps.
    I appreciate the peeks at some of the vintage quilts that were shared. Always fascinating.

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  10. I love how you use the groups antique quilts to be part of your rerun lecture. It's a beautiful way for everyone to learn more and see how unique every quilt is. Simple love all that cheddar

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  11. oh my gosh what beautiful quilts and scenery! I love the sound...owned property in Sequim on the bluff...kick myself for selling it! errr!!! :)

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  12. The print color on the snow-ball blocks was likely what is called fugitive... faded out due to sun or washing and wasn't color fast. Too bad. Thank you so much for sharing these lovelies!

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  13. If quilts could talk, yes! What a great cheddar quilt with a great background story, and some mystery too.

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  14. Love that you make time to workout when you're on the lecture route :) Such beautiful scenery and that boardwalk looks amazing. Always enjoy seeing antique quilts and that nine-patch with the wonderful border spoke to me :)

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  15. That cheddar quilt just sings!! And the intensity of the handquilting on the second quilt is incredible.

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  16. The cheddar quilt and the backing.... We're so careful to coordinate the fronts and backs of quilts these days -- what abundance we have! I love this quilter's make beautiful and make-do attitude. And I especially love the backing fabric. Wish it were available today.

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  17. Oh those quilts! I love them all - it looks like a great place too!

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