Because I needed another hobby like I needed another hole in my head.

Normally I blog about my own quilting and I'll get back to that with the next post, I'm sure (or maybe it'll just be cute pictures of my kid, but how can you blame me?). This time, however, I'd like to talk a bit about the kind of quilting that inspired me. My mother has always had her grandmother's quilts displayed and used in her house. the bottom of each of the guest beds has a quilt across it and the rest are on this wooden quilt rack. I'd like to show you bits of my favorite. It's hte one across the bottom of my bed when I sleep there and I like to think of it as generations past keeping me warm at night.

It's this one, a hexie flower patch. Each of the flowers has a patterened outer circle, a solid middle circle, and the same color center piece for each flower. I love the color choices. They don't "match" but they "go", y'know?

The most amazing thing about it, and the thing I hope you can see in this yellow one, is that not only are the flowers hand-pieced hexies, but so are all the white pieces. Thousands of them. Every single one of them has been hand pieced together and then hand quilted in a 1/4" echo quilting stitch around the center. The amount of work that went into it just amazes me.

Another block showing the quilting detail:

So, how do we do at our reproduction prints? How do those whimsical prints look next to the fabrics they're trying to mimic? You tell me:


Circus elephants playing ball? Check.

Also fabulous florals with background checks and other fantastic motifs. I feel like our repros are understated if anything. The fabrics from this quilt are late 30's through late 40's so they cover quite a range but if the colors still look like this after thousands of washes imagine how they must have gone POP when first made.


There's a terrific Sunbonnet Sue hanging on that rack as well but we'll leave that for another time. For now I'll leave you with the fantastic blanket stitched applique from my other favorite of my great-grandmother's quilts: