Monthly Archives: May 2011

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Pineapples: Centerpieces, Architecture, Art, Quilts

Saturday was pineapple day. If you remember my post in April about pineapples http://timquilts.wordpress.com/2011/04/01/pineapple-flowers-and-fabric/ I made a floral design using a pineapple.  That arrangement led to a request for a similar arrangement for a wedding reception as well as table centerpieces.  The pineapple theme was appropriate because the Bride and Groom were married on a Caribbean cruise.  Here is the centerpiece for the Buffet table

In addition to the ornamental pineapple I used Bird of Paradise, Giant Allium, Gerbera, Ti Leaves, Pittosporum foliage,  minitaure Cymbidium Orchids, and Statice.

The centerpieces for the tables were made in pineapples.  I hollowed out the pineapples, used a plastic cup inside, and re-attached the pineapple top with wooden stakes into the floral foam.

I used Gerbera, Allium, Aster, Statice, Mums (green)

I trust all went well for the newlyweds!  It was an outdoor event and the Michigan weather wasn’t the best, but the rain held off most of the day.

A day of working with fresh pineapples made me think about pineapples as art and architecture, and the history of pineapples.

Pineapples scientific name is Ananas comosus.  The first European encounter with the pineapple happened in 1493 when Columbus was on his second voyage to the Caribbean. This tropical fruit was called pineapple (term first recorded in that sense in 1664 because of their resemblance to what is now known as the pine cone).

Despite continued attempts to grow pineapples in hothouses, it was nearly 2 centuries before they were successful, thus into the 1600′s the pineapple remained such an uncommon and coveted commodity that King  Charles II of England posed for an official portrait in the act of receiving the first cultivated pineapple as a gift.

The pineapple became a symbol of hospitality and friendship.  It is no wonder that the symbol became a popular motif in art and architecture

here it is used over a doorway as a symbol of welcome.

The Pineapple is one of Scotland’s most famous follies.  It is a huge stone replica of the fruit, beautifully carved to reproduce all the features of the real thing.  It sits on top of a garden pavilion erected in 1761 by John Murray the 4th Earl of Dunmore, and stands some 45 feet above ground level on the south slope and 37 feet on the north.  The pineapple part was probably added around 1777 when the Earl returned to Scotland after serving as Governor of the colonies of New York and Virginia.  On the east coast of the American colonies the pineapple was a symbol of welcome and often the planters from the West Indies, who had big mansions in New York and New England, would place a real pineapple on their gate post as a sign that they were home and ready to receive visitors. Murray returned to the Americas after the War of Independence as Governor of the Bahamas where pineapples were a major product.  It is just possible that the stone Pineapple was erected during or after his time there which would place it in the late 1780s or early 90s. 

Pineapples show up in other art forms.  here is a majolica pitcher

and a vintage apron and tea cozy pattern from 1944

and a more “modern” building

I recently purchase someones UFO quilt.  It is a pattern for a pineapple applique quilt and all the fabric needed.  I’m not sure about it, such bright fabric and an antique pattern? I think It can work.

Here is a close up of an antique block with echo quilting, in a very similar pattern.

and a beautiful whole cloth quilt

and another full applique quilt

and another

and here is a beautiful quilt currently listed on eBay

I am adding the pineapple quilt to my list of must do quilts.  I will post updates when I start.

Have a great Holiday weekend!

and Happy quilting

Tim

 

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Double wedding ring quilt

My first vintage quilt

(click pictures for enlargements)

This is the quilt that sparked my interest in antique and vintage quilts.  I purchase the quilt top at a flea market in Iowa.  It was extremely dirty and everyone thought I was nuts for wanting it, but I thought I could “save” it.

It took a good long soaking and plenty of oxi-clean but it cleaned up pretty well.  A few spots didn’t come out but overall not to bad.

At the time I didn’t know much about fabric dating so didn’t have any idea how old it was, but it sure looked old.

I often see wedding ring quilts for sale on eBay (it really is a very common pattern) but some sellers represent them as being older than they are.  The pattern didn’t exist before the 20′s

Heres is a great article on the history of the pattern http://hartcottagequilts.com/his7.htm#DWR

I had an appraisal done on the quilt by an AQS appraiser and it was dated to the 30′s

I hand quilted mostly following the piecing.  In the white sections I just made up a pattern….I used masking take to get the lines straight ( I had yet to discover makring pens)

I used white muslin for backing fabric

here is a close up of the quilting

I used Hobbs cotton batting and washed the quilt when I was done.  I love the puckers that are caused by the shrinkage.  To me it makes it look like an antique should

I eventually sold the quilt on eBay.  I don’t know why, but I get almost as much enjoyment selling a quilt as I do making it.

I do have several more tops in the wedding ring pattern waiting in line to be quilted.  They are a bit more unique than the first one.

This one (above) is made from mostly shirting fabrics

The mustard yellow is different in this one and the piecing is unique, each melon segment is done in only2 fabrics and the pieces are very narrow.  Unfortunately this one has been washed by someone so it will need a lot of trimming to remove all the frayed threads, as well as some mending to fix a few open seams.

Ann Champion has a very similar quilt top done with different colors, lots of red.  Its a great post see it here on her blog http://annchampion.com/?p=45

This one was once quilted with a blanket for batting and some very ugly backing fabric folded over to the front and squaring off the edges. There were a few rows of machine quilting to hold it all together. I was very happy to take it apart and find it all intact.

This one is missing a few of the green segments around the edges. I’m not sure I will be able to find a matching fabric.  perhaps It will need to be made into a smaller quilt.

I have a lot more plans than time so it might be a while!

Happy quilting!!

Tim

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“The Iris” applique quilt

The Bearded Iris in my garden are just about to bloom.  These Iris were a gift from a neighbor who got them from her grandmothers farm.  I have no Idea what variety they are or how old, but they bloom beautifully.  Here is a picture from last year

My “quilt head” friend Kristen in NY sent me a few pictures of her collection of Iris that are blooming now

All the Iris blooms made me think of an Iris Applique quilt kit that I have been itching to start.

This Kit was made by Tobin Home Crafts.  In 2005 Design Works acquired Tobin Home Crafts, and still produces the kits.  This pattern has been around for quite some time.  A vintage kit just sold on eBay for $249

Here is another one from a recent auction

These kits were made by the “Progress” Co.  I have to assume that at some point Tobin bought out the patterns because it is the same pattern.  My Kit is not 100% cotton as the older ones were but the 50/50 should wear well.

Here is a look inside the kit to show all the parts you get

I have not done much applique in the past but I think the kit is a good way to get started.  I have a peachy pink backing fabric to use that I think will go well with the Iris appliques.

I looked up the pattern in the quilt index and here are a few examples.

I think I would also like to make one of these using a dark fabric for the background, perhaps a dark purple or even black.  I plan to copy all the applique pieces before I use them so I can reproduce the pattern.

I will post  pictures of the progress once I get started.

Happy quilting !  and happy spring!!

Here are the instructions that came with the quilt kit

(  click iris instructions for PDF file)

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Sunday Update…..Pickles and Falcons

It has been raining for 3 days here in Lansing so I have had some time to work on my quilting…..remember the pickle dish variation I have been working on from the antique blocks….see the post on April 11  http://timquilts.wordpress.com/2011/04/11/progress-ufo-update/

I have the center all hand quilted

Notice the pile of works in progress behind the quilt….I need more than 2 hands!

I was unsure what to do with the border quilting but decided to continue the quilting pattern that I did in the main part of the quilt onto the border (as always click on the picture for enlargement)

I have 3 sides to go and then I can bind it.

Today the Peregrine Falcon has become a mother….2 hatchlings so far

feeding time for the new ones…..dad is watching from the upper left corner of the picture.

see the post http://timquilts.wordpress.com/2011/04/04/peregrine-falcons-web-cam- for the beginning of the season Falcon progress.

Happy Quilting!

Tim

Update 5/21

Still one unhatched egg….not sure this one will hatch

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For the Birds….Blue Birds

Since the weather has warmed up (82 here today) My bird feeder has gotten a lot of activity.  This year more variety of birds than in the past.  Yesterday There was a very beautiful Indigo Bunting.  The  quilt above (from the Quilt Index)Is similar to the bird on my feeder.  Is this another quilt I need to make?

If only the birds would sit still and pose for me!  But here are a few other birds

That Woodpecker photo above is not upside down.  I hang the suet feeder that way.  I leave the plastic on the suet and put the open side down, this discourages the birds that I don’t want to feed (starlings, cowbirds, english sparrows, grackles) and allows the birds I want (woodpeckers, nuthatches, chickadees, titmice) to eat away.  They aren’t afraid to hang upside down.

I could not get the Cardinals, Bluejays or Rose-brested Grosbeaks to pose for me, but I keep trying.

I like to have pictures because one of my hobbies is painting. I love to paint birds.  Here are a few watercolor examples.

I don’t think I need to start another bird quilt yet, I do have a vintage top that is on my list to finish.

I don’t know anything about the history of this top, and I have not seen the pattern before.  But it looks like today is a day for blue birds.

April 14th update

I found a pattern on eBay for another bird quilt (have not purchased it yet) I love the simple pattern

And Beth Donaldson has a great free bird pattern on her blog here http://bethdonaldson.blogspot.com/p/free-quilt-patterns.html

Happy Quilting

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Signature Blocks

I got a new addition to my growing supply of projects to be finished a few days ago.  20 blocks from an eBay auction

All but one have embroidered signatures.  when I make the blocks into a quilt I will add my signature to the blank block.

here are a few of the signatures

I find signature quilts fascinating.  I look at the names and wonder about the people who made the blocks; what was the occasion?  who was it for? why did it never get finished? So many unanswered questions.

My favorite quilt historian, Karen Alexander, (see her blog at http://www.karenquilt.blogspot.com/) has been working on The Signature Quilt Project.  Fascinating work! http://www.quiltindex.org/sqpessay.php.  I don’t have the patience for that kind of research, but sure admire those that do.

A few years back I purchased a signature quilt top from Oklahoma.  It was made in 1935 in Dewright.

It was in very bad shape!  It clearly had not been stored safely as there were mouse eaten areas in 4 blocks (right on the fold and through 4 layers) and it was filthy!  I was also confronted with the problem that it was so far from flat that it could not be quilted.  I had to separate the top into individual blocks, soak them and then press flat.  What I found is that the blocks were not all the same size.  Since each block was made by a different person each one had a different idea of how to do it.  I assume they all had the same pattern to work from, and about 1/2 of the women traced the pattern, cut it out on the lines and sewed it together (2 had a sewing machine).  The other 1/2 of the women traced the pattern and cut it out adding seam allowances, making for a much larger block. Over an inch larger in some cases.

Whoever assembled the blocks had the challenge of easing all the big blocks into the small ones and matching all the points.  I don’t know how she did it but she did, the only problem was that it became a puffy wavy mess (perhaps that is why it was never finished)

I trimmed all the blocks to the same size, and assembled again….I could not match the points, but it was now flat and quiltable.

click the picture to enlarge and you will see that the blocks don’t match up, but i put them back together in the same order as the original.

The mouse holes were repaired by pressing the remaining fabric flat and then fusing a piece of muslin on the back.  see if you can tell on this block.

(look at bottom half , in the center, below the signature square)

After all the cleaning and repair and re-assembly I decided to add a border.  I had a jelly roll of fabric in the “Hello Betty” line from Moda which seemed like it would work, so sewed the strips together and cut them to make the border

I had a hard time figuring out what to do with the corners but ended up mitering them.

The quilting was all done by hand. I think it always shows better on the back

I used Hobbs 80/20 cotton batting and Coats cotton quilting thread.  I keep thinking that I should record the amount of time it takes to finish a project, but so far I have not been that organized.  It took a long time but was great fun to “save” this quilt.

Karen Alexander was kind enough to do a preliminary search to find out about the city Dewright Oklahoma.  It is in Seminole county, named after Dewey Right, the first postmaster.  I fully intended to follow-up with research to find out about the people who made the quilt, However I started another, and another, and another quilt and the research thought was gone.  Perhaps its time to start again.  Here are a few of the signatures from the quilt.

I think every quilt tells a story, we just donet always know how to read them.

Happy Quilting

Tim