Snow Quilts

My Aunt sent me this e-mail. Even though it is cut off to the right, there is enough for you to enjoy it. I thought it was so cool. Literally!
Man Walks All Day to Create Snow Quilts

Rose Wreath Pattern

 The Rose Wreath pattern has been around for a long time. The pattern was embroidered onto the fabric square and then the squares were sown together to make the quilt. Then the quilting began. These quilts take a lot of time as most of the squares have detailed embroidery with different colors, which means changing the thread often.

The Rose Wreath pattern has a secret and somber meaning. During the days of the Underground Railroad, it usually meant that someone had passed

away during the journey to freedom. It was an African tradition to lay a wreath on the grave of the deceased.

My grandmother made this quilt when she was 13. I remember her saying it was the first quilt she made after her mother passed away, leaving her, the oldest, to look after her father and two siblings. I find it interesting she chose the Rose Wreath pattern. She always treasured this quilt and said it reminded her of her mother. I am sure it helped her work through her grief as a teenager. I am always amazed at the intricate quilting patterns in this quilt. You can really see how much quilting was done in the close up pattern. The designs on the border, and the saw tooth edging are all signs of the great love and care that went into this quilt. This is one of my most prized posessions. This quilt was made in 1930.

Easy Quilt Patterns

Easy quilts for beginners | View mobile version. Can't see images? View online. Add enews@Clotilde.com to your address book.

Easy quilts for beginners! Star Struck Quilt Pattern Afternoon Delight Quilt Pattern Square It Up! Quilt Pattern Twisted Nines Quilt Pattern

Your privacy matters to us. Terms of Use | Privacy/Security This message was sent to dkconnelly@kc.rr.com because you are a subscriber to the Clotilde's Daily Features newsletter. If you would no longer like to receive future editions of this newsletter, you can unsubscribe by clicking here. Update your newsletter settings here. Click here to change your subscription from HTML to Text. Mailing address: Clotilde, 306 East Parr Road, Berne, IN 46711 © Copyright 2012 DRG. All rights reserved.

A Preppy Quilt

I am going to talk about the Bow Tie quilt. In slave times, it was a symbol that told the people on the Underground Railroad to travel in disguise or to change from the clothing of a slave to those of a person of higher status.
This quilt pattern is near and dear to me as I have an old quilt made by my Great Aunts probably back in the 1930's. My mom loves this quilt because she says it was made from the scraps of the old dresses that my Great-Aunts would make for themselves out of feed sack material. The quilt now reminds her of her "tantes" (Aunt in German) and her childhood. The quilt is pretty tattered around the edges and some of the material has worn away. It is beyond repairing. I initially was going to cut this quilt up and make teddy bears from it but I just could not bring myself to do it. My Great-Aunts lived well into their 90's and I remember them too. So it is on display on my quilt rack and it doesn't look so tattered all folded up.

I made a bow tie patterned table runner one time. It was fun to piece it all together. I liked how the patterned material looks like a bow tie and the plain squares have rounded edges. There are many cool ways to turn the squares to make unique patterns.

Delightful Surprise

You can imagine my surprise and delight when I spontaneously stopped at a church that was having a quilt show and saw this wall hanging that portrayed the story and mission of Children's Mercy Hosptial. It wasn't for sale, darn it! I thought it was quite a piece and told a great story.

I have blogged a lot of information about quilts but nothing on how to make one. Since I learned from my Grandmother, I don't know that I could really give anyone instructions. I just watched her and learned, and learned a lot by my own trial and error. Sometimes it was mostly errors! There are some great websites and books out there. Two of my favorite websites are www.fonsandporter.com and www.coltide.com  . The Fons and Porter website has free patterns and archives of their PBS television show "Love of Quilting" that shows how do make different quilting projects. The Coltide website has free patterns too and they sell a variety of how-to books.

I wouldn't be Momma D if I didn't brag about my daughter Kathryn. She won 2 gold medals and 1 bronze medal in Special Olympics swim event this weekend. I am not sure how to incorporate these into a quilt!

A non-traditional quilt

This is a quilt I made for my son when he graduated from high school in 2010. My mom helped me make it too, as it was quite an undertaking. I had saved many of his T-shirts from various activities and vacations and things he participated in. I had more than enough to make a T-shirt quilt for him. Each square represents something from his life- a trip to Chicago, Boy Scout Camp, a band trip to NYC, band camp shirts, a shirt from Colorado from a family vacation, and even a shirt from his orthodontist that said, "got braces?" He wasn't too happy I added that one. He loved the quilt and it went to college with him. It had a flannel backing which gave me peace of mind he would stay warm no matter how drafty the dorm room was. It was a fun quilt to make, and it is full of memories.

Sean's T-Shirt Quilt

The Double Wedding Ring Pattern

The next quilt I will write about is the Double Wedding Ring quilt pattern. This pattern is not an old pattern and is not believed to have existed until after the Civil War. It is a rounded off version of the Double Irish Chain quilt and symbolizes unity. The Underground Railroad meaning of this pattern symbolized the chains of slavery. When a slave saw this pattern, it meant the rings or shackles of slavery could be removed.

I have a double wedding ring quilt that I bought from my sister-in-law's great grandmother. I had it in a quilt holder on display but my brat rat terrier decided he liked to chew a corner and pull it out of the holder and lay on it. I could not blame him for that but he did do some time in his kennel for the chewing. It is now displayed on a quilt rack, facing the wall where no critters can chew on it!

Peanut says, "Who, me??"

Log Cabin Pattern

Today I am going to write about my favorite quilt pattern of all time: The log cabin pattern. It symbolizes shelter and safety. Slaves trying to make their way North could rely on the pattern as a symbol that a person is safe to speak with or that the house nearby was a safe house along the Underground Railroad. Sometimes they would draw the pattern in the dirt to symbolize shelter and safety.



Below is a picture of a wall hanging I made my Grandma Meyer, who taught me to quilt. She was gracious enough to hang it above her and my Grandfather's bed. She pinned my name to it so that someday I would get it back. It now lives in my craft room and I think of my Grandparents, who always made me feel sheltered and safe.

Backstitches of Time

Backstitches of Time: The Secrets of the Quilt

               

I love quilts. I love to make quilts, and I love the geometric patterns and the feel of the fabrics. I grew up around quilts and my Grandma Meyer taught me how to quilt. Through her, I learned that patience and faith has a lot to do with how things turn out, and that sometimes you can make the best things out of the scraps that life hands you. I also learned that every hand made quilt has a story. Patterns are carefully chosen, colors and prints can hold memories or celebrate new family members, and it always bring warmth and comfort to the person who receives it. I am writing this blog as a class assignment, and I hope you find the meanings of some of the quilt patterns as interesting as I do.

  Fabric patterns have told stories throughout the centuries. Perhaps one of the earliest stories of a fabric pattern was from The Holy Bible, when Moses was found by Pharaoh’s daughter floating near some reeds in The Nile River. His swaddling cloth was that of a Hebrew pattern. Pharaoh’s daughter hid his cloth and raised Moses as an Egyptian prince. This cloth played a role that eventually led him to learn the truth about his true identity, and what great things he went on to accomplish for his people: to lead them out of Egypt and slavery.

As history tends to repeat itself, I find the history of fabric patterns and their secret meanings during the time of slavery in the United States of America as pertinent as it was in biblical times. The meaning of a quilt goes far beyond its warmth, comfort and security. Every time you see a quilt, look at its pattern and see if you can figure out its secret. 

My North Star Quilt