Embroidered Crib Quilts Part II

hand quilted

Here are a few more of my embroidered crib quilts along with one recent purchase that I assume to be for a doll.
Of the quilts shown in this and the previous post, you can probably tell which ones were kits; certainly those with pre-quilted backgrounds would have been and the central motif styles as well.
The individual blocks such as the previous Scottie and the others with miscellaneous animal images were probably available commercial motifs which were set in various ways by individual makers.

The Maypole

Applique combined with embroidery

35 x 48

Here is one that stands out as different from the other examples in a couple of ways. It's a bit larger in size and many of the blocks include a name or initials indicating that several ladies contributed to the work. 

51" x 70"

Unusual, too, is the setting which groups the bigger motifs in the central portion with the blocks on three edges quite different; all with small motifs that are unsigned. Maybe the maker wanted the quilt to be bigger but in the interest of time, those simpler blocks served to extend the size.


The elaborate lettering style of the names and initials lends a personal and decorative  touch but sadly, no one thought to add a date. Redwork embroidery was popular around the turn of the 20th century so I would date this c. 1910.

And last but not least is this little single layer of plain white cotton embroidered with the adorable Teddy Bear images produced by Willliam Pinch and the Rainbow Quilt Block Company in the 1930's 

 It is bound with what appears to be a commercial bias tape. 

17" x 20"

and....

Click Here

to see my blog on an embroidered top that I took apart and the

 'new' projects I made with the rescued blocks

One Two Buckle my Shoe

      I recently attended a week long Writer's Conference in Green Lake, Wisconsin. I was tired as I set out for the six hour drive home, alone. My book on tape was putting me to sleep.  I had to stop often to stay awake. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
I pulled over to stretch my legs near any antique shop or book store.
     Some time ago I decided not to add any more vintage quilts to my collection. Avoiding antique stores makes that easier but you guessed it. I found a quilt I had to buy. My 'rule' has a few exceptions - one being finding something I like that is so inexpensive that I can't pass it up.
       A dusty, cluttered little shop inhabited by an elderly lady reading a book in the middle of the floor, her little dog beside her, didn't look too promising. I scanned the room and wondered if I could politely make a quick exit. But then I thought, "As long as I'm here... you never know"....
       Up a rickety flight of stairs, the ceiling so low I had to crouch, I found a little crib quilt, not too clean, binding gone on one side and the rest faded and frayed. A tiny blank piece of paper about 1" x 1/2" was attached to the bottom of one corner with a straight pin.

 I couldn't read the price; she couldn't either. I waited.

"How about four dollars?" she said looking up at me.

I brought it home, worked on a couple of spots, and pushed it into the washing machine. Much better!

Binding Removed 

I took off the binding and found a good blue in my stash of solids. I trimmed the rough edges a bit and applied the new binding.










     My sister noticed that the animals were outlined in cross-stitch and thought that was unusual. That detail had escaped me and when I checked my other embroidered crib quilts I found she was right. None are outlined with cross-stitch. (I'll talk more about that and show my other examples in my next post)

The embroidery is done on a pre-quilted white cotton background as were many kits. Some work at hiding the threads in the batting layer.
This maker just left the ends of the threads showing on the back.







Here it is, rebound and refreshed ....

33" X 44"

Very sweet, don't you think?

ETC.

Here's a pair of pillowcases I also was unable to pass up on a different road trip. I do have a lot - I swore I would buy no more - but kitties? I didn't have kitties!

Rules are made to be broken.

Agreed?

Bunny Crib Quilt - A Success Story

I think I mentioned some time ago that I have decided to stop saying that I was not buying anymore quilts. I understand now that I am helpless in the face of a quilt I really like at really nice price.
So I happily share with you my most recent addition.















The applique is well done and the hand quilting fine. There is embroidered detail on the central rose.

How could I pass this up? Well, it didn't always look this good which is probably why I got it for $38.



OUCH! Some very large and obvious stains on that nice white background. But so CUTE. I had to take a chance.




I was anxious to see what I could do with it. Working on stains is always a multi-step process involving patience and trial and error. It is a risk and the outcome is always unknown . However, I don't believe a dirty or soiled quilt is a good thing and I kind of enjoy the challenge.

Here's what I did:

First I made a paste of water and Restoration and applied just to that area. (It ended up being more watery than pastey  because I wanted the crystals to be dissolved.)
I worked over a large white plastic bowl on the top of my washing machine. I was able to clothespin it to the edge so that it was taut and I could apply the solution to a small area and have the excess drip into the bowl to be used again. I used a small plastic measuring cup with a spout.
I  thought I could see it working right away.

I let it soak that way for awhile. Then, I rubbed a bit of my Aunt Agnes' homemade bar soap into one stain to see what happened. (This is the only thing that got my boys socks clean - you know how they wear them outside without shoes...on blacktop?) Her recipe had  lye in and and who knows what-all but I recall my Mom saving bacon grease for her to make it. She had such a supply that both my sister and I still have some bars and she passed away in 1981!!
So back to my project.
I gingerly rubbed the yellowed bar on the stains and quickly manipulated the fabric by hand to rub it in all the way. Dilute with more water....
I was excited that even while still wet the stains were getting much lighter.
Okay. Here's the scary part. I put a TINY bit of bleach in a cup of water. I mean about 1/4 teaspoon. VERY diluted. I was careful to direct it onto the stains and avoided colored fabrics - AND  I have pure clean water at the ready to pour through it almost immediately.

My supplies

After all of this attention to detail I immersed the whole quilt into the washing machine with a 'friendly' soap I get at Whole Foods with no brighteners, bleaches etc. I let it sit in the suds without agitation for a bit  then set it for 'hand wash'.
I put it in the dryer on low with a couple of dry,white towels to help fill the dryer and cushion the quilt as it cycles around. I opened the dryer at 10 minutes and took it out while still damp.
Voila.... I laid it on a white sheet on the floor to finish drying and manipulated it gently to square it up. When dry, the quilting really showed nicely and I felt I"d improved it greatly.

It reminds me a little bit of another cute appliqued crib quilt in my collection, one I also washed:

This is a little pillow cover - The bottom white piece would tuck in and be whip stitched after inserting the pillow. The maker simplified and reduced the size of the posy.

Have you washed a vintage quilt?

Eureka ! Mystery Children Identified!

I bought a crib sized quilt top a few years ago. I had never seen the design. It was 'interesting' ... but the border was rather strange! (ugly)
I bought it anyway.

Ouch....where's my ripper?

Today I was looking through a pile of vintage quilt pattern leaflets and there it was!
It's called Raggedy Ann and Andy. Would you have guessed that?
Blonde braids? I thought they looked German or Scandinavian (but then what IS the ethnicity of Ann and Andy?) More on that search later....
The maker tried to achieve the triangle border shown in the pattern - but her fabric choice (probably what she had on hand) doesn't really 'work' does it? She had to piece the lighter triangle and using a variety of bold plaids and stripes didn't help! (the concept of bias meant nothing to her!)

Here's the cover of the booklet.

There is no date on the publication but it is identified on the back as Aunt Martha's Studios, Inc. The business was started in Kansas City, Missouri, in the 1930's but this specific name was used starting in 1949. (In addition to information about quilt kits, the Quilt Kit Identification site includes Rose Werner's extensive research on many pattern companies) Aunt Martha published patterns through the 1950's. 

Pattern templates and directions

I love reading the directions - the boy's clothing is called overalls on the template and pantaloons in the directions for embroidery. Thread colors are suggested for the embroidery and rick rack is to be stitched at the bottom of the girl's dress. This maker outlined all applique edges with a neat small blanket-stitch in thread colors matching the fabrics. It appears that she did this to secure the raw edges of her applique. This saved her from regular needle turn applique BUT...can't be faster!

She used tiny rick-rack 'inside' the girl's dress rather than at the bottom. It doesn't show much on this print.

Click to enlarge for a closer look at the details

I have quite a few of these vintage pattern booklets. They are fun to look through...you never know what you'll find. I hope you don't toss things like this thinking they are 'old fashioned' - they are quilt history; the stuff quilt scholars love!

What is so exciting to me about quilt study is the many paths it leads me down. In this case I had to get out the top to look more closely at it and compare it to the pattern directions.Then I got curious about Raggedy Ann's hair....I have only seen her with red hair and the pattern specifies that the hair be yellow. Google Image to the rescue. That led me to more sites about the history of Ann and Andy. Click  HERE  if you also would like to read the various theories of how these dolls came to be. I found it fascinating AND I verified that all the images had red hair! By the way, the pattern does not specify a color for Andy's hair but the color in the pattern is red/orange.

Now, back to my little top - I think I need to take off that border and use some of my vintage fabrics to make a new one. Now I have the pattern! I've added it to 'the list'..... I'll let you know when I get it done. 

Don't hold your breath......