More Treasures from the Cardboard Box...

Isn't this a happy quilt top? It's another one from the treasure box quilting friend Claudia received from a family member. Those plaids and shirting stripes look right at home in this Glorified Nine Patch top (also called Improved Nine Patch). Notice how the yellow fabric in the melon pieces changes color... the quilter used two different yellows to complete her quilt top. Both lively and bright, one is a bit firmer weave than the other.

Here's where the rest of that yellow went... right into this Double Wedding Ring top. Studying the fabics in old quilts offers endless fascination in my book. I think these two tops are on Claudia's list to finish, along with the red Grandmother's Flower Garden shown here.

And I did some research to learn the names of these blocks, also shown in the earlier post. The closest names I can match up are these: top row, left- A Diamond Field, or variation of it; top row, right- Eccentric Star, also called Dutch Rose; middle row, left- Caesars Crown, also called Whirling Wheel; middle row, right- Ladies' Fancy; and bottom row- Star of LeMoyne, or 8-Point Star. The Enclyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns by Barbara Brackman is the source I used to find the blocks. What a wonderful resource for quilters! All of the blocks are catergorized by type, and the search is guided one to ensure that it's easy to find a block among the thousands that are documented as to design and source. I'd like to try making a replica of each of the blocks.... except for Eccentric Star. That one is just too much for me!

I'm trying an experiment... post-dated publication of a blog post. If all goes well, you'll be reading this on the blog starting on Thursday, at which time I should be attending a quilt show in Nassau, Bahamas! Fourteen quilting friends are off on a 5-day cruise from the Port of Jacksonville on the Carnival Fascination with stops in Key West and Nassau. We plan to spend the at-sea days learning some new quilting techniques... hand work only, since there are crafting guidelines and limitations on what can be brought on board in the way of sewing tools.