A little over a month ago Lois posted the most wonderful vintage textiles for children here. She has a wonderful collection of these pieces. Awhile back I posted some textiles, but not as a category, and I did show a photo of this. Returning to it, I hope to shed some light on this genre and give more detail of this particular piece. The one above is quite endearing as it is lovingly mended, and one knows it was a cherished piece.

The unusual fact about this length of fabric (it is 1 yd 14″ and 36″ wide) is that the top piece is folded under and hemmed and the bottom is not. It was never cut for any sewing use, but obviously used as a special piece in some way because it has various mended places and some stains as well.

It pictures so many of the wonderful nursery rhymes in vivid and beautiful representation, Little Red Riding Hood,

Jack and Jill,

Little Bo Peep,

Little Jack Horner,

Humpty Dumpty, and so many others.

Susan Mellers and Joost Elffers in their book Textile Designs describes these prints as “Juveniles”. They “weren’t seen much until the end of the nineteenth century and became an industry unto themselves only after World War I.” They describe the popularity of the English artist, Kate Greenaway, and the influence of her art and representation of children. Another observation that they shared was that when parents chose “their offspring’s clothes [sic], children were made to wear idealized pictures of children.” And now children manage to have more say in what they want to wear and are more inclined to “choose bright colors and cartoon characters.”

I do not purport to be an expert on quilt history by any means. The subject is far too vast, and so much has been written and well documented that I could never claim any expertise. However, from time to time, I like to feature textiles or quilts that are favorites, and silk quilts happen to be at the top of my list. A few weeks ago, I featured a detail of this silk quilt that I chanced to see at The International Quilt Festival in Long Beach. At the time I was walking around with my very pregnant daughter and somehow regretfully did not write any information down on this quilt. So I am going to make a few guesses about its history.

This is the detail that I showed on an earlier post. It captures what I love most about silk quilts, the beauty of the luster and the colors. I think most people know silk quilts by viewing the Victorian crazy quilts. I have to admit, I am not partial to these because of their obvious busyness, but I am deeply respectful of the beauty of the embroidery as well as all the admirable work that went into these cherished pieces. My favorite patterns, when it comes to silk quilts, are the Log Cabin and the Hexagon/Mosaic. This quilt above is a variation of the Log Cabin, and my guess is that it was, most likely, made sometime around 1890, give or take a few years. The quilt is in excellent condition which tells me it was made and never used, or stored under proper conditions that assured its longevity and perfection. Most women who made silk quilts were affluent and would make them and use them only on special occasions or to give as gifts. The little black dot in the middle of the silks is probably a silk velvet.

One of my favorite books for general American quilt history is this one by Roderick Kiracofe. And when I am in Mendocino, I am at a bit of a loss for my reference books because the majority are kept in Portland. However, I did have an extra copy of this book that I leave here. I think in terms of silk used in quilts, it might be safe to say that, other than the ubiquitous Crazy Quilt, the Mosaic and the Log Cabin were the most popular patterns.

Kiracofe in his book on pages 152 and 153 has a photo of the most incredible silk and velvet Log Cabin Courthouse Steps, c. 1880-1900. Although you can see some of the deterioration of the silks, the quilt seems, otherwise, to be in good condition. It is such a treat to see this, and I urge anyone to take this book out of the library and do further reading. Kiracofe writes that “most experts agree that [Log Cabin quilts] emerged sometime during or immediately after the Civil War. Log Cabin quilts were immensely popular during the last quarter of the 19th century…” Further, “rich wool challis was a favorite fabric for the early Log Cabins of Pennsylvania. The silks and velvets were also chosen for this very precise pattern; in many of the silk Log Cabins, the ‘logs are as small as 1/4 to 1/2 inch.”

Silk quilts will not wear well if exposed to sunlight or lots of use. Another factor with these old silks is often the fabric was weighted with metallic salts to give them more body, and many of the silks treated in this way have inevitably deteriorated. I showed this quilt previously, but am showing it here again to demonstrate how the silks are in pretty bad condition. I bought this quilt over ten years ago for a song, thinking it was a real find, only to discover many of the worn and shredded silks had been hidden under a covering of various triangle patches. I have since removed these and am in the process of restoring it to its natural state with a protective covering of netting.

This detail above shows more clearly the deterioration. I still love this quilt in all its imperfection.

This silk piece above is actually part of a pair of silk taffeta curtains I made for our dining room in Mendocino. Even though the silk is protected with a lining, and the window covered with a lace curtain, some of the sun has faded and deteriorated the edge. Sunlight is the worst element for silk, and this always serves to remind me to care for silk quilts in a very specialized manner.

This wall hanging I purchased at the Houston International Quilt Festival many years ago from a seller that did not have any idea what it was. I bought it because I thought it was very unusual and all of the weaving is done in silk. My youngest daughter fell in love with it too. In view of the fact that it has a somewhat contemporary feel, and her taste is modern, I gave it to her. She has it hanging in the bedroom. The silk is holding up because it is secured very well in the weaving, and it is protected from direct sunlight.

A few years ago while looking through this book for another reason, I suddenly came across the very same hanging with a date of 1895, if my recollection is accurate (I do not have this book with me here). I am guessing that when women had leftover silks from their special silk quilts, they had the option of using some of these in weavings and perhaps used them as hangings over doorways to prevent drafts. I have never seen another one in person since that time, so I am guessing they might be a little hard to locate.

This close-up really does justice to the beauty of this piece.

I do not have any photos of silk Mosaic or Hexagon quilts because I do not own one, and due to copyright issues, I did not feel free to show any published ones. However, I highly urge anyone to do a little internet research or to look for some examples in books because they are so remarkable. I featured one from the show earlier, but that was done in cotton, not silk. However, Mosaic quilts were done most likely using the paper-piecing method due to the intricacy of the piecework. Below is the example in cotton.

Waiting for a baby to arrive can be a unique time. I have been in Southern California for a week now with my youngest daughter waiting for the birth of her first baby. She continues to work at home and will periodically go into the office as well. We have had a special time going for long walks, talking about myriad subjects, working on a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle, watching Gone With the Wind, sharing meals, and feeling all the various movements of her baby boy from the heartbeat to the hiccups.

At one point, she even designed a baby quilt on her computer that I will work on when I return home.

These are the curtains I made for the baby’s room before I arrived.

I also had finished the crib skirt and brought it with me, and since I have been here, I have worked to finish the crib bumper pads.

On Saturday, Jeanette and I went to the Long Beach International Quilt Festival to see Glennis’ booth of Shibori Girl. Her set-up was beautiful. She had wonderful gems for sale and had a special treat that I was especially eager to see. She had displayed a quilt by Jude of Spiritcloth. I was so excited to see this, as I had never seen anything in person by Jude, and it was everything I expected and more! I could have stood there forever looking at the stitches and the indigo colors and the various textures and beauty. Glennis also had a smaller square piece made by Jude with soft pastels and overlaid with gauze silks. It was worth the time to travel to meet Glennis and see her wonderful offerings and, in a way, “meet” Jude.

At the show there was a display of antique quilts, my first love always. This was an all-silk log cabin variation, and it was such a beautiful piece, the colors still vivid and true and the work and detail of it so accomplished and exacting.

This was called a “Flower Garden Star”, dated 1900, but with fabrics dating from 1830-1880, size 80″ x 94 1/4″. I am certain it was all paper-pieced because of the intricacy of the hexagon pieces. Amazing!

A quilt like this always needs a closer look. The work and hours it took to create this masterpiece always inspires and impresses me.

I have not been on my computer much the last week. It has been a little hard for me to focus, so please forgive my lack of visits to other blogs and comments. I am guessing when I get home, I will be back on track and more present here as well as active on other wonderful blogs that I follow.

“When my hands were little, and my mother was teaching me to sew, she placed her hands over mine. She put her middle finger, encased in a pitted silver thimble, at the end of the needle and pushed for me. This finger, with the thimble, is a little engine, she said. It makes the needle go.”

Ahab’s Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund, Page 70

“I thought of the miles and miles of thread that her thimble had pulled through the cloth. What song had the needle sung to the fibers of the fabric? When she quilted, the needle passed through three layers: the pieced top, the inner batting, and the sturdy muslin underlayer. If all the thread from all her quilts were measured, would it stretch a thousand miles? Had her needle trudged, as a man’s foot might trudge, over a journey of a thousand miles?”

Ahab’s Wife

“She sat still, I thought, and yet she traveled. And when one stitches, the mind travels, not the way men do, with ax and oxen through the wilderness, but surely our traveling counted too, as motion. And I thought of the patience of the stitches. Writing a book, I thought, which men often do, but women only rarely, has the posture of sewing. One hand leads, and the other hand helps. And books, like quilts, are made one word at a time, one stitch at a time.”

Ahab’s Wife

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