Checking in with you....

Here is a miniature that I actually finished at the end of 2015.  It was inspired by a quilt pattern in the book Family Ties Old Quilt Patterns from New Cloth by Nancilu Butler Burdick.  "Patterns and interpretations of the work of early quiltmaker Talula Gilbert Bottoms" is written on the bottom of the cover.  The other book is Legacy The Story of Talula Gilbert Bottoms and Her Quilts also written by Nancilu Butler Burdick.  Legacy was the first one, copyright 1988 and the other was copyright 1991. 

Talula Bottoms was a remarkable woman making between 200 and 300 quilts under circumstances and conditions that we today have trouble imagining.  Talula was born in 1862 in the south, so you can fill in the rest.  Her granddaughter, Nancilu Burdick wrote these books and her perseverance and research into her grandmother's quilts is to be admired.  I love both of these books.

Above is the quilt and pattern in Family Ties that inspired my miniature.  What I loved about Talula's quilt is the use of muted 1930's fabrics.  Sometimes the fabrics from that era can be overwhelming, but Talula chose fabrics that imparted a soft and calm look to the finished quilt.

I used 1930's fabrics as well, and the background of the blocks is actually a print, although in the photo it reads as a solid.  The blocks are 2.5" finished, the sashing is .25" wide and the overall size of the quilt is 13.75" x 16.25".  With not one exception, everyone of my friends that saw a block said:

"Aren't these kind of big for you?"

Well, maybe so, but it was the best I could do.  I needleturn appliqued the wings and bodies and then buttonhole stitched the wings by hand. Using a fusing technique would make smaller blocks possible, but the look would not be the same, in my opinion.   The antennae are hand embroidered.  My goal, as always, is to have it look like a full sized quilt in photos. Oh yes, I used vintage ric rac for an edge finish which is an idea I have been kicking around for a long time. I love working with 1930's prints and solids.  They are so much fun to put together.

 

Now for a big shout out to Wendy Caton Reed who is featured on a Barbara Brackman blog hehttp://civilwarquilts.blogspot.com/re. 

Way to go, Wendy!  Read Wendy's blog at http://theconstantquilter.blogspot.com/ 

Well, till next time..........

Sheila