First, a quilt from a book called Treasures in the Trunk:
This quilt was made by Frances Burris Tandy Harlow in 1898. What interested me about it is that it is a sort of family tree quilt. As Mary Bywater Cross writes,
Mrs. Harlow's name appears in the center with the notation "Pieced by Grandma Harlow Age 83." Her daughters' blocks are immediately surrounding hers. Then come the granddaughters and great-granddaughters, each grouped near their own mother's name. The names were written by one person, and are all embroidered with white thread in a stem stitch.
I wrote last week that I intended to have three experimental blocks made by today. In reality, I've spent the past week doing a lot of thinking and some writing about my plans for the final quilt - I want the trial quilt blocks to be worth the time I spend on them, to help me decide what I'm interested in doing with the final quilt both conceptually and craft-wise.
Here are some ideas that I've had for the final:
Here are some ideas that I've had for the final:
The central block has a house embroidered on it, similar to the two quilts in last week's posting. The surrounding blocks contain small drawings or simple embroidery of particular objects the house contains. The quilt serves as evidence of an accumulation and makes a statement about the house's occupant(s).
The central block has an abandoned house embroidered on it (possibly with white thread on white muslin). There is one house in particular I'm thinking of, in Oceanside, Oregon. The surrounding blocks would contain embroidery of either objects contained in the house (pictured as found) and/or scenes of decay from it. It might also be effective to add bits of appliqued found fabric (e.g. insulation or curtains). I would need to make a trip to the house to photograph and collect objects.
In my thinking about the final quilt, I'm trying not to make it too personal. Working from family photographs can sometimes make this difficult. I would like for the quilt to deal with an issue that I'm interested in, but to also be accessible to a general audience.
At this point I'm leaning towards working with the abandoned house idea. I could imagine it being a whitework quilt like this one:
It could also be simply embroidered in white thread on white fabric, like the experimental block I'm working on now (which I'll post as soon as I finish it). I drew the image from this photograph of my maternal grandmother's family's house:
In my thinking about the final quilt, I'm trying not to make it too personal. Working from family photographs can sometimes make this difficult. I would like for the quilt to deal with an issue that I'm interested in, but to also be accessible to a general audience.
At this point I'm leaning towards working with the abandoned house idea. I could imagine it being a whitework quilt like this one:
It could also be simply embroidered in white thread on white fabric, like the experimental block I'm working on now (which I'll post as soon as I finish it). I drew the image from this photograph of my maternal grandmother's family's house:
Sources
Treasures in the Trunk: Quilts of the Oregon Trail
Mary Bywater Cross
Rutledge Hill Press: Nashville, Tennessee, 1993
Barbara Brackman's Material Culture "Whitework, Stuffed Work and Corded Quilting"
http://barbarabrackman.blogspot.com/2010/06/whitework-stuffed-work-and-corded.html
