Monday, February 18, 2013

Aged to Perfection







































I want to share with you the vintage quilts I received from my Aunt Beth Ann.  These quilts were in her family.  The first one is a twin size pink and white quilt.  The hand quilting on this is super tiny.   I am in awe of the stitching.  It is a simple pattern of two different size squares.  The pink has mellowed to a lovely shade.  I have a fun story for you.  After I got the quilt I soaked it over night in a vintage textile soak to remove the yellowing.  Almost immediately I began to notice hard dark bits in the batting which were rising up to the backing.  These fragments were everywhere.  I decided to open up a seam and take one out.  This is what I found…








































…a tiny leaf with a stem (I put it in the shell so you could see it better).  I removed another one that was a hard seed.  So I began to explore vintage quilt batting on line.  What I discovered was so interesting. Before the invention of the cotton gin, around the late 1700's, cotton was picked from the field and batted by hand.  Often times all the cotton debris (leaves and seeds) where not removed entirely.  It also said that quilters who lived in the south where cotton was grown continued to make their own batting at least until the 1940's because it was less expensive.  I have no idea how old this quilt is, but I'm thrilled at this discovery.  When the quilt is dry, you can't see the debris at all.  The other two quilts I soaked did not have this in the batting.  I will show you the next one tomorrow.




On Saturday I was bored out of my mind!  I started playing with scraps of fabric and this was the result. I made a simple envelope back for the sham.  The pillow is a standard bed size pillow.  I was craving color and I got it!  Blessings today, friends!

Joyfully,

12 comments:

  1. That's a beautiful old quilt! And I absolutely love your pillow. Nice job :). Have a great week!

    Maria

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  2. What a pretty quilt, and a lovely (and fascinating) story! And a very sweet scrappy pillow too...
    Hope your day is blessed too,
    xx

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  3. What an interesting fact about batting, I did not know that! I love that pink and white quilt!

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  4. Such a beautiful quilt and treasure to have! Thanks for sharing about the batting! So neat! Love your pretty pillow! xo Heather

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  5. Your quilt is so pretty. What a special treasure you have there.
    And that tiny leaf! Wow! I had no idea about the batting and time frame. Thank you for sharing that historical information with us. It is fascinating.
    Love love love your pillow cover! Have a lovely week. Trish xo

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  6. Isn't that interesting! Beautiful quilt and so nice to stay in the family. Your pillow sings ; )

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  7. Beautiful quilt! what a treasure. My great grandmother had a farm in the south and raised cotton. I have three quilts of hers and the batting is cotton from her farm. I have not even considered soaking them at all. I will have to consider it. Thanks for the information. Love your blog.

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  8. I loved the story behind your quilt. I'm very interested in the vintage textile soak you mentioned. I received an antique quilt for Christmas. We've only aired it outside but not washed it because it contains yellows/mustards. Research told us that antique yellows will run so I'm afraid to wash it. I'm interested in what the vintage soak says in their instructions. Thanks!

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  9. First I have to say WOW on that gorgeous, gorgeous pillow cover you whipped up! So beautiful!! I love vintage quilts!! That is so neat and interesting about the batting! I had no idea....so cool! What kind of vintage textile soak do you do? :) Hope you have a blessed day too! xo Holly

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  10. I absolutely love the story behind your aunt's quilt! My grandmother grew up on a farm in north Georgia and they grew cotton in addition to all the food crops and animals - they grew everything they needed! Anyway, to find leaves and seeds in an old quilt like that would be so exciting to me! I have one old quilt of Granny's, but the "batting" is old flannel blankets.

    Love, love, love your pillow!

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  11. This quilt is just beautiful - I remember some of my grandmother's quilts still having cotton seeds in them. :) blessings, marlene

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