An Ode to Quilters Past

It's a wonder what a little shoe box can hold.  Especially when the box's contents are scraps of fabrics saved long ago by the quilting grandmother of a friend.  (Thanks Lenna & Kevin!)  I received this box one morning a few months ago and opened it up later that afternoon in the short while before I was to start cooking dinner.  That was a mistake.  We ate quite late that night.

Inside were the most terrific bits of fabrics which appeared (to my untrained eye) to be from the 40's, 50's & 60's.  The tiny little box in the foreground held pre-cut pieces that were either 2 1/8" or 1 7/8".  I began fiddling and arranging them on my design wall and decided to make a little ditty with them.  I cut down all the larger squares to 1 /78" and made little four patches with them.  Oh, the choices and groovy prints were such fun!

I paired them with some Kona solid white sashing and set them on cornerstones and borders cut from an old black fabric I inherited from someone, somewhere.  I don't remember its history, but it's of the same vintage.

Realizing that I'm fooling no one that this would be an old quilt, plus the fact that it's just a small wall hanging size, I decided to give it some modern quilting flair.  I hadn't machine quilted in a while and was eager to let my meandering fingers fly.  It was fun and now hangs at the top of the stairs.  (It's rather dark there, sorry the photo quality ain't so grand.)  Hopefully Kevin's grandmother would be pleased that some of her fabrics now have a home.  :-)

Cheers,
Donna