Today we have a lovely quilted panel, in traditional colours of red, green and gold. The pictures of the angels, snowmen, santa etc are rendered in an olde worlde style. This was a really quick and easy wee wall hanging. All I had to do was quilt around the pictures. Simples!
The log cabin pattern is a very traditional pattern. Strips of fabric are sewn in sequence around a central square. Here's a close up for you to see:
Double click on the pictures to see a bigger version! Also, if you want to comment, click on the "no comment" link at the bottom of this post. I don't know why it says "no comment" to comment, but it does. Oddities indeed!
DID YOU KNOW...
This is a very traditional patchwork design. It is very popular in America: the strips of fabric represent the log cabins of the prairies and traditionally the square was red, representing the hearth. Usually a mix of dark and light fabrics were used, the light representing the sunny side of the house and the darker fabrics representing the side of the house in the shade. Strips of fabric from old clothes, sheets, and even sacks were sewn together.
By varying the placement of the light and dark strips, and by arranging the blocks in different ways, you get quite a choice as to the overall layout of the final quilt!
The earliest signed and dated log cabin quilt in America was found in the 1860s. But the log cabin design has been used as decoration even earlier than that, by the ancient Egyptians.
I was fortunate to see the Quilts of Gee's Bend Exhibition in San Francisco. This was a collection of quilts made by over 40 African American women from 4 generations, from Gee's Bend, Alabama. Many of the women worked as slaves on the plantations and their story - the poverty, their treatment, their resourcefulness and their strength - is absolutley inspirational. After working for over 15 hours a day, and then tending to their families, the women would get together late at night, to make quilts, sing and pray together. Using old clothes - mostly denims, sacks and sheets, the women created what they could from what they had. There was electricity or proper road into Gee's Bend until the 1960s.
Here are some links to find out more:
www.tinwoodmedia.com
www.auburn.edu/academic/other/geesbend/home.html
You can also google "Gee's Bend Quilts" and you will be able to see images of these amazing quilts.
Well folks, that's all for today. I hope you'll join me tomorrow for the third instalment of ArtyAdvent.
Wendy
What a beautiful Christmas quilt. So classy, yet comforting. Makes me feel festive just looking at it.
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