Family Friday 10.4.19

 At the beginning of August our family of 7 headed to Indianapolis for a long weekend. It was essentially a "girl's weekend" and a "boys weekend" because all the male members of the family were attending Gencon.  Briefly, it,s every table top game ever, all in one place.

That is why the pictures are of the girls...

One of the days we spent in Indianapolis itself, exploring.  We climbed that tall memorial.  The picture below was taken from the top.  The girls ran up.  I got there, eventually.

In the mall the girls talked me into letting them do bumper cars.  It was pretty funny, actually.

We actually stayed in an Airbnb near Bloomington.  Lovely parks symbol, huh?

Took the girls to a pool with an awesome drop slide.  Even I went in for a bit because it was sooo hot.

Bloomington is home to Indiana University, so there was a whole area of town with every kind of small ethnic restaurant you could want. We took the kids out for Mexican one night. 

D and I went out for Turkish the next night (it was our anniversary)

One of the highlights for the kids was the dog, Venn, at the Airbnb.  She would fetch all day long. Never seeming to tire of it. (our dog is dumb and doesn't fetch)

 We love travel with Airbnb.  With 5 kids we are practically priced out of hotels, and this way we can cook a couple meals, which helps save $$.  This particular Airbnb was a working ranch, with cattle, sheep and horses, so that was pretty neat.

 And! Antique Quilts!  they were all from the owner's famiy.

 It was definitely a fun weekend!

Vintage Quilts - Growing the Collection

 Sometimes I joke with people that we "have one of everything in our barn".  But really, I sometimes think we do.  My FIL has been going through boxes and such and pulled out three quilts and a blanket earlier this summer.  I have spent the whole summer and early fall airing them out.

Mothballs.

Don't do it people.  Balls of stink and cancer.

 On to the quilts.  This first one is wool and flannel.  All the patches are wool selvedges.

 It is most likely that my FIL's grandmother made these, and probably mostly when they lived in Chicago during WWII.  She would have had access to men's suiting cut offs in a place like Chicago.

 They are stacked with the selvedge edge up just like our selvedge quilts today.

 Tied with red yarn.  The "binding" and backing are flannel.  Inside?  An old tied plain comforter.  This one probably weighs at least five pounds!

 Up next is one made of muslin and shirtings.  The blocks are nine patches.

 This one has seen a lot of love/wear.  The edges are quite tattered and the shirtings are wearing through in places.

 The "batting" is a cotton blanket.  Here you can see a corner of it coming out.  The whole quilt is hand quilting.  No binding, rather a knife edge.

 The back is mostly one large piece of muslin.

 There are a couple of patches sewn on as well.

 This one isn't really a quilt, as such.  From what I can tell there is not an actual layer of batting inside.  It is instead a couple pieces of fabric or sheets sewn together and then tied.

 Perhaps a summer weight covering?  This one is actually in perfect condition.

 Lastly is this log cabin quilt.  Again, very heavy because of the tied comforter inside.

 Now that they've lost their stink, they've been stored with the other vintage quilts. 

Vacation Textiles and Inspiration: post 1

 This will have to be post 1 of 2, because I realized I have lots of pictures and lots to say, so I'll split it up in a couple of posts.

As mentioned previously, our vacation started in Gettysburg, PA.  There is a very large and rather new museum, due to the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War.

 The above is just one example of the many banners and flags that were made for the various companies of fighting men.  The palmetto is still found on South Carolina's license plate.

I've heard lots about a Soldier's Housewife (sewing kit). It was great to see one in good condition and good provenance.

 A little history for you about textiles during the American Civil War.  The war also affected textile availability in the North as well.  Books have been written on it, so I will spare you a lecture.

 The next battlefield we visited was Antietam.  Smaller battlefield and smaller museum, but a gem of a find!

 A Civil War signature quilt! 

 In mint condition!  Isn't it beautiful?  These kinds of quilts were made to raise money.  People would pay to write their names and then the whole quilt would be auctioned off.

 It was pretty obviously never used.  The Reds are still bright, and the signatures very readable.

 And the exquisite stitching!

 I think that's all I've got for textiles.  Tomorrow will be a bit more about inspiration.

Quilts on Vacation

 Home.  It is good to be home. 
We arrived home last Wed evening after our epic 14 day trip.  Good times had by all, for sure.  I have hundreds of photos to go through, and I will definitely share some as we go along the next couple of weeks.

For now, as a way to get back into this blogging groove, a few quilts I found during our travels.

 This quilt is hanging in the remodeled visitor center to Smokey Mountain National Park.

 It was super hard to photograph because it was behind glass and over my head.  A beautiful quilt, full of meaning and symbolism related to the Smokeys.

 Naomi Davis was the creator of the quilt.

 I found a quilt at Disney!  This was in the Swiss Family Robinson's tree house!

 Also at the Smokey National Park museum, three quilts and some history of fabric making and quilting in the Appalachian region.

 Its good to be home.  I've already started cutting fabric for three new quilts!
Now to check my out of control reader.  Maybe I'll just mark all as read and start fresh!