Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Alice's String Quilt

I've shared with you before some of the quilts made by my great-grandmother, Alice, like a patchwork square quilt and a Double Wedding Ring quilt. Today, I've got an awesome string quilt of hers to show! It's all hand pieced and hand quilted.


True to her style, this is another large bed quilt. My limited wingspan is not enough to spread it out. I need to whip up one of those crafty quilt photo frames like Heather did over on fiberosity


Alice sewed clothes in addition to quilts, so there's no doubt some of these scraps were leftovers from garment construction. I'm in love with the little bunnies in the blue fabric in the foreground.


This quilt has definitely been loved, by people and maybe some moths. Oops. I love the brightly colored print below the worn yellow strip, though. I so hope that fabric was leftover from making an amazing dress.


The binding was made by folding over the back of the quilt and hand stitching it to the front. I haven't tried this binding technique, but I see folks doing this now, too. There are some tutorials out there.


The back is just two pieces of yardage sewn together to make a wide enough back. I've seen so many beautiful modern string quilts. This one fits right in with its improv style. It's such a treasure, and I'm glad I get to share it with you.


Hang on to those scraps. There could be a string quilt in your future that someone will treasure for years to come!

Happy crafting!

6 comments:

  1. Oh that is gorgeous! I really want to make a scrap quilt, guess I need to keep making and collecting scraps!! Will you be fixing the moth holes? It seems a shame not to

    ReplyDelete
  2. Look at that back...love it!!! I am sure you have an enjoyable time looking at all of the different fabrics that it took to make this lovely quilt.

    ReplyDelete
  3. beautiful quilt, how lucky you are to have such treasures!

    ReplyDelete
  4. such a lovely quilt!! Scrap quilts are just the best...no telling how the bigger pieces were used in a person's life...we just have the scraps to wonder :o)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Beautiful! I love string quilts like this!
    My quilt from my grandma is made from scraps; she made lots of clothing for the family and it is so fun to recognize fabric in the quilt as an aunt or cousin's dress from the past.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Love the orange! Scrappy quilts are the best.

    ReplyDelete