'Quilting Through the Ages' Antique Quilt Exhibit

Captivated is a word to describe my complete adoration of antique quilts. I had the pleasure of seeing 'Quilting Through the Ages' at The Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum on Saturday, October 23. According to the program the exhibit runs through October 31. I am (secretly) thinking of going back so I can gawk at these beauties once again.

The quilts are from the Santa Ynez Valley area and when possible information about the quilts' owners and makers is shared. In some cases photographs of the families accompany the display.

Friendship Quilt made in Bethel, Ohio dated September 1854

Notice along the right hand side of the Friendship Quilt there are half blocks!
Following are block details from this Friendship Quilt.

Beautiful grapes

Signature detail

There were many other quilts to see. So many that I will post more another day! But for now, feast your eyes on these lovelies.

1890 Maple Leaf (restored 2009)

1877 Temperance Quilt

This "T" or Temperance quilt was part of a larger quilt and when the quiltmaker passed it was divided into smaller pieces in her memory.

Hexagon Quilt


An adjacent exhibit displayed vignettes of clothing, quilts and other articles of interest. These are contained in cases so there is reflection in the photographs (sorry about the reflection).

This is the dress on the left in the above photo. The accompanying information card reads, "This is a brown two piece dress. Skirt has layers in both the front and back, which was the norm, and was accented with the bustle. This dress would be worn by a middle class matron both at home and for outings. She would have dressed it up with vintage handmade lace..."





The accompanying information card reads, "1890s. This is a brown and black silk-satin striped two piece dress trimmed in brown velvet, cream handmade lace and copper ribbon. The leg-o-mutton sleeves were the height of fashion. The dress is trimmed with jet beads made from obsidian...This was a walking or visiting dress that would have been worn by a middle class matron..."

A 1927 Sears Catalogue was included among the items. More fun can be found here.





More photos will be posted in a later post. Stay tuned for more quilt exhibit fun!
If you have not yet entered the giveaway, it ends November 6. Go here to enter and good luck.
~~Lisa

Birthday Giveaway Times Two

UPDATE: **Winners have been selected**

It's my birthday and I am excited to share some of my favorite things with you. Fabric is up at the top of my list of favorites. But first, here is a brief recap of my birthday fun:


On Saturday we (Mr. IQ and I) went to Santa Ynez, CA to the Historical Museum which is currently featuring an antique quilt display (more on that in a later post), through the Santa Maria Valley and into Solvang, CA where we browsed in many shops and enjoyed the lovely afternoon.

Solvang, CA

More photos to come in later posts. I am grateful that I have found a camera to suit my needs - thank you for your patience during the recent "photoless" posts.


So, now on with the Giveaway! Times Two? Yes! There are two giveaways - more is better, no?

First, is the "Strawberries" grouping. This consists of two half yard cuts. One is a pink, green, white Riley Blake stripe and one is pink strawberries from Sandi Henderson's Meadowsweet line.





Second, is the "Pears" grouping. This is one half yard of pear fabric and a pack of five inch squares.




I was thinking what great reusable grocery totes these would make! Of course the winner will use the fabric however he or she chooses.


In order to maximize your chances to win:


1) Leave a comment telling me which of the two you would like - Strawberries or Pears?

2) Become a follower of this blog and leave a comment. If you already follow Inspired Quilter simply leave me a comment telling me you do.

3) Post about the giveaway on your blog and leave me a comment including a link to your blog.


Two winners will be selected and emailed on November 6 - good luck. ~~Lisa

Giveaway: AccuQuilt GO! at Irish Muses

Micki at Irish Muses is giving away a GO! Cutter. Comment on her blog before November 5 for a chance to win.

~~Lisa

Giveaway: Fat Eighth Bundle at Green Fairy Quilts

Judi at Green Fairy Quilts is an amazing long arm quilter. I have not yet had the pleasure of sending her a quilt and have only seen photos of her work. It's lovely.

Green Fairy also has amazing prices on precuts. I have visited the blog and the store frequently!

Right now she's generously giving away a bundle of fat eighths (9"x22") of Breakfast at Tiffany's by Fig Tree of Moda. Let's all git over there and sign up - she will announce the winner on Monday, October 25 (hey, that's my birthday!).

~~Lisa

To Start or To Finish?

As noted in the previous post Pat Sloan is helping quilters get on track to finish UFOs. So, today I chuckled when I came upon this and this -- such tempting treats.

Joanne at Thread Head is hosting a quilt along. It's a lovely sampler quilt with many possibilities. She has posted several layouts and they're beautiful.

*and*

Jodi at Pleasant Home will feature a series four delicious projects full of scrappy goodness.

If that's not sufficient, just wait a few days (13 to be exact) and you will find a mystery quilt along hosted by Bonnie K. Hunter beginning November 1 (I believe that's the date). See her initial information here.

So, if you need to 'get your quilting house in order'...first visit Pat Sloan's blog and follow her sage advice.

Then when you've done the hard work maybe you deserve a little treat?

I think so. Yes. Definitely.

~~Lisa

Works in Progress & UnFinished Objects (WIPs & UFOs)

So, are you a finisher? I mean, do you work on a project at time from start to finish -- one project?

Me? No. I tend to flit from project to project. It's so tempting to begin something when inspired. It's nice to have several projects to choose from to work on. (1) I like a variety of color combinations and maybe I am in the mood to work with 30s fabrics one day and civil war fabrics the next. Not a problem, I have one of each going right now. (2) It's nice to have projects that require different techniques going at the same time. I like handwork and sew by machine as well. English paper piecing allows portability so I can sew even when away from home. I love that -- more sewing time is good. (3) There is also the option of having a project that is less complex; one I go to for 'mindless sewing'. Add items begun in classes but not yet completed.

Needlesstosay I have a lot of projects going on simultaneously in varying degrees of completeness. I am okay with that. Really!

Pat Sloan has issued a sort of call to action to "bust your UFOs". See her first post on it here. Do you know what you have? I think I do. I guess I need to check on that.

~~Lisa

Winner of the Fall Into Fall Giveaway

Just a quick post to announce the winner of the two - one yard cuts of fabric is....

**Grandma Shell**

Thank you for visiting the Inspired Quilter blog and stay tuned for another giveaway soon. My birthday is in October and, well, I just feel like celebrating!

Giveaways are one of my favorite things. I plan to have giveaways here as often as I can....so y'all come back soon!

~~Lisa

New Blog - Quilty Giveaways

If you like quilty giveaways be sure to check this new blog that promises to keep us all posted.

http://quiltygiveaways.blogspot.com/

I am not affiliated with the blog, it just sounds like a good one to follow!