Tuesday, November 25, 2008

St. Xavier

An angel named Xavier at Google Blogspot has saved my sanity. Evidently I was locked out of posting photos because Internet Explorer and Firefox were fighting...or something along those lines. Now I think I know what to do and hopefully won't have the problem. Many thanks, Xavier! (I picture him with wings!)


Is there a never-ending supply of great old quilts? Sometimes I wonder. In these tight economic times, I'm seeing some super stuff on ebay and other online sites. As I examine these old quilts, I am always being educated. Here's an interesting detail shot that had lessons for me. It's the easiest feathered star ever. Even I could draft and sew this thing!

The quilting pattern is so typical of old Midwestern quilts and is called 'Hanging Diamond.' Marked first as a series of horizontal lines, the quilter came back and on a second pass, marked diagonal lines at a 45-degree angle across the horizontals.

The muddy brown-purple square at the star's center is a Perkins Purple, a mid-19th century shade that fades upon exposure to sunlight. Note: blog reader Dorothy Daybell has kindly sent me a link to more information about the Perkins Purple so go to http://www.colour-ed.org/activity/act_12/12_transc.htm if you love quilt trivia! Thank you Dorothy.