Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Scrap quilt, scrap cat


The emphasis in this blog has always been on antique quilts but sometimes parts of one's life intersect in odd ways. Recently I bought an old scrap quilt in an online auction and won it--way cheap as I won't spend much. When the quilt arrived it had that familiar tang (eau de dust) so I threw it in the dryer after misting heavily with some lavender water. When the quilt came out of the dryer, both Gipsy and Earl Grey, our 10-month old kittens, ran to inspect it. Earl was soon distracted (it was almost dinnertime-) but Gipsy persisted in her examination. I think Gipsy especially liked the quilt because its muted colors mimicked her own fur. She sat on it all day.

That got me thinking about the origins of the quilt. I got very little from the seller. He could tell me that he obtained it at an estate auction in Texas and correctly placed its age as c.1900-1930. The pattern is Bow Tie. Sometimes a Bow Tie quilt was made for a man or perhaps simply an appropriate pattern for a quiltmaker's available selection of non-floral fabrics. The materials of this scrap quilt look like work shirt checks, striped tickings, and a few polka dots for fun. The mellow color scheme appealed to me, just as it did to Gipsy--who is a bit of a 'scrap cat' herself.

 Although her Mom was mostly Siamese, Gipsy's dad must have been a tiger tabby. Here is Mama, back in early June 2009, a-swarm with seven  kittens. Gipsy is determinately scaling Mom's hip, her small tail looking like a brush. Mama cat, later adopted and named Snowball, looks a tad shell-shocked. That must have been a wild night!

7 comments:

Kat said...

Too cute!!!

Jean Baardsen said...

So does Gypsy get to keep the quilt? Maybe she's found of lavender water.

Nancy said...

What is it about quilts and cats? They are drawn like a magnet to a quilt. She's found her favorite!

Wendy said...

Such cute kittens and Mama doing a good job of taking care of them.

Leanne said...

Hey, I found you through 6 degrees of blogging! You are being featured on my blog today!

Love Leanne NZ

Anonymous said...

I would say that the original maker of your ebay quilt was also a cat lover...and that is why the cats love this quilt! :)

Yogurt Recipes said...

Youur the best