Side of the Road .... homage to an unknown quilter!

I've been a busy quilter.  Lots to show, just no pictures at the moment.  I did want to do a photo shoot this weekend using the barn as a back drop, but it was to windy.  Oh well....

What I do want to share with you is this beautiful quilt that a customer of Fibre Junction, Claire, graciously let be borrow to study the design and re-create the pattern.  The story of this quilt is quite sad, but luckily it has a happy ending.  

Claire found this stunning quilt on the side of the road, in a trash bin, some 20 odd years ago.  It was filthy .... Yes, this is a rescued quilt!

The quilt is made using feedsacks dating from 1930 to late 1940's, hand quilted and the batting is cotton.  Unfortunately, there is no label on the quilt, so the quilter is unknown.

Here you get a better view of the hand quilting.  Where there is some shifting of the batting, the stitches are intact, so I'm puzzled as to why the batting shifted so much.

You can actually see the maker's pencil markings and how the cotton batting shifted to one area.

The fabrics are absolutely gorgeous, the colours retained most of their vibrancy despite the bleaching the quilt had to undergo in order to remove the filth.

Check out this indigo blue.

I do like how the maker made the backing work for the size of the quilt by adding pieces here and there.

And .... I even found a make do! Is that cool or what?

I must admit, I enjoyed studying this quilt, looking for unique finds.  For one thing, one of the sides of the sawtooth border has one extra half square triangle than the other. Yes, it is lopsided, but you wouldn't see that when the quilt is opened.  Unlike today, math was not a pre-occupation for our ancestral quilters, nor was perfection, which is really what makes their quilts so beautiful.  

It is a shame, yet a blessing that this quilt was discarded as rubbish.  Claire enjoys this quilt and has allowed myself and many of the Prairie Women Sewing Circle club members to admire it's beauty.  Thank you Claire for your willingness to share your treasure.

I have since worked out the instructions and plan on making the pattern available soon.  I have named this quilt Side of the Road - it is my way of paying homage to the maker of this quilt.

Thank you for stopping by!  I hope you enjoyed the entry!  Cheers!