Black & White ~ Always Right!

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INSPIRATION 2014 #66: Finding the simple black and white pattern of this quilt inspiring today. It must be sturdy as it is made from utility canvas. The big question is whether or not it could withstand two scottish terriers?

KC Antiques & Collectibles ~ June 2012

Once again have gotten behind on posting, so I am playing catch up on a few shows I have gone to in the past couple of weeks. All of the images in this posting were taken at the KC Antiques & Collectibles show which is now being called The Supermarket. This show has recently moved back to the Kemper Arena ~ it used to be there years ago, so it is deja vu to return to this venue for me. I missed the May show, which I heard was quite large, but I did manage to make it to the June show, so here are some highlights.

{Religious ribbon in silk lined box}

I really love these badges and ribbons, but have not seen one like this before. Most of those I see or have collected are from fraternal organizations like the Odd Fellows. This one is especially interesting as it came in its own box and has the wishbone pinned inside ~ I wonder what the significance of the bone is? In addition, the red, white and blue decoration at top is very unusual ~ most of these ribbons have some sort of metal piece to hold the ribbon. The star and fringe is made of wire bullion and is commonly seen on these pieces.

Below are some beautifully embroidered purses as well as a lovely antique beaded purse ~ the handwork on these pieces is pretty amazing.

{embroidered fabric purses}

{victorian beaded purse}

I also admire the craftsmanship and lovely patterns in old quilts ~ I thought the simple rectangular pattern combined with the feather stitch border was interesting in combination with the simple 'x' stitch design. The geometric quilt ~ not sure if this is the log cabin pattern or a variety of it, had an unusual addition of a small scale patterned fabric here and there.

I also spotted this antique Chiclets display box ~ I loved the pattern on the outside of the box ~ it must have been especially striking when it was new as the metallic ink had lost its lustre. Notice the tagline ~ really delightful ~ we just don't have advertising like that anymore.

Last but not least was this lovely little Built-Rite Toy box. Don't know if it was a free giveaway or if it was a toy to purchase, but I am sure it came flat and one put it together him/herself. I love the design of the box ~ each window has a view of what was being sold inside ~ I wonder how many varieties of these were made? It would be great to have a collection of all of them, wouldn't it?

American Folk Art Museum ~ Part 2

In addition to the figural and object folk art I posted about yesterday, the American Folk Art Museum had a lovely collection of quilts on display when I visited. I thought I would share some of my favorites ~ visit here to see more of their quilt collection and read more details about the individual quilts and their history. What are your favorites?

The images above depict a wonderful, very unique crazy quilt ~ each of the inset vignettes show a different horse and rider. I don't know that I have seen a crazy quilt with round motifs used ~ most of those I am familiar with look more like the surrounding background. The stitch work on this piece was just gorgeous.

The next two images are a section and a detail from the same quilt ~ a star pattern with a tiny engraved image in the center of each star. I love the colors and patterns used in the design of this quilt. I wonder where the engraved images came from ~ were they recycled from something else? Were they cut from a piece of patterned cloth or was there a way to apply such an image to cloth? They certainly didn't have ink jet printers and iron on release paper back then!

The following two images are examples of a technique called trapunto ~ the design is created by stitching a pattern on a quilt sandwich (3 layers: quilt top, batting, and the quilt backing), then stuffing the motifs with small amounts of cotton from the back to create a subtle design.

{beautiful white on white trapunto quilt}

{Interesting combination of pieced quilt design and trapunto}

Many of the quilts I saw included typography ~ I find this type of quilt some of the most interesting and meaningful as many quilters included either names of those creating the quilt or names of family members.

{handwritten script that looks like it was applied with a fountain or dip pen}

{names were embroidered on this quilt}

{Tiny appliques applied by 79 year old Maria make up the lettering on this quilt!}

{Image from here}

This beautiful quilt is pieced together using a zillion pieces of colored felt. I couldn't figure out how the pieces fit together so perfectly ~ whether they were attached to a backing or not. The piece was displayed under glass, so it was difficult to get a good photo, but below are a few close ups that show the intricate cut work and stitching on the quilt.

This last quilt is a traditional log cabin design in a just gorgeous color palette ~ the photos don't do it justice! I've only shown a small sample of the American Folk Art Museum's collection ~ if you get the opportunity, do visit yourself ~ it is an inspirational way to spend an afternoon!

If you could have one of these quilts for your own, which would you choose? I don't know if I could just choose one!