Project Finish – History Wrap-up – Survey

Hello everyone, hope all is well with you. This is a robust post. First of all, the project is complete and no, this is not an April Fools funny. The quilting went smoothly. I kept the pattern simple, following the suggestion in the instructions: stitching around each block, sashing, and background. Then, not following the instructions, I just went around the edge a few times, making a big rectangle. I chose this strategy because the top is so complex that I thought any additional intricacy would not have much of an impact. In fact, you really don’t see the quilting from the top, the best shot is this close-up of the back.

The final step was to bind the edges of the quilt, and since I was unfamiliar on how to proceed, I followed an excellent Craftsy tutorial. First, I made a gigantic strip of the binding fabric.

Finally, the binding was attached to the edge of the quilt on the front by machine and on the back by hand. Luckily, there was a bit of sunshine yesterday so I took the quilt outside to be photographed.

I am quite pleased about how the quilt came out. Is it perfect? Absolutely not. The lined border is not very forgiving with the sewing, it is always going to be off just with the human action of sewing. This quilt is looking for a home at a modest price so please contact me at planetnicecrafts@gmail.com if interested.

As promised, I would like to wrap up the quilt history (via Quilts the American Story by Susan Jenkins and Linda Seward). We left off at the Civil War period. After the Civil War, the country continued its journey to be an industrial machine: railroads, steamboats, and telegraph lines leading to an influx of immigrants looking for opportunities, ambitious men to become tycoons, and a growing middle class. This was also the Victorian period in Great Britain, during which opulence was of high value. Though the quilts made out of calico prints and scraps were valued by the women of rural and frontier areas of the country, the urban populations started using high end materials such as silk, velvet, and brocade in quilts made for display and to impress instead of utility. The Crazy Quilt technique is exemplary of this period, here is a link with some good photos: http://www.rockymountainquilts.com/files/antique_quilts_crazy.php

I think they are pretty neat, but they were seen as decadent and as tastes changes around the turn of the 20^th century, they were not as popular. Tastes changed at this time because of two main factors. The first was the condemnation of the scandals, public corruption, and general immorality of this gilded age and in reaction, a craving of simpler times, civic virtue, and nationalism leading to a Colonial Revival Movement. The second was the Arts and Crafts movement here in the US, which was initiated by a display of Great Britain's Decorative Arts movement (think William Morris) at the US’s 100^th anniversary celebration in Philadelphia. The Arts and Crafts movement was also a reaction to the impact of the Industrial Revolution and its influence legitimized American folk and art traditions including quilting.

Through all of this, women continued to quilt for their communities and their social causes. Patterns began to be published and even kits were introduced in the 1920s and 1930s. Enthusiasm for quilting did decrease following World War II as women joined the workforce and time became limited. It did regain in attention in the 1970s when new patterns and new materials created an updated aesthetic. That’s where we are at, all matters of quilting I think are still perceived as more of a traditional pastime. I looked in my most recent issue of Architectural Digest (as a representative of contemporary style), and I did not find a single quilted object (not even an accessory).

To assist me in choosing the next project for Planet Nice Crafts, I would like to know what would be interesting to the audience. Here is a short, 3-question survey link from Survey Monkey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8WWKDF8

The survey is safe and anonymous – I have utilized Survey Monkey previously with success. I researched but from what I found, there is not a way to embed the survey in this Blogger post. Thank you for your continued support!