::cough:: ::cough:: Pardon me while I blow some of the dust off the blog. You’ll probably know that this is important if I’m of a mind to post again. And this is!
I’m helping to celebrate the launch of Sarah Fielke’s new book, Old Quilts, New Life! First, congratulations, Miss Sarah, for a fabulous, fabulous book! Yours are always to be looked forward to because they are chock full of quilt goodness and they are lovely books to boot. In this one, Sarah chose nine quilts from The American Folk Art Museum collection and made two versions of each quilt for the book — one is a close interpretation and the second a more contemporary take. You will note with a deep breath, I hope, the tremendous amount of work that goes into such an endeavor. I am always in awe. Sarah always makes me want to be a better quilter. And not a slacker…ahem. So, yes, the book has all the instructions for 18 beautiful quilts.
I hope I am a known appreciator of antique quilts. I find lots of inspiration looking at quilt history books and photos of antique quilts. So, of course, I awaited Sarah’s latest book with great anticipation. I so greatly anticipated it that I pre-ordered two copies (one early on, one more recently — completely oblivious….).
See, gorgeous from the get-go! And I am a lucky, lucky girl because I was this close to Sarah just this past week:
See, there she is — the lime and gin on the left. She was able to autograph both of my books in person. Lucky, happy girl!
But on to quilt business. Sarah asked us to select an antique quilt we admired. I knew immediately which quilt to choose. I don’t know that it is my favorite block (I always say the churn dash), but it is a very fine example of the circles that I like. I also don’t know that it is truly antique but more of a vintage find via eBay. Yes, I acquired this and another treasure from a seller a few years back.
It is in great shape and is nice and big. The collection of fabrics in it is wonderful. I’m guessing it’s from maybe the 1950s based on the fabrics.
Oddly enough, when Sarah asked, I had just completed this Hot Wheels quilt from Kaffe Fassett’s latest book, Heritage Quilts.
And, so, history has repeated itself, and I’ve shown my continued affinity for all things circular. I hope you’ll have a look at Sarah’s new book and around you at quilt history — there is so much inspiration to be found whether you want to re-write it verbatim or edit it to suit your tastes. Our quilting forebears left us with lots of inspiration and so has Sarah!
Congrats on a spectacular new book, old friend, and cheers to revisiting history!
You can see more of Sarah’s latest:
Instagram: @sfielke (and be sure to search for the #oldquiltsnewlife posts of favorite antique quilts.
On her website: www.thelastpiece.net
