Our recent pottery
challenge was a lot of fun. It required me to study the tea cup I
received, and be inspired designing a small quilt that symbolizes its origin
and history, as well as please Sally the recipient.
The teacup was the last
remaining piece in this set of English china. I didn't need to be a
major sleuth to know this meant a lot of broken pieces preceded this tiny
delicate cup. Ta-dah…I would use the "broken dishes" block in
my design.
Sally's grandmother was
born in the Netherlands. I had no idea when her family came to the US, but I
knew she was born in 1849....so I picked browns and creams in mid-19th century
reproductions, since I didn't have Dutch fabrics in my stash.
I also researched the
history of the "broken dishes" block. There are many details about
its history, but to simplify, it exemplifies the early Americans packing up
their possessions and heading west to settle in the new frontier. Their
treacherous wagon travel meant lots of lost and damaged personal belongings,
thus the broken dishes pattern emerged. Its not a pinwheel though, rather a tiny little HST pieces in similar
fabric designs signifying broken pieces of fine china, all in a compact
little quilt would work great.
Sally liked her quilt, as
did her mother, and the effort created around it. If they liked it half
as much as I enjoyed doing it, then I'm a happy quilter. And thanks to
the bee in Downers Grove for their inspiration!
Thanks for expanding on your quilt for Sally. It was stunningly perfectly matched for that tea cup and when I saw it, if you weren't standing right next to me, I might have tucked it into my pocket! I am sure Sally will treasure it. They should be framed together in a shadow box.
ReplyDeleteI think she will enjoy it too. It was a fun challenge, and just the right size not to overwhelm!
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