Timeless

About a week ago five of us piled into the car and headed to an antique quilt show in nearby Arnprior. We weren't quite sure what to expect but were far from disappointed. More than 100 quilts were displayed throughout their museum, most from the early 1800s, with an impressive range in style and fabrics. You can see the age of the fabric in the upper left of this one starting to dissolve but the beautiful embroidery and quilting shine through after all these years.

Flying Geese

A lovely green Flying Geese welcomed us just inside the door...

Basket

And I totally fell for this basket pattern - I think it might have to go onto a TO DO list. Those blocks are about six inches square; it was just stunning. I can't imagine how long it took to quilt this one!

Grandmother's Garden

Maybe it's because our dad was a carpenter, but we couldn't help but admire the brilliant simplicity of these quilt frames. The Grandmother's Garden quilt that was on the frames was lovely too - it looked like it might have been a crib quilt. What a lovely scalloped edge.

Grandmother's Garden

And more hexagons, this time in rich velvets.

Log Cabin

And a great Log Cabin made from rich woolens - tied instead of stitched.










This pretty Fan pattern done in a lovely sherbet palette.











This little one was really interesting. Each square was stuffed and then sewn together like a series of Chicklets. Lovely velvets and satins.

And last, but not least, this beauty. This is only a very small section from a full sized quilt, with the leaves about 2.5 inches long. The vine is embroidered with a chain stitch instead of using bias fabric strips, which, when combined with the soft grey/lavender background, gave it a real air of sophistication. But look at the range of fabrics in the leaves - almost contemporary. Which only goes to prove that everything old is new again.


Many thanks to my sister B for taking these shots.

On the trip home we stopped in the tiny hamlet of Burnstown for a fabulous lunch at The Blackbird Café and then discovered a great bakery in Renfrew where we picked up dessert(s) for dinner. What's not to love?
...M