Friday, April 17, 2009

Virtual Quilt Festival

I am back, safe and sound! (Thank you for all your well wishes!)

I have some pictures to show you tomorrow.

Today is a Virtual Quilt Festival!!

Go check out Amy's site to view more beautiful quilts.









This one was done by my Grandma Carlson and Great Grandma A.
(GG is what we call her. She is Grandma's mom)

It is all the fifty states' birds, flower and date they joined the USA. They are in the order they joined.
They are hand embroidered.
If you look at the different color threads on the state names, between these two blocks....
The bright red one is my Grandma Carlson. The darker brick red is GG.

GG was soooo mad when she saw that they were different colors she was going to rip all hers out to have them match. Thank goodness Grandma talked her out of it (I haven't heard the story how!) but now I know which block is Grandma's and GG's. We would not have known otherwise.
This whole quilt is HAND quilted! I know, WOW!! I don't know how long it took but I do know it was made in Custer, South Dakota.
These are the center five.

I whole heartedly LOVE this quilt. It is quite a large quilt though so I have to wait to put it on a bed or wall.

This is one of my possesions that IF (knock on wood) there was ever a fire in my house, I would try and grab this. This is a huge part of our family history.

Go check out more awesome quilts here... OOOOOOO

Thanks for visiting!

63 comments:

amylouwhosews said...

This is SO awesome! My quilt is an embroidered one too!

Andi said...

What a great story!!
A real treasure.
Andi :-)

Bunny said...

beautiful! all that embroidery is just awe inspiring. and it is so great that you can tell who did which blocks.

Nadine said...

It's a lovely quilt, and so special! All that hand embroidery and hand quilting is just beautiful. Thanks for sharing!

rachel griffith said...

omg!!!
what a treasure to have!!!
amazing!!!

Terri Stegmiller said...

What a fantastic family heirloom.

Casey said...

what a great treasure

Anina said...

I love quilts with stories and history. Wonderful!

The Duckers said...

that is such a cool quilt, and I agree, so good that they left it the way it is. :o)
Glad you got back safe.

Kristina P. said...

Glad you're back! You should stop by my house and say hello! You know, my virtual house.

LOVE the quilt. So beautiful.

Mallorie said...

Wow. That took a lot of work! I'm so glad your grandma didn't rip hers out & start over...like you said, now you know who did what. It's a cool story too!

Aunt Spicy said...

That is just lovely! There is something about having an item created by the hands of those you love!

Doris said...

Oh, K, what a treasure! I love thta you know which lady made which blocks!

(and I smile 'cause Iowa is in the center 5!)

Unknown said...

What a treasure! very beautiful work by both those ladies :)

Sherri said...

What a special heirloom...and the story behind it is wonderful too!

Lisa said...

Oh, man, I would grab this too, in case of a fire! What a treasure.

Heather said...

Thanks for sharing such a special quilt. Love the stitching of all those birds and flowers. wow.

Unknown said...

Kritta that quilt is awesome!!! what a family heirloom you have!

Anonymous said...

AMAZING quilt!!!

Shannon said...

I love seeing these old quilts!

Anonymous said...

what a wonderful piece of family history this is.

whoopsadasie said...

That is one amazing quilt! I don't know if I would have the patience to do it all by hand! I understand why it is a treasure to you!

Dionne said...

That is a truly fabulous quilt! It's definitely an heirloom, your children's children will still be treasuring this quilt!
Cheers,
Dionne
PS - I'm glad your trip was safe and WONDERFUL!

Bethany said...

The birds are beautifully embroidered and it's a stunning quilt.

Melinda H. said...

You have such a talent with quilting. We missed you at playgroup, but I am sure you had so much fun visiting your hubby! Was he surprised?

I am sorry that you are going through the same thing as myself. I am more sad for you because you are such a cute mom and I could see you with a bunch of kids. I have four kids and if that is all God intended me to have then that's fine. I always remind myself that our "life" plan is not ours but God's. We can just keep on trying and trying and hope that we get that healthy baby, just as we did with the other four. I have no problem getting pregnant, it's just keeping the pregnancy. How are you handling things? You can also call me at anytime!

Jocelyn said...

Incredible. What a piece of family history.

Coloradolady said...

This is wonderful...and has sparked a memory or two. I think my grandmother might have had a quilt like this or similar...Oh, how I wish I could be for sure. I love your quilt...treasures like this can not be replaced.

em's scrapbag said...

What a treasure. The had work is beautiful.

em's scrapbag said...

What a treasure. The had work is beautiful.

Anonymous said...

How fortunate to be the owner of such a beautiful quilt made by your loved ones! Thanks for sharing your story.

Kim said...

What a wonderful quilt! Such history, such talented handwork! I love the story of the two reds, too.

Robin said...

Such a lovely treasure! And the story about the different threads is so funny. I'm glad they were able to work it out-- it is so nice that you now have a record of who did what. Thanks for sharing! :)

Maggie said...

I've come to think that needles don't fit in my fingers. I've never gotten the hang of hand work. This quilt is truly impressive.

Dianah said...

I love your quilt! What a great story to go with it. I have 2 quilts the my Great Grandma made just for me and they are treasures.

dy

Kerri said...

oh, my!! this is just soooo lovely!!

Anonymous said...

That quilt was gorgeous. It must have taken a long time to make. To anwswer your question about Clayton's glasses, he does fine with them when he is distracted enough. When he is outside playing, he is just fine, but when he is inside and bored he wants to take them off and play with them. We don't make him wear them all the time for that very reason.

Tacha said...

Wow what a fantastic quilt. I can't believe it is all hand done. I can't imagine tackling a quilt that size by hand!

dutchcomfort said...

This is a piece of persistance! All done by hand... so amazing and beautiful!!

dream quilt create said...

What a gorgeous quilt. A lot of love went into it!

Jennwith4 said...

Wow! I can't believe it! I just came into possession of a quilt just like this! My husbands grandmother made it and yes it is quite large! I am also waiting to hang it on a wall and I have just the spot in mind but am waiting for some remodeling in that room. Hers is also handquilted. I'll have to send you a pic of it. What a special treasure to have!

Pamela said...

What a lovely family heirloom, and I think it's perfect that they used two different reds!

Quilt Rat said...

Your Grandmothers will always be as close as that quilt.

Cindy's Stitching said...

what a family treasure. Beautiful

Susan said...

I am loving all the embroidery. You have a wonderful heirloom.

RG said...

What a wonderful treasure!!

Anonymous said...

Wow, what a great quilt, and a neat piece of history too. Yep, I would try to grab that in a fire too. Totally irreplaceable.

Micki said...

I love machine embroidery too, so I really enjoyed your quilt. Nice meeting you through the festival of quilts.
Micki

Helen said...

What a wonderful quilt and heirloom. I can see why you love it so much.

Thanks for sharing and for telling us the story behind it.

Hugs

Oddbjørg said...

What a treasure! The quilt is wonderful!

Mandy said...

How wonderful to have such a magnificent piece of quilting as a family heirloom.

Patricia said...

I love the idea of having a family treasure. Maybe my children will think the same of some of my quilts! It is lovely!

Sara said...

I always wanted to embroidery the state birds and flowers and make a quilt. Still haven't done it.

Your quilt is very nice and a treasure.

rebecs said...

love the birds!

and love military wives!

whoopdedoo_5 said...

wow awesome! :)

me said...

No wonder this is one thing you would grab... it is breathtaking. I can't even imagine the hours that went into it. I love it too!

Quilty Conscience said...

What a treasure you have! And educational too! beautiful!

Debbie said...

I love state quilts and lucky you to have one made by women you love. Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

beautiful! all that embroidery

Janie

meggie said...

This is just a pure treasure!! So glad you have it, thanks for sharing.

bimbi said...

amazing quilt ! i can't stop staring ... :)

Sarcastic Quilter said...

this is a great quilt. I may just have to make one of my own one day.

Lucy said...

You are one lucky gal... it is stunning. All the hand quilting and embroidery - I cannot imagine - so much hard work and love. I'm sure you will treasure it forever.

yarnahoy said...

LOVE the quilt & the story.
:)