Crazy Quilt Wreath: The Making of an Heirloom
by
Dawn M. Smith
Photo taken by Laurie Stemen.
Introduction
I read about the idea for writing about something special as you make it from the Internet. A lady had been given a quilt from her grandma along with a journal which described making it. I liked the idea and thought that since this project contains so many family momentos it is a perfect candidate for such treatment. I put making of an heirloom in the title because I really do hope that it stays with the family for a long time. I thought - if it gets passed down - how nice to know in years to come the stories behind the special pieces, or at least which pieces are special and who they belonged to. This is starting to turn into a book. I decided to write this in the order that I made it. Several of the pieces I mention are embellished with buttons and other trims. I'll describe the trims in a separate section. To whoever is reading this, I hope that you enjoy it. I had great fun making and embellishing the wreath, and also writing this journal.
Inspiration
During Christmas season 1995, I checked out some Christmas books from the library. The Salem Library has a whole section of them, and they're great for inspiration for crafts and decorating. I was leafing through them, and there it was: the most beautiful wreath I'd ever seen. It was in Better Homes and Gardens 1990 Christmas Crafts on page 144. I can't believe it took me five years since the book was published to find it. I knew immediately that some day I would make one.
Planning
I was at Mom's during Easter vacation. We got out Grandpa's old sewing machine. Mom had never learned to use a sewing machine, and she decided the time had come. We oiled the machine and got it working. Mom sewed a couple of trial seams on scrap fabric. She wasn't nearly as jumpy as she had been the other few times I tried to teach her. I suggested we get together this summer to make the crazy quilt wreathes I had seen. Do you detect a pattern here? Sewing and vacations - as a teacher, that's when I have free time. Around the 10th of June, I asked Mom when she wanted to make the wreathes. She said that Uncle Joe, dad's brother, would be coming from Toledo on the 16th of June. They were leaving the next day for a week in Texas. With dad out of the house, we wouldn't have any interruptions while we sewed. We set the day to start for Monday June 17. In the meantime we both gathered our fabrics, laces and trims.
Construction
Day One
Monday morning Johnny traded our car for a newer truck, so it was about 4:oo before we got to Mom's. Johnny and Brody went to drive around so Brody could learn to drive a standard, and Mom and I got started.
Mom had sold Grandpa's machine since she hadn't used it, so we used mine. The first thing we did was go through all of our fabrics to see what we had. We spread them all around the kitchen floor, and put up the ones we didn't think would work or were too precious to cut.
Next we cut the patterns from newspaper. I made an 18" circle and Mom's 12" circle. We cut the muslin backing from an old feed sack Mom had. Then we were ready to sew.
I started with a black velvet piece from Mom's fabric stash. The method we used is sew and flip. You sew the right sides of two pieces to the backing muslin. Then flip the top piece and repeat the process.
My next piece was a wine background paisley print cotton. This was a scrap left over from one of my favorite skirts. I made the skirt while I was in college. I still wear it. Next came an olive green satin, then royal blue velveteen both from Mom's stash. The next piece is a turquoise fleece from the thrift shop. I bought several items at a bag sale to make Barbie clothes for my niece Haley. On top of the fleece is a beautiful lace that belonged to Aunt Margurite, Grandma Stemen's sister. She gave me several crocheted pieces, along with two pieces of this old lace when we went to Canada in 1986to visit her. Aunt Margurite lives in LaSalle which is south of Winepeg. Grandma met us there and we had a great time. We also saw a lot on the trip there and back. The lace may be handmade. I can't tell. It is definitely old. I'm wondering if it is Belgian lace since we have relatives in Belgium.
Beside Aunt Margurite's lace is a narrow strip of purple from a thrift store blouse. Then another narrow strip. This time a gold-green brocade I bought at Washam's specifically for the wreath. The piece was about 18" x 80", and I wound up using about 2" x 6". Oh well, there's always another project.
The next piece was a brown velveteen from a thrift store jacket. I bought it to make a vest with. While I was sewing these on, Mom was busy working on her wreath. She was using the machine like she's been doing it for years. I'm so proud of her. We visited and had a great time. It's a lot of fun working on a project like this with someone else. We did a bunch of "What do you think of this here", and Maybe it would be better there."
Johnny and Brody came in about the time I sewed down the purple piece. Johnny wondered out loud if that was all we'd accomplished. I think he had it in his mind we were making quilts. They started a movie that Mom had on tape. My sister Laurie came in and admired our work. She had originally planned to work on a wreath with us, but we all decided that Haley was too little to have around a project this messy. It became especially apparent after we got started, and it was spread from one end of the kitchen to the other.
After the brown velveteen, we decided to pack up for the night.
Day Two
Our next sewing day was Wednesday. When I got to Mom's, she was embroidering a white dove on red velveteen. Dumb me, I asked if it was a swan. Well, she was only part way done with it. She also had some crochet pieces to show me, because I had told her that I had to have some of her crochet work. There was a beautiful 3" doily that she had made from an old ball of a gorgeous dark ecru cotton. I decided on that as the one I wanted to use. She made all of us doilies from it sins it was so pretty and unique. I have a set of three that I use in the living room. Mom said this little one was the last of the thread. She also had a little basket that I liked, but maybe I'll make a vest and use the basket on that.
I started sewing with a triangle of gold-lace printed on black cotton. I bought this when I first worked at Dollar General in Salem. I love the fabric, but have never figured out what to make from it. I guess it's too glitzy for me. Then came some red satin with a piece of gold rick rack in the seam. Beside that I used a navy velveteen from Mom's stash.
On top of the velveteen I sewed part of a small lace doily that was Aunt Nette's. She was Grandma Stemen's younger sister, and a very special lady. When I was growing up Aunt Nette never forgot a birthday or Christmas. She always sent a present. Sometimes they were kind of goofy, but she never once forgot. One year she send a bead collar she had bought in Africa. I never wore it, but I loved the idea of owning something from so far away. Aunt Nette never married. She taught English in an Ottowa high school. She also traveled all over the world, and in each country she bought a doll. As I got older, we corresponded more. I mentioned that I love dolls and collect miniatures and dolls. When she died, Aunt Nette left me her wonderful doll collection. In the trunk with them was a set of various sized lace doilies that she had displayed the dolls on. This piece of lace is from one of those doilies.
Next to Aunt Nette's lace went a blue piece of satin and an apricot colored piece. Both of these were linings from Mom's fabrics.
Beside these I sewed a strip from a piece of scarf print. I bought this when I worked at Dollar General and I have a scarf made from it. It's beautiful, but a little gaudy. The only time I wore it was when I dressed up as a gypsy for a Halloween carnival at Jason and Brody's school. One of my Spanish club members has worn it as a part of a gypsy fortune teller costume at two Spring Flings at school. Right now I'm using it over a bucket that a dragon tree plant is sitting on. It looks very Victorian next to our new sofa.
Next to the gypsy print I sewed a tiny triangle of a teal blouse Mom bought for the wreaths. She started her wreath with this fabric. About this time I realized I hadn't used Grandma Stemen's lace. Grandma died on June first. We talked about her a lot while we made the wreaths. It's been a month as I write this. I find I can't seem to say much about her. I have a real chokey feeling thinking about it. I did write a poem the week before we started the wreathes. I'll include it since it pretty much sums up how I'm feeling.
Anyway the lace was from one of Grandma's hankies. That's what she always called them. I guess she used it often, because it was in pretty bad shape. That's why I didn't mind cutting it. I have another one just like it that's in better shape. I sewed it on top of a piece of purple fleece Mom had.
The next piece of fabric is a special one too. It came from an old day bed that my brother-in-law Robert who died in his early 30's gave to us. It was a beautiful piece of furniture which unfortunately got ruined while we had it stored. I do have a special picture of it. I was taking a picture of Brody playing with his blocks which were on the day-bed. Just as I snapped the picture, he stood up for the first time a block in each hand. Talk about perfect timing!
On top of the tapestry day-bed fabric I put a corner of a lace scarf from the thrift store. I sewed a triangle of the olive satin over the ends of the purple and the tapestry. Next I put a rather large piece of navy velveteen from a jacket I bought at the same time as the brown one. I made it large enough to put Mom's doily on it.
By this time we had been working about 5 hours, and we were getting a little tired. Of course we had chatted the whole time and stopped briefly to eat some macaroni salad. Mom was working so steadily she only smoked a couple of cigarettes.
The next piece I sewed on was a piece of tapestry ribbon. I had bought two remnant pieces at Washam's for 25 cents each earlier this spring. Of course, when I went to get the supplies for the wreaths Martha, the owner, couldn't find the others she had. The one I was putting on was beautiful except it just didn't look right. I turned it and turned it trying to find the right spot. Finally I figured out that it was the off-white edge that I didn't like. I satin stitched over it on the sewing machine using black thread - perfect!
Over the tapestry ribbon and the navy I put a triangle of the teal fleece. I turned it over to trim the edges and disaster struck! "Arrgh", I screamed painfully. Mom was at the sewing machine and she looked up to see what was wrong. I couldn't believe it. I had laid the doily on the navy piece to see how it looked. When I turned the wreath over to trim it, the doily slipped down and I cut it nearly to the middle! Anyone who knows anything about crochet knows that cutting it is a big mistake. It all ravels out. I just kept saying, "I can't believe it. It was the last of that color." Mom looked miserable too. She said that she had another doily left that she could rip out to make another little one. What a mess. I guess I was just tired. I kept saying, "I'm so stupid."
Then Mom had an inspiration. "We could try fabric glue. I have some I use on my crocheted angels, and it doesn't show." Well to make a long story short (I guess it's a little late for that.) we used the glue and I sewed it on also. It doesn't seem to be any worse for the disaster. Hopefully it will hold together and not ravel.
After that experience, Mom and I decided it was time for a break. We had some chips and then did some hand sewing. I tacked my other laces down. No more disasters for me. I also sewed on a piece of wine colored ribbon between the day-bed fabric and the purple. I used some tiny shell buttons with off-set holes that I've been saving for years. When or where I got them I don't remember, but they were all sewed on to a tiny piece of felt. Now that I think about it they may have been in an old sewing box that I bought, or possibly one that Mom gave me.
Well after we rested a bit, we got back to work. Mom finished her wreath top fairly quickly. Mine is a little bigger and took a little longer. I put on a rust colored ribless corduroy which covered the other white edge on the tapestry ribbon. Over the rust fabric I sewed a piece of rust machine-made lace that resembles crochet. I bought it right after Jason was born to make a shawl for a doll I had made. When I looked at the wreath I realized that I had mad two triangles of the olive green almost exactly alike, but on opposite sides of the wreath. I didn't like that so I sewed on a prairie point (a folded triangle) of black satin over one of the triangles. The next-to-last piece was a forest green twill. It's not a dressy fabric, but I was running low on choices and I wanted some green. The rust and green are both rather large. I was getting tired, but was determined to finish.
Johnny had come to pick me up. Again he didn't seem to impressed with our progress after nearly eight hours. I guess he was thinking that at this rate it would take all summer to do the quilt. We finally explained that we were making wreathes not a quilt, and they were nearly done. He decided to watch another movie while we finished. We watched While You Were Sleeping with Sandra Bullock.
To cover the seam between the green and the black velvet I sewed on a piece of apricot ribbon using embroidery floss. This was the first piece I decorated. I had forgot to bring the book that showed embroidery stitches, so I just made one up. I used some turquoise floss of Mom's. The last piece I sewed on was a red fleece completely covered with a piece of Aunt Margurite's lace. It's the same lace, but it looks different because I used the opposite edge. I sewed the last seam by hand. The backing fabric was finally covered. Mom and I were both really pleased with the way they turned out. I especially like the dove on Mom's.
Embellishment
I'm not going to tell much about the embroidery except to say that I went to the libraries at Salem and Mountain Home and checked out seven books that had embroidery instructions, examples of crazy quilts, or both to use for ideas. I'm learning lots of new stitches.
It's been a couple of weeks since I worked on the wreath, so I'm just going to start at Mom's doily and describe the things going clock-wise instead of in the order I applied them.
I decided to put Aunt CeCe's cameo brooch on top of the doily. Aunt CeCe was Grandma Marchetto's sister. We used to visit her and Uncle Pat and Grandpa Bailey when I was little. I like to wear the brooch, but I'll just take it off when I want to wear it. Beside the doily I sewed a piece of purple ribbon on with embroidery and also a piece of rust lining fabric. I didn't like all of the velveteen showing. I put a metal button on the olive green patch. It came from some I bought at the thrift store. They remove them from the damaged clothes.
I did some embroidery on the lace scarf corner - french knot flowers with leaves. The tiny shell buttons I've already described. I put some tiny gold beads on the scarf print. Beside that are three gorgeous buttons from the 40's. They are metal with dark red glass on them. They came from a maroon crepe dress that Mom gave me. She found it in an old house. I loved the dress. It had these buttons all down the front. I wore it several times. Unfortunately the old crepe didn't wash well, and I ruined it. I don't know what happened to the rest of the buttons, but I'm glad there were three left.
On Aunt Nette's doily is an old apricot colored button from my button box. It is sewed on with a blue bow. I did bull's head stitches in a repeat pattern over the peach satin. It was the first time I'd done that stitch. I also learned feather stitching which I did between the peach and Aunt Nette's doily. It was hard for me to learn. I don't think I ever would have if it hadn't been for a Reader's Digest needlework book that had better stitch diagrams than all of the rest.
I sewed on some narrow trims, red with black stitching and black with gold. I bought these at Washam's for this project. I think I got the clerk flustered. Martha wasn't there and I made the poor lady cut 1/2 yard pieces of about ten ribbons and trims all with different prices.
On the brown velveteen I pinned a heart shaped mother-of-pearl brooch that was Grandma Stemen's. It says Mother in gold colored metal and has six glass stones. We are curious about where it came from, but it's too late to ask...
On a purple strip I sewed a row of shell buttons that turned out really pretty. Three flower shaped buttons with black centers alternate with three tiny shank buttons. I bought these in a jar of buttons at a yard sale. The lady was in her sixties, and she said that they were her mother-in-laws. Several were on cards from the fifties or early sixties by the pictures on them. I sewed a strip of tapestry ribbon over the blue velveteen. I made some of the pieces too big, I think, when I was sewing the fabrics on.
On the green triangle is a metal heart shape with three fake pearl charms on it. Mom gave me these this spring when I asked her to look for jewelry parts. They were in a drawer in her bedroom. She said she used to keep the boys busy when they were little by going through this drawer. She keeps odds and ends there.
Next to the green triangle I sewed another piece of lace from Aunt Nette. She sent it to me one birthday after I got married along with an embroidered cloth. I was supposed to sew it on the cloth to finish it, but I never did. I just used the cloth like it was. I put red beads at the points of the lace. On black velvet next to the lace is a beautiful black and gold button. It came off a black swing coat that I wore when I was first married. The coat came from the fifties . I wore it until it practically fell apart. It only had the one button at the top.
The small red and white button on Aunt Margurite's lace is really special to me. It is from Grandma Stemen's button box. The button box was one of the things I wanted when Grandma got sick. When I was little, she used to get the button box out to keep me busy. I would sort through all of the buttons, lining up the one's that matched. In particular I remember the little red and white ones. There must have been more than ten. They were my favorites. I used to imagine the dress they must have once been on. When I got the button box, most of the old ones were gone. But this one was still there. I guess over the years they got lost. Probably when other kids played with them. Around this lace I sewed a piece of the narrow red trim from Washam's. This time couching it down in khaki.
On the green piece I sewed a piece of silver lace. It looked pretty gaudy so I did red herringbone stitch over it and also some blue straight stitches. Next to the ribbon I sewed oval pearl-type beads. I'm not sure how long I've had them, but I know they have been in a medicine bottle I got when Jason was about three. They've been there since it was emptied. I had a whole set of these bottles. He had to take sulfa drug for tonsillitis. Jason used to get tonsillitis every couple of months. I would take him to the doctor and he would get a shot. It got to the point that he was scared to death not only of doctors, but photographers and other strangers in small rooms too. Any way, I took him to a new doctor, Dr. Martin, who told me not to let anyone give him another shot for tonsillitis. He said he was so scared he couldn't be examined. From then on he got oral drugs which took a little longer, but worked just as well I guess Dr. Martin was too sensitive to be a doctor, because he killed himself a couple of years later after he had lost a young patient with leukemia.
Also on the green patch, I sewed a red rose made from bouillon stitch. I learned this rose from a crazy quilt on the internet. I like it so well. I'm thinking about making it my signature and putting it on any other crazy quilt projects I make. I already have put it on the back of a small stuffed heart I made.
On the tapestry ribbon's flowers I sewed glass seed beads to the centers. These gave me more trouble. First I added gold beads to both flowers. I didn't like that, so I took off one center and changed the color about four times. I finally decided on red. After that I decided to leave the other center gold, but I'm still not sure .... maybe I should change it to red too?
More Embellishments
I decided that I really wanted to have something of Grandma Marchetto's on the wreath, so I wrote to her and asked her to send something. While I was waiting I added more embroidery.
I added a piece of maroon velveteen from a vest Mom bought for the project, but had forgotten. I put it across the gold, brown, and red pieces. Then I did a row of wheat bundle stitches with french knots. I did a really pretty row of coral double feather stitch on the turquoise next to Aunt Margurite's lace. I'm getting much better at feather stitch! I also sewed a row of red bouillon stitch flowers along the tapestry ribbon. I had put all three of these patterns on the stuffed heart I made.
About this time Grandma sent me a beautiful hankie that she had made for Aunt CeCe. It has a crocheted butterfly inset. It's so pretty and in such good shape that I can't bear to cut it. I asked her to try to find something else. I really didn't want to cut it when Mom told me she could remember Grandma making it when she was a little girl.
About this time I bought a spool of gold metallic thread. It's really neat. I put a spider's web on the brown velveteen and moved the mother-of-pearl brooch over some. It's a European tradition that spiders in embroidery bring good luck. I kind of like the notion, and the webs are so pretty. I didn't actually do a spider -- I guess it's hiding behind the brooch. Maybe I'll add one later.
I also outlined one of the paisleys in gold and added some gold to the gypsy scarf strip. When I was doing that I added some slanted button hole and other stitches in that area. I think I'm getting close to finishing.
While I've been waiting for something else from Grandma to put on, I've been working on another project. It's a vest done all in black fabrics. I picked out five different clothing items from the thrift shop to go with ones I had from the wreath project. I did embroidery along the edge of each patch in autumn colors. It's turning out gorgeous. Laurie bought a great book Elegant Stitches by Judith Baker Montano that really helped with ideas. I ordered another one by the same author called Crazy Quilt Odessy from inter-library loan and guess what? There was the original wreath that got me started. She had made it! This lady has been a real inspiration to lots of people I guess. I had an email from another lady who had taken her classes. What fun!
I also borrowed another book about the history of crazy quilt called Crazy Quilts by Penny McMorris, an art historian. It's a great book with lots of ideas, Laurie may buy it. It has a great poem written by the husband of a crazy quilt fanatic in 1867. I love the poem, It reminds me of Johnny. He told me when I was working on my vest that he's sure glad he's not paying me by the hour.
There don't seem to be many books available just on crazy quilt. I would love to try to write one. (I'm probably dreaming.) Maybe next summer! I would include my projects and Mom's, Laurie's old quilt and a teddy bear she just bought. Also a small framed piece that I found when I went to the thrift store to get fabric for my vest. As I was checking out, I spotted a 3" x 4" frame with a piece of an old crazy quilt as a backing for pressed flowers. The frame is the same mauve as my bedroom. It was 25 cents. I couldn't believe my good luck. it made me wonder ... did God put it there for me? It seems like it. Maybe it's a sign that this is the art form for me.
Finishing the Project
Well I have strayed from my original topic again. Mom has been in Ohio. She and Dad went to help Uncle Joe while he has an operation for his prostrate. Mom and Grandma picked out another hankie for my wreath. Mom sent it this week. It's perfect. it has triangles of lace on each corner. It's over 50 years old and Grandma used it a lot. one of the corners is stained a little, so I don't mind cutting it. I'll use one corner for the wreath and there will be three left for other projects. Mom may want one for her wreath.
I finally finished the wreath. I sewed the corner from Grandma's hankie over the rust lace and the piece of turquoise fleece. I embroidered little bouillon stitch flowers all over the turquoise.
I went over to Laurie's to help her get started with a crazy quilt pillow she wanted to make. While she was doing that, I sewed on some Austrian glass beads that I received via the Internet on the purple next to Grandma Stemen's hankie lace. I had asked on a bead news group for addresses of places where they sell small amounts of beads by mail order. A lady wrote and offered to just send me some. She sent a nice variety of two to three of each kind all labeled with what they are. She said she had plenty and just likes to do stuff like that. I wanted to be sure and add some of the beads to the wreath so I could mention them in this journal. They are really pretty on the wreath too. There are nice people out there! It's just a matter of finding them. Two other ladies sent me old-fashioned hollyhock seed when I asked a gardening news group for sources for the seed. Unfortunately the deer have been eating on the ones Johnny planted like they did most of the rest of this year's garden. Hopefully they will come back from the roots.
I added lots more gold embroidery to the paisley. I went all around it with lazy daisy stitches, and also outlined some of the smaller paisleys. I worked on that while we watched the Miss America pageant. That makes two pageants I have a reason for remembering. The first was on the night we were married and stayed at a motel. We turned it off though!
The following day Laurie came over to finish her pillow square. I had lucked in to a bag sale at the thrift store where I bought 33 blouses in polyesters, rayons. and even silks for $2.00. I picked them all out in the twenty minutes before they closed. That's mostly what she used for her square.
We had worried about Haley when Mom and I started the wreathes, but she was really good. She cut paper and small fabric scraps very busily. She told me, "I like doing crafts."
While Laurie worked on her pillow square, I finished the wreath. I sewed burgundy trim around the outside and made the back from wine colored fleece. I embroidered my name the year, and a red bullion stitch rose on the back. I didn't have enough of the trim, so I had to wait to completely finish the wreath.
Laurie finished her square and decided that what she really wants is a quilt. She bought several more pieces of fabric, and now has four squares done. She invited a friend over to learn from her how to do the crazy quilt. I think that they are both hooked.
I finished the wreath after I bought more trim and stuffing. I sewed the center by hand. Before I closed it completely, I added a couple more things.
I put one of Aunt Jean Fuller's earrings in the navy velvet next to Aunt Nette's doily. The earring is a pearl with a celluloid flower back. Aunt Jean wasn't really my aunt, but Grandma Stemen's good friend. They went everywhere together. Aunt Jean had dyed red hair, a course voice, and a heart of gold. She was one of my favorite people. She had very little family, just some nieces in West Virginia, so we were her family. When I got my ears pierced during the summer between fifth and sixth grades, she let me wear a pair of her stud earrings. They were beautiful green ones. The had a screw back. When Dr. Kasher ( Grandma's doctor for years) tried to put the earring in, it was too thick to fit the hole he had made. He had to get a larger earring and do it again. By this time, I wasn't so sure I really wanted it done, but Grandma and Dr. Kasher said we had come this far it was silly to stop now. HE did the other ear and put the earrings in. Grandma looked and cocked her head and said, "No, I think it's a little crooked." I was sure they were fine, but out came the earring and in went another hole. I thought I was going to pass out. The whole time Dr. Kasher had been teasing me and asking if I wanted my nose pierced too. Little did we know that 15 years later people would actually pierce their noses! After my ears healed I gave Aunt Jean her green earrings back and she gave me the pearl ones to keep. They have screw backs too and will not go in my ears any more. I guess the holes got narrower. I also lost one of the backs. I'm so glad I had something of Aunt Jean's to add to the wreath.
The last thing I put on before finishing the wreath was one of Grandpa Stemen's Glass City Motorcycle Club pins. He was a founding member of the club in Toledo, and he had a pin for each year. Laurie has the full set and also a magazine with Grandpa riding a motorcycle on the front. I remember going out to the club with him when I was little. We had lot's of fun. They had family days. Those were my favorites. We had different games and a big picnic. The club was out in the country, and I always came back tired out, bit up by mosquitoes and ready to go back the next time.
I finished sewing up the center and put a piece of trim to hang the wreath from on the back. It didn't come out completely round, but Laurie says that's part of the handmade charm! I have it hanging over the fireplace in town. I love it. I'm going to use it for the holidays, but I may have a hard time taking it down in between. There are so many wonderful memories sewed up in this wreath.
Even though it is technically finished, I imagine I will keep adding trinkets to the wreath. Somewhere I have an opal earring that Grandpa Stemen bought for me. I already added Jason's Geometry award charm. Who knows - some day my great-grandchildren may add something!
© 1997 If you made it this far, please let me know what you think of my project journal. Email me at dsmith@centuryinter.net
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