Cuddy’s Quilt

It was a real treat to begin work earlier today, Sunday, with a neighbor on a quilt to remember Cuddy.    Today’s blog includes the 2006 “Quilts of Gee’s Bend” commemorative postage stamps, 39 cents – the sixth in the American Treasures Series, and from 1978 the four stamps for the commemorative set “American Folk Art” Quilts, 13 cents.

We have determined the quilt blocks will be 8 x 8.  Each quilt block is actually two triangles – two dog bandanas which are being cut (with rotary blade) down to create this size but keeping the bandana “look”.   Over the past several years I collected dog bandanas from each time Cuddy would make a trip to be boarded, groomed, and/or dog-day-care he would emerge wearing one when picked up and would wear for a day and then it would get washed and put away.   From the beginning of these bandanas showing up I started keeping them and thought “one day I will make a quilt for him out of all these bandanas”.  This past Thursday I rounded them all up from two different stashes and they total 69 in number!   

Stay tuned for photos as this project is now underway.  I am most appreciative of all the help and guidance my neighbor is helping me with getting this quilt made.  In looking for digital embroidery of a Brittany Spaniel (to include one on the quilt) I could not believe the likeness of one of the designs that we purchased and downloaded earlier this evening.    Plans are once done the quilt will be on display at what was his second home where he would visit for boarding and dog-day-care!

farmerswifebookSquare

Back on June 27th my blog post was on ‘The Farmer’s Wife 1930s Sampler Quilt: Inspiring Letters …’ and that book recently arrived and is a delight to pour over!  As mentioned then “…Laurie Aaron Hird’s new book commemorates the strength and hope of the farm women of the Great Depression.   The 99-block queen-size sampler quilt inspired by these letters uses reproduction 1930s fabrics”…   This paperback book is 8 x 8 square and I love reading each letter that has been selected to accompany each quilt block – and the patterns are provided on a CD for the 99 blocks.

How nice it was to come across these US stamps of the Quilts of Gee’s Bend Stamps and the Quilts of American Folk Art stamps.

 

2006 U.S. stamp “Quilts of Gee’s Bend” Issue – it is the 39cent Medallion with Checkerboard Center Single.

Quilts of Gee’s Bend Stamps

From the USPS Stamp Announcement 06-35 in 2006_August_12:

“The Postal ServiceTM will issue 39-cent Quilts of Gee’s Bend commemorative stamps in 10 designs in a pressure- sensitive adhesive (PSA) double-sided booklet of 20 stamps (Item 674500) on August 24, 2006, in Des Plaines, Illinois (APS Stamp Show). The stamps, designed by Derry Noyes of Washington, DC, go on sale nationwide on August 25, 2006.

These stamps are the sixth in the American Treasures series that showcases beautiful works of American fine art and crafts.

Art director Derry Noyes chose photographs of ten quilts created, between circa 1940 and 2001, by African- American women in Gee’s Bend, Alabama. Created for the practical purpose of keeping warm, the quilts of Gee’s Bend are noted for their unexpected color combinations, bold patterns, and improvised designs. The variety of materials with which they are made – including old dresses and worn-out work clothes – also demonstrate great ingenuity.”

And from the USPS Stamps website this article February 04, 2012:  “THE QUILTS OF GEE’S BEND SPEAK ELOQUENTLY OF LIVES LIVED” :

“…Today outside interest in the quilts of Gee’s Bend is growing.  Art historian William Arnett and his son Matt began collecting the quilts in 1997…”

Quilts – American Folk Art

1978 U.S. stamp “Quilts – American Folk Art” Commemorative issue:  13 cents.  There are four stamps in the set.

From the U.S. Stamp Gallery web site:

“The four stamps that make up this set of stamps together make up a design that is repeated over the total pane of stamps. Thus, the pane itself takes on the appearance of a small quilt. Quilting is a needlework technique used to hold a layer of insulating or padding material between two outer layers of fabric. To prevent the interior layer from shifting, numerous runs of stitches lie across the sandwiched layers. Several types of quilting are known. Wadded quilting is evenly filled with thick padding. Flat quilting has little or no padding. Trapunto has parts of the design raised by being heavily padded. Corded quilting, also known as Italian, features heavy yarn threaded between double rows of stitching. Patchwork quilts were an extremely popular form of folk art in preindustrial America.”

The YouTube below celebrates the 1995 film “How to Make an American Quilt”

Do you have a quilt that someone made for you?  Have you thought of making one yourself?  If you know the person who made the quilt you enjoy (or your made a quilt that is with you or with someone you gave it to as a gift) perhaps you could round up a letter for the quilt or write one yourself to keep the story associated with that quilt – to keep its story active.  There appears to be several articles on making a quilt label.   This one: “Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Making A Quilt Label That Lasts” I liked with its step-by-step instructions with photos.

Stay tuned as I will have updates here on this new project.  Join me tomorrow as we kick off a new week!

Anchors Aweigh,  

Helen

 


Attribution & Thank you to the following who are referenced today —

Announcement:  USPS Stamp Announcement 06-35 in 2006_August_12  Quilts of Gee’s Bend Stamps  @USPS

Image: 2006 U.S. stamp “Quilts of Gee’s Bend” Issue – it is the 39cent Medallion with Checkerboard Center Single.  At the Arago web site.  @PostalMuseum

Article:  USPS Stamps February 04, 2012:  “THE QUILTS OF GEE’S BEND SPEAK ELOQUENTLY OF LIVES LIVED” @USPSStamps

Image and article: U.S. Stamp Gallery web site: “Quilts – American Folk Art” Commemorative issue: Quilts – American Folk Art, Date issued: 1978-03-08, Postage Value: 13 cents

YouTube: “How to make an American quilt” posted by Clara Darko

Craftsy.com blog post:  “Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Making A Quilt Label That Lasts” June 12, 2014 by Diane Knott @beCraftsy

Image of cover of book ‘The Farmer’s Wife 1930s Sampler Quilt: Inspiring Letters …’ by Laurie Aaron Hird.

AnchoredScraps.com blog post: The Farmer’s Wife 1930s Sampler Quilt: Inspiring Letters …’ June 27, 2015 by Helen Rittersporn

AnchoredScraps.com page (under construction): Remembering Cuddy

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