Y’all have to see this.
I was clearing out an old box last weekend and unearthed this old thing; it’s a cathedral window valance I made ages and ages ago. Note: I am not a quilter. Also note: as someone who struggles to complete simple tasks like opening mail and putting on pants, this bad boy is a masterpiece.
Each one of those squares took an hour or more to make, BY HAND. Not machine. HAND. That means every little square is snaked with 100% cotton thread soaked in my saliva and the trails of bloody thumbprints.
Wait here, you’re telling me you have a red and purple quilted window valance AND it’s soaked in bodily fluids? Why on earth would you keep that in a box? Shame on you, Peaches. Home decor that sexy deserves to be on display.
So true. Shame, shame on me.
That aint cat hair you’re looking at. |
Why don’t you include an instructional tutorial on how to make this, so I can have my very own red and purple quilted window valance soaked in bodily fluids?
Gosh, I would love to show you how to make these, but alas I am at a loss. I learned how to make cathedral window quilt squares from my Aunt Pat many years ago, who learned it from her mother-in-law years earlier, who learned it from hers, and so on, and so on, and so on. It appears to be one of those ‘cottage arts’ that is being lost through the generations. Just now, I found lots of stuff on the interwebs about making cathedral window quilts by machine or using shortcuts (I adore her voice on this one–I could listen to her for hours!) but the end results do not appear to be the same as the style featured here. Maybe it’s a Mississippi thing. Maybe it’s an Aunt Pat thing. Well, bottom line is I have no clue. If anyone has a good tutorial, feel free to link up in the comments. I for one would not mind a refresher course 🙂
Mary Jo from TrustYourStyle
What a fancy quilt! Who cares that it’s a valance or that it’s red and purple! If I ever accomplished anything like that it would be on display–haha, but that’s not likely as I cannot seem to finish even the most basic of diy projects, hence the garage full of supplies. Anyway, I love stopping by your blog as always!
xo Mary Jo
Michele Pacey
This is a thing of beauty man! Wow, the colour-play in there is inspired! Of course, it would HAVE to be since YOU made it… You need to drink an elixir of some sort to jog that memory of yours. I’ll be waiting.
artistaprilcole@gmail.com
What a beautiful quit!
These colors are fantastic together.
Yes, this needs to be displayed somewhere for all to see. :]
donatella
me neither, i’m not a quilter. but for somebody who’s not a quilter, that saliva must have been kind of magic !!! wow, love it.
Delta
Very cool! I’ve never seen one with the little tiny yo-yos at the intersections of the seams either. A link for one tutorial, which has more links for others.
http://sometimescrafter.blogspot.com/2009/10/tutorial-cathedral-window.html
p.s. Are you from MS?
mary beth
YES YOU ARE TOO A QUILTER!!!
Get that thing out where you can look at it on a regular basis and pat yourself on the back for endurance and tenacity and artistry! A work of art for sure!
Wendy
Serious gorgeousness, Peaches. Get it out of the box, and keep it out of the box.
xo,
w
Michelle L.
Look at that wonderful happy thing! Now what, oh, what, are you going to do with it? It needs to be featured in a pretty way. Show us when you have it arranged!
Nutbird
I think you make the colored squares and sew them together. Then you baste a sheet of muslin over the whole thing. Then you cut each window with an X and roll each piece back to form one side of the square. Like you were rolling a jelly roll. Sew that roll down. This is one of the most time consuming quilts. The one I Hate The Worst is yo-yo’s. That really hurts the fingers. I like crazy quilts the best, but the layers of fabric make it hard to embroider. Ann
Nutbird
Why don’t you make a cat bed out of this? That cat deserves something nice.
Crazy quilt trivia. What takes blood out of a quilt? (If you are quilting and prick yourself.) Your own saliva. Your saliva has the right antibodies or whatever to break down your blood. (I had seven years of college) Ann
Stella Dora von Swineburg
Correction: that fantastic piece of work means you ARE a quilter!
Bek
http://hyena-in-petticoats.blogspot.com/2007/08/cathedral-window-quilt-tutorial.html
Lots of pictures!