Scrapwork Quilts

We go to so much effort to make our gifts look pretty, but as I discovered last weekend, the best presents can come in old cardboard boxes labelled "Frying Chickens".

When I opened just such a box last weekend, I found bags and bags of fabric scraps -- remnants of six different quilts, all beautifully hand-stitched, with amazing designs, such as the red and blue spools above. Some pieces are cut into strips, some into squares, but most are rough and random and full of personality.

Made by Justin's Great-Grandmother Razor, these quilts were rescued from attics and basements and lives as mattress pads by Justin's Grandma Thies, who later decided to reuse them, and make them into patchwork teddy bears and lampshade covers, among other things. And now here they are, ready for more cutting and stitching -- ready for a whole new life.

I love looking at all the fabrics used. The quilt below seems to be made up of scraps itself -- hundreds of different prints and colours, cut perhaps from worn-out clothes and even older quilts!

On one corner, I can make out initials and a date: M. E. Hollis, 1936. It's amazingly fresh and intact for a seventy-four year-old!

So, watch this space to see what becomes of these beauties. I'm sure my needles won't be able to wait too long before digging in!