Sentimental Stitches

Sometimes I come across something I can't wait to share with you and I've really had to hold myself back as I work on the My Life In Stitches pages.
With my continuing lust for all things polka dot I knew I was doomed when I came across the hand tinted print for the Corsage Bouquet quilt in one of the F. A. Wurzburg salesman's books.

My first thought was "oh, there's quilting stencil No. 61" - which would mean absolutely nothing to you but to someone who wouldn't dare guess how many quilting stencils they've stamped, cut, stickered, pulled, packaged and mailed it made me pause. It really stopped me in my tracks when I looked at the fun appliqué block that inspired the stencil.
I know the colors look funny but they didn't have color photos when these books were made so the colors were hand painted and detailed to represent the fabrics. Wait until you see some of the other paintings, they're wonderful.

"Those are polka dot flowers"!


It was a perfect Polka Dot Garden project and I just had to share it with you. How hard can it be to write up instructions for a straight set block quilt?
Well let me tell you how it goes with these very special quilts -
I had the quilt kit name and number Corsage Bouquet No. 3597 which is a great starting point but from there I gingerly begin looking up information in



one of group of very fragile books like these.



If I'm lucky the pages are in order and the kit number appears in the first book with all the information I need right there. Lots of times there's a gap in the numbers and the quilt I'm looking for is missing or if I find it there's a notation somewhere on the page that it was issued as one number but is actually a reissue of another number.... and the search begins again.




Sometimes I get distracted by adorable little bunnies like this guy who was resting nearby or I notice a name like Caden listed as the quilter and my mind wanders thinking about two more stories with mysteries of their own to solve and tell you about.

It didn't help when the laptop started acting up yesterday and I got the bright idea to give you the block sized for what I discovered was called a Lounge Quilt. Who knew in the early 1900s that Lap quilts were Lounge Quilts! I rather like that term and today alone came across pages listing Lounge Quilts. Numbers were there but no pictures. It'll drive me crazy until I see what those quilts look like ( I know they were appliqué and one had a large bouquet) but I'm getting nervous about how many times I dare search through fragile boxes, envelopes and pages before things begin to fall apart? Each time I seem to lose a corner or two. Tonight is not the time to think about all that.

I think the pattern is finished and as I slip off to dreamland I'll try to decide if I'm going to baste under the edges of large circles or small ones tomorrow and do I want bias strips for my wreath around the corsage or use green rick rack (how cool would that be!). Do I want all polka dot fabrics or prints?

You can download the pattern HERE