Off the Beaten Path

If you read my last post, than you know that I have been on a bit of a fabric buying strike, but allowed myself to indulge in buying some thrifted men's shirts, (results of which to date can be found on that post as well). 

Well... I also allowed myself to buy some vintage grain sack fabric found at a local Mennonite quilt sale. I figured it was fair game, as it isn't new and I fell hard for its quiet beauty, flaws, stains and all. 

And on a quick side note... may I say many thanks to those that did read my last post and a special thanks to those that took the time to leave a comment. I know much time can go from one post to another, (although not this time) and everyone's kindness is always so very much appreciated!  

I got several pieces of this incredibly soft grain sack fabric that has the most amazing drape. Old dirt and mildew stains speckle the cloth which I find lovely. (The fabrics all appeared to have been washed before selling, with no evidence of active mold or mildew. However, I still gave everything a thorough cleaning in very hot water and dried on a long high heat once home as well. I want those lovely stains to remain, but also wanted to ensure that no active spores were still present.)

Now that I hopefully peeked your interest, I regret to say that I am still contemplating what to do with the above fabrics, so nothing more to show you there. And I might as well be up front now, (after my last post set the bar a bit high) just ONE quilt to show this time, but I think it's a good one!

Ok, back to the fabrics, and eventually that one quilt...

I also got a stack of these low volume beauties...

I am serious as can be when I tell you that their weave, their colors, their typography... 

all make my heart speed up and my mouth literally starts to salivate. 

Why on earth I do not know... it's not like I want to eat them.

(Or do I?) 

No, I'd much rather sew with them...

"Off the Beaten Path"

Vintage grain sacks

Freehand cut, machine pieced, hand quilted

27.5" x 21"

Out of all the quilts I've ever made I think this was my favorite one to quilt. 

All the hand quilting was done in a VERY freeform manner. 

No planning, no marking, just stitching. 

It was, in a word, LIBERATING! 

Some of the material was very gauzy and light weight, so I decided to line the whole quilt with a piece of muslin fabric layered between the top and the batting, in order to give it better stability. This also came in handy when I decided to mend two small holes found in one of the fabric pieces. I just hand stitched the edges, and left the hole openings be, allowing the muslin lining to peak thru. You can see a better close up in that photo at the very top of this post.

Oh, and here's a little tid bit... 

Have you noticed that little slice of fabric that says Baltimore? 

It was part of the address found on one of the grain sacks.

I put that in as an ode to where I was born.

I backed the quilt with a natural unbleached muslin and for the binding I used a gauzy vintage fabric that I got at the same sale. Then I washed it to bring out all that delicious, crinkled, quilt texture. 

Quilt is currently for sale in my Etsy shop and can be found here.

Thanks for stopping by.

xo