Often I am asked "how do you know how old a quilt is?" How often I wished the answer was as easy as putting the serial number into the search line of a data base and "bing" you know when the quilt was made (sort of like looking up your featherweight sewing machine...)
Usually there are lots of things to consider however yesterday I got a quilt top in the mail that made me think of Indiana Jones and his comment (I paraphrase) "archeology is a science...there is no hidden treasure, there are no maps and x never marks the spot." Well, in this quilt top I may not have found treasure but it is sort of a map and there is an X to help date it.
The map...well the pattern is one of my favorites "Trip around the world" which was published in the early 1930's. I don't know much about the quilt's past other than it came to me from Southern Georgia. I do know whoever put the quilt together had a great sense of color and pattern. The quilter put stripes, checks, solids, and florals ranging from maroon to pink with bits of black, green and yellow.
The "X" however was this fabric. First I noticed "hi-de-ho" printed on the blue fabrics with lots of musical instruments. That rang a bell!
The squares are only 2-inches finished so I had to look at lots of these blue squares before I found on that gave me the full name - Cab Calloway (b. 1907-1994)!
Some of you may remember him as the great band leader and blues/jazz singer. (He was introduced to the "scat" style by Louis Armstrong.) Even if you aren't a jazz fan you probably remember the concert scene in "The Blues Brothers" (1980)...well that was Cab Calloway.
He and his music was really popular from 1930 to the late 40's. "Hi-De-Ho" was in a short film in 1934. The rest of the fabrics and the quilt style all fit with that time period as well.
So this may not be the most amazing quilt top, it has some holes, some wear, and a few frayed edges but it is certainly a piece of American Pop Culture and it certainly will make me smile and "jump and jive" a bit whenever I think of it! Thanks to San at Gypsy quilts and her friend for sending this quilt-top my way!
Piecing finished - now for some applique....
First, I finished quilting a little alphabet doll quilt. It is based on a small quilt shown in the photo below that I bought in Paducha a couple years ago. 
The letters are quilted not embroidered...I thought that was interesting so tried it myself. I quickly learned that it was easier if I quilted from the top down so I could slip the embroidery floss under the quilttop...it was way too difficult to bury an embroidery floss knot through the quilt top. I used a larger quilt stitch to match up with the stitches in the letters.
I need to block the quilt before I bind it. This should also wash out the marker I used for the letters. I think it is fun how they placed the letters to include the entire alphabet - the Q is in a cornerstone and the I and J are combined in one block!
This is this weeks block - Railroad Crossing. I love using indigo and cheddar together in blocks. I think this block would make up a really nice scrap quilt...like I need another project!
The squares are only 2-inches finished so I had to look at lots of these blue squares before I found on that gave me the full name - Cab Calloway (b. 1907-1994)!
My shoulder is healing up. I still can't lift anything heavy (including the iron...definitely need to shop for a small/lightweight iron - any recommendations out there?) I did get some applique done.
I've had the Blackbird designs pattern Halloween 1904 for several months and had even pulled the fabrics from my stash. This seemed like a good time to start... 
Brownie seems to think she should be part of this quilt and has made a bed in the box emptied of the Halloween fabrics....
Even at this size though I have to delay putting the blocks together...maybe next week. The pink and green make it a very fun summery quilt and I do want to finish it this summer!
This quilt would never have happened without a lot of help from friends. First the pattern is from Bonnie Hunter's book, Adventures with Leaders and Enders. I was encouraged to finish the top because my friends Angie and Pat were also making this quilt and wanted to put them all together in the next Quilt show (pressure and deadlines help!) My friend Maggie Hunt quilted it for me and Paula attached the binding on her machine for me (my arms are a bit weak at the moment - heck, I am weak at the moment...)
Back to the quilting front...I found a stack of rwb blocks that were destined for a QOV. Laid them out and remembered why they weren't finished. It was done as a group and there is a fairly large variance in block size! Brownie helped me sort them. I think if I make a dozen more blocks we can get a top finished at our next bee...need to go rummage in the 2-1/2 inch strips and see if I have any red, neutrals or blues left!
Now that I have a short stack I wish I had been bit more consistent in fabrics. These 9 blocks work well together while when I spread the whole bunch out...not so much. 
And that is coming from someone who loves scrappy...maybe the "scrappiness" combined with all the block variation is a bit much...I'll have to think on this one....
First, I looked for a quilt in need of a border. No luck. Then I tried using the box of 4-patches with the piano key...not so much. Finally I cut the boarder into three pieces and auditioned fabrics for the alternate strips. The first group was too predictable and dark...the second took too much attention from the piano keys. This is the one I ended up choosing...
feels good to be back on track with this project again.
My daylillies are putting on quiet a show...there are at least a dozen different colors in bloom right now. The blooms below are about 6 inches across each so lots of color!
