Thursday, January 24, 2013

Hidden in plain sight ~

remember the "Battle of the Bed" game that I posted about the other morning?
and some of you commented about the sweet
Garandmothers' Garden quilt that we keep at the foot of the bed?
well, I have been taking a closer look at it lately ~
...and saw something that I didn't realize was even there...

there. in the lower right of the photo below, you can see the tears in the GG quilt top:
can you see what's hidden underneath?
 upon closer inspection, I realized there is a whole other quilt UNDER this one!
turkey red & madder brown calico's peaking out between layers ~

 

oh boy!
 early shirting cottons, some thin-as-tissue checkered & plaid cottons....

where are my scissors??????
 aHA!...there they are!
Ig ~ wanna help me a bit?
Iggy seems to be left-handed.

I want to snip away ~ carefully of course ~
the GG top and reveal the much-older quilt underneath ~
snip by snip...



careful there Iggy ~
 "I've got this, Mom..."
 
 
such a helper.
 
see the old cotton batting? there are still seeds from the cotton plant in it!
way cool ~
 
 
right there, Ig ~ gently, gently.....

the more I (um...we) snip away, the more we can see ~
...the photo below shows the older quilt's backing fabric...
a brown with red floral ~
how funny that the old faded fabric closely resembles the green/red floral on our new comfortor!



coincidence?
 
and here is what the front looks like...it looks like predominently red/brown, but there are a few surprises in there that I'll share with you once I get more of the top snipped away.
 
I am taking my time with this ~ just as the women who first stitched them did ~
releasing so many memories with each snip...
how old is this hidden quilt? who stitched it? why was it covered with another quilt?
So many unanswered questions I have ~
in the meantime, I'm daydreaming about the hands that stitched them so long ago.
 
{{{{oh, and Thank You Mr. Igatious Katt ~ you are a big help, and cute to boot !}}}}
Lori from
Notforgotten Farm

18 comments:

The French Bear said...

That is so cool, you could use the old scraps off the quilt to make stuff......it must be like looking back in history. Just the fact that the fabric is identical is neat, if you think about it, what a great way to preserve history.
Have fun, good thing you have help!!!
Hugs,
Mags
xx

gracie said...

What a wonderful find! I can't wait to see what you uncover.

Cathy G. said...

Hi Lori,
I was admiring that quilt yesterday too! What an awesome find! I think Iggy knew the whole time and was just waiting for you to give him those scissors! LOL!
LOVE those turkey reds and browns together and the cotton seeds!! Gives me goose bumps to see them!!
Cathy G

Penny said...

How cool is that?!! Makes me want to go in and peek under my old quilts to see if anything is there.... :)
And it's crazy how much the old fabric looks like your new one!!
Happy Thursda!12549,
Penny

cucki said...

Wow such a sweet find..I can't wait to more :)

Unknown said...

awesome treasure Lori, I would do the same....beautiful flower quilt on top, but I bet the one under it is beautiful too, simpler, more primitive, a quilt of necessity and then covered up with, what the woman who quilted it thought, a prettier one.....

Crafts4others said...

This is a great mystery, where did you get the quilt? The only thing I could think of perhaps, the top layer was getting too used or dirty so they decided to spruce it up. since gfg was really popular in the 30's. who knows perhaps this was a gift, the maker didn't have the other supplies on hand, depending on when the quilt was made and where they lived (plus their income) people did have to be inventive sometimes. Just a few thoughts, hope you find more information!

Mouse Droppings Folk Art said...

Don't ya love it when that happens...I just purchased an antique quilt and am now wondering if there may be a surprise hidden underneath...thanks for sharing! Cheerio, Susan

jennifer768 said...

That is a sweet find!Hugs,Jen

Sea Witch said...

What a marvelous find. this is like an "overpaint" where you find another work hiding underneath. Can't wait to see the original quilt when you have set it free.

NMK said...

What a great surprise ! And your Iggy...those pictures of him with the sissors are too cute !!! My girlfriends grandmother would take old blankets & stitch her quilts , the blanket would be the batting...now what do those blankets look like ???

Karen said...

I purchased an antique quilt a long time ago that had been a quilt within a newer quilt. It was in fair condition. I wondered why someone took it back out of the quilt it was in.

Shuttle, Hook and Needle said...

Lots of times you will find older quilts within newer ones. They used what they had and didn't waste anything. Either the women didn't have the materials needed for the new quilt or the old one was becoming too worn. Easy way to finish a new quilt by just inserting an old one and tacking them together.
Nice find and nice looking helper too!

Theresa said...

Maybe you have a underground railway quilt on your hands....that would be cool. :0)

Ronnie said...

I have a twin quilt my great grandmother had made for me 50 some years ago. Several years ago I noticed a tear in mine and found another quilt under the top, it was half of a lone star quilt. My sister had a twin quilt matching mine, but she had lost hers something over the years, we wondered if hers had the other half of the lone star in hers. I tried to find out from my grandmother but she didn't know. It is a mystery not knowing, but an interesting story.

Cindy said...

I think that was quite common back in the day....be it too worn in places or soiled in some way, it wasn't good enough to use as it was,yet it was still too good to throw out...so...it could be used as a batting...so to speak, for a new quilt. What a great find!

Susann said...

How exciting on your find. I have a question on your needlepoint frame in your picture of yourself. I was wondering if you made it or if I could find one? I haven't been punching long, but I would like to start working on bigger pictures, but the hoops drive me crazy!! Can you help me? Thanks, I joined your blog and love the patterns. I am going to start purchsing some. Have a good weekend!
Susann
shoskins@stny.rr.com

Debbie said...

I have a baby quilt like that. It was covered with plain fabric and quilted in big stitch so it has been easy to start to take out the stitches.