grandma ida's crazy quilt

this is the other lovely (an understatement perhaps?!) heirloom that i inherited from my grandparents on my recent trip home to Michigan. um, i don't have words....i'm just flabbergasted and awed and humbled by it's beauty and meaning and i feel incredibly honored that i get to take care of it until the next generation of our family comes along...hopefully someone who knows a bit about sewing and will appreciate all the hard work and talent that went into it!



the box was found in my great grandma ida's ceder chest upon her death and we're not certain if she worked on it or if it was in fact begun by her mother, fannie, who was known to be a bit more crafty in her time. my granny and i poured over the thing looking to identify certain stitches and styles and we both agree that it's probably likely more than one person contributed to it.

there are eight quilt blocks in all, some that have been embellished with embroidered top-stitching and some still left to do. they were all folded up neatly in this little old christmas box (which is totally going to have a place of honor among our christmas decorations although i bet my ancestors would laugh). can you believe that the needle was still stuck in one of the blocks, threaded and all?! and look at all that original floss and thread that we found in the bottom. my quilter self and my nerdy museum worker self is going nuts:



all of the pieces seem to be upcycled from silk ties, handkerchiefs, menswear fabrics, and a few knits, velvets, and tapestry pieces here and there. it's amazing to me how conscious they were of not wasting a single little scrap of fabric...check out those button holes from a men's shirt that was used to piece part of the back!



my museum trained self is afraid to touch it and i want to take my time in deciding how to finish it. my mind just reels thinking about ones similar to this that i've seen in textile museums! i talked to granny about wanting to be able to piece all the blocks together while keeping true to the original style but she said something that really struck a chord with me, "don't be afraid to add your own element to it, your own part of the quilt's story."

a vintage find. a family treasure.

i can't believe i used to curl my hair like this everyday.

during my trip back home to michigan, my sister and i got to spend a few days up-north at my grandparent's house. my granny took us out to rummage through the barn for some jam jars that belonged to my great grandma sorenson that she wanted to split between all the grandkids and in the process we found a few other treasures, this amazing vintage 3/4 sleeve winter coat being one of them! it was just sitting in a box that we had moved to get to some other ones and i happened to take a peek inside ...boy was i floored! i actually don't support wearing animal fur (and i have no idea what kind this is) but i immediately recognized the value and beauty of this coat—even the soft red satin lining is in perfect condition!! it does have a couple button covers missing but luckily granny had saved them so i can fix it and it will still be completely original.

me on the left and my great grandma gertrude sorenson on the right with my mom.

granny said no one else had expressed interest in it and i just couldn't let such a special heirloom sit there all on it's lonesome, fur or no, so i nervously tried it on, knowing that almost every vintage piece i fall in love with is too small for me...it fits perfectly though and is my favorite color red (insert excited squeaking here...i did warn you that you might pee your pants!). i just couldn't believe it and she said it would make her and her sister happy to know it was being passed down to someone who would cherish it. i immediately got visions of wearing it to christmas eve service and the theatre and promised her i would take some pictures of me in it for her.



i had such fun putting this little outfit together though and thought i'd share the photos with you too. please forgive the photography...i was trying to take them of myself with the timer and so my angles are a bit off.

the woolen plaid skirt is from a now closed vintage shop called Roxie's in Holland, Michigan; the blouse is from anthropologie; the vintage hosiery is from the i see france etsy shop; the shoes are also from anthropologie.