That 70's Quilt

I've become obsessed with a certain quilt block pattern.  

I found it used in an old quilt here.  According to Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Block Patterns,* it's called "Shooting Star," and dates back to 1895.  

I made it with my 1970's fabrics.  Each block is 24 inches, so the whole thing is 72 inches square.

This block is a great way to show off large prints.  

This print is from a table cloth that came with 4 inch white fringe.

This one is yardage, 36 inches wide, of course.

(Sorry about the blur.  It was sunny, but breezy outside today.)

More yardage--perfect for a summer dress.

Another table cloth, which also came with white fringe, paired with and a man's shirt.

An apron with sleeves.

The print is bark cloth, and was made into napkins.  The gingham was curtains.  

Home decorator yardage.


I just love these fabrics!  They remind me of the carefree days of my teens and twenties.

Here are some other quilts I've made using 1970's fabrics.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

*The Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns is an excellent resource for over 4,000 quilt block patterns.  The book is out of print, but there's a digital version called Block Base here.

Visions of the 1970's

I found this groovy quilt yesterday at Goodwill. It's completely made of polyester double knit, that is, all but the avocado drapery fabric back and yarn ties. In one corner, the maker embroidered "74." I'm going to assume that was the year it was made, which was the year after I graduated from high school.




This morning I noticed how this quilt is weirdly similar. When I made it a few years ago in a Kaffe Fassett class, I didn't know why I was choosing these colors. The greenish brown was especially odd for me. But the look felt familiar in some way. Kaffe commented that this quilt had "a sense of history to it."




My sister-in-law, Bonnie, has talked about how the things we see in our childhood have a profound influence on our creative vision.



Hmm. Maybe this is proof of that!