Christmas in Cedarburg Quilt

 I loved this fabric line from the first time I saw it.  But, I was trying to be frugal and not buy everything that attracted my interest - my stash was outgrowing it's storage space.  So I didn't buy any.  I still checked on it periodically and was really sad when it was no longer available.  Fast forward to our mission in Wisconsin,  we traveled a lot all over the state and UP because we were assigned to take car of vehicles and apartments and were always inspecting the cars or exchanging mattresses because of transfers etc. 

 It was May or June of 2014 and I looked up the quilt stores online and noticed that there was one nearby,  it was just a 7 mile side trip on our way to West Bend.  It was Ye Olde Schoolhouse Quilt Shop in Cedarburg Wisconsin.  We arrived just as a busload of ladies were leaving from a shop hop tour.  The owner and staff were hustling about to prepare for the next bus arriving in 45 minutes so I had the whole shop to myself.  It was a store that carried the kind of fabric I am drawn to; Civil War Reproduction colors.  And, up on wall was a quilt made out of this fabric line - The Spirit of Christmas by Judie Rothermel.  There were only a couple of bolts of fabric from the line but there was one kit left with the whole line plus a few additions.  I was thrilled as I picked up the kit and carried it through the store while looking at everything else.  But, I talked myself out of it because we were on a mission and there were more important things to consider.  I put the kit back and made a few small purchases, talked to the staff  that were so inviting, and left to deliver supplies to West Bend.

Later in the year (we didn't go home till Thanksgiving) I talked my husband in to taking me back to the quilt shop on our Pday.  I didn't expect that the kit would still be there 6 months later but I wanted to go shopping.  You know how it is . . . sometimes.  We arrived on a cold day, I took my time and looked at everything.  To my surprise and delight the quilt was still on the wall and that one kit was still sitting there; the dilemma again.  I knew I didn't want to make the quilt pattern that came in the kit but I also knew that it was the only way I was going to get any of that fabric line.  

I couldn't pass it up again - after all, it had waited for me – sigh.   I'm so glad I bought it.  And now 4 1/2 years later it was available when I decided to make the cockscomb block applique.  The rest of the quilt just grew out of that.  

Robin

Aunt Mollie and her quilts

This is a short history of Mary Narcissa Davidson Emmons 1854 - 1939 and her legacy.

She was born in North Salem, Hendricks, Indiana and lived there her whole life.

She was always known to me as Aunt Mollie.  It turns out that she was my grandmother's (Hilda Marie Davidson Fiscus) Aunt Mollie.  So that makes her my great great aunt Mollie.

She was the eldest of the seven children of Daniel Nave Davidson 1832 - 1893 and Elizabeth Dent Davidson 1830 - 1891.

Front row l - r   Oliver Davidson, Daniel N. Davidson, Lillie Davidson, Ida Davidson, Elizabeth Davidson
Back row l - r   William Davidson, Mollie Davidson, Melissa Davidson

Her siblings were;
Melissa Paralee Davidson 1857 - 1903
William Robert Davidson 1860 - 1920 (My grandfather)
Daniel Davidson 1862 - 1862
Ida May Davidson 1862 - 1892
Lillie Vinola Davidson 1867 - 1943
Oliver Franklin Davidson 1869 - 1878

She was 7 years old when the Civil War began in April 1961.  620,000 soldiers died in the Civil War and 24,416 of those were from Indiana.  38,568 soldiers from Indiana were wounded during the Civil War.  So, by the time Mollie was of marriageable age the choices for a husband were limited.

Mollie Davidson with photo album

I don't know a lot about her young life but she is listed in the 1880 Census as a dress maker.  She would have been 26 years old.  She was unmarried at the time.  I still have some of her pattern pieces that have been handed down.

Front Waist Pattern dated 1876

Back Waist Pattern

a newer Ladies and Childrens waist pattern dated 1883

Combination Shirt pattern

Pattern instruction Booklet

Left side front pattern - Right instructions for making a Basque

In the back of the pattern instruction booklet Mollie has written her name and her measurements.  It looks like she had a 35" bust and a 25" waist.  Those were the days when women wore corsets.

I have an interesting letter that she save dated April 1 1864, she would have been 29 years old.  It is from Rob't Barber of North Jamestown (Indiana).  He wrote in pencil and on the outside of the folded letter, it states; "I was under circumstances obliged to write with a lead pencil[.]
Please excuse[.] R. B."

I have transcribed it for you.

"North Jamestown                      April 1st / 84 (1864)

  Miss  Mollie Davidson

Miss Mollie, This beautiful April day I venture 

to write you some brief lines.  Though but a short

acquaintance, with you since our school days,

I am confident you are a perfect lady.  Trusting you 

was then my friend, but fear your affection has

fallen on some one else than me.  I sometimes think

myself a fool, for I fear my fate.  For you surely

have broken someones heart for love of gold.

if so I will be another; I trust and pray you will

answer (my is crossed out) this question, Will you be my loved

and loving wife, please say yes and give me your

heart and hand.  I tremble while I write with

love and fear.  I own confess all I am not a

rich man but can maintain a wife I

love so dearly.  If you say yes write to me

tomorrow and I will be at the 

office waiting impatiently.

But if the awful word no do not

write at all but burn this letter

and forget me forever.

If I receive no answer I shall

start for Idaho the 7th to never

see Indiana again.

But if yes you shall decide

whether we will go or stay in

Indiana

if yes I wish to visit you at the earliest date, then I'll tell

you all.

I do not wish to leave my love in Indiana.

Yours,

Rob't Barber"

Mollie never married Robert Barber but she saved his letter.  He did go to Idaho and became a rancher.

She didn't get married until April 1, 1900 when she was 45 years old.  She married James Oscar Emmons 1856 - 1922.  He was a house carpenter that was 2 years her junior.  They had no children.  He was listed as a son of the Deputy Sheriff of Danville, Hendricks, Indiana in the 1880 Census.

Mollie was well-known for her precise needlework.

I'm not sure if she made the clothing for herself and her sister Lillie in the picture below but I would guess that she did.

Mollie middle front row - Lillie far right back row

Aunt Mollie taught my grandmother how to sew and was known to reach down and turn up my grandmother's hem to check that the workmanship was good enough.*


Mollie participated in a commemoration celebration in 1930.  I'm sure she made her costume.

Mollie Emmons standing 3rd from left front row

Mollie Emmons with escort.

This is her house on the main street of North Salem Indiana.  Mollie Davidson Emmons lived  here with her younger sister Lillie Davidson until she died in 1939 at the age of 84.

l - r Lillie Davidson, Mollie Davidson Emmons

Her wonderful craftsmanship was also displayed in the three quilts I own that are attributed to her.

The first quilt is made using Indigo and white fabric in the feathered star pattern. 

The quilting is very tiny and the batting is quite thin, probably cotton.  This quilt has received a lot of wear.  It makes me wonder if this was a quilt Mollie's mother made ~

The lovely binding has blue embroidery carefully stitched on it.  That little attention to detail adds so much.  Indigo and white quilts were very popular in the last quarter of the 19th century.  It is said that in a quilter's body of work at that time, there would have been at least one indigo and white quilt.

Quilt measures 72" X 73"  White backing

The second quilt (my favorite) is a Star of Bethlehem quilt made with tiny diamond shaped pieces of fabric measuring 1 1/2" from tip to tip in the large stars and 1" in the smaller stars.

It is made from pieces of fabric available at the time of the Civil War and the late 1800's.

Mollie placed her fabric pieces, for the most part, so that there would be a lot of contrast.

Notice the gray (black and white) fabric with the tiny blue triangles.

It demonstrates exquisite hand piecing skills.  The hand quilting is beautifully and intricately done.

The large star blocks measure 13 1/2" across.  The tiny star blocks are 4" square.

 It is bound with single fold binding made out of double pink fabric.

 The hand quilting is done in a grid pattern and is less than an inch apart.

It is just a masterpiece as far as I'm concerned.  It is backed with what looks like muslin.

Quilt measures 72" X 88 1/2"

The third quilt is made in another variation of the Star of Bethlehem pattern.  It has a much brighter palette of colors.

I'm not quilt historian but I think this quilt was made in the 20th century.

The fabrics in this quilt are reminiscent of fabrics associated with the depression era and the 1940s.  Mollie died in 1939 so this may have been her last quilt.

This quilt is also hand pieced and quilted.  The background fabric has a sheen like a polished cotton.
It looks like it hasn't been washed.  I wonder if it was ever used.

The quilting pattern follows the lines of the stars, grids in the corners, and feathers in the sashing between.

Quilt measure 69 1/2" X 87 1/2"

It is a beautiful quilt, a real treasure.  It is backed with an tan fabric that may just be darker because of age.


Aunt Mollie's legacy of fine sewing has been handed down to me.  I hope she would have a smile of satisfaction if she turned up the hem of my skirt (see earlier in the story*).  I love to quilt and I often think of her as I'm placing my own stitches into a beautiful handmade article.

Robin

2-10/2019
Since compiling this story about Aunt Mollie I have been wondering who taught her to sew and quilt.  Perhaps the expertise in this craft was passed down to her.  It makes sense that her mother and grandmother taught a young Mollie the skills she would perfect and use to earn her living. 

The 30 years quilt

Sampler Quilt 1982 - 2012

 I knew that I wanted the next post to be about the sampler quilt top that I made in 1982.  But I hadn't quilted it yet and so it's been almost 2 years since my last entry.  I just finished hand quilting it last week so here is the story.

Crochet texture

 I became pregnant with our 2nd child in 1974.  Somehow I knew it was a girl (no ultrasounds back then).  I wanted to make a blessing dress even though it would have been much easier to buy one.

I could have asked my mother, who was a "seamstress extrordinaire" to make something wonderful but I was insistant that I make it myself.  So I found a crochet pattern I liked and got busy.

Tina age 6 wks.

 I finished the dress with time to spare and I got my girl.  The only problem was I lined the dress with a 100% polyester lining and the crocheted part kept slipping away from the lining.  I had to be very careful not to drop her.  You can see the lining poking out at the hem of her dress above as she is slowly sliding down.



Blessing Day 1975

We blessed her at the Institute of Religion on the UNLV campus where her father was serving as a couselor in the Branch Presidency.

Well, 6 yrs. later I was expecting again.  It was my 5th pregnancy and I had had 2 more boys since our first girl and was hoping that another daughter was in our future.

Mitzi age 3 mos.

 Sure enough, daughter #2 was next in the queue.

I used the same blessing dress for both girls. 

 But don't worry, there was no battle over who got the dress now that they are adults.  I had also brought them home from the hospital in the same little knitted lace dress that I was brought home in.  So, Tina got the crocheted blessing dress since it was made for her and Mitzi got the knitted lace dress since she is the 2nd daughter as I was.  In fact, Mitzi is the 2nd daughter of the 2nd daughter of the 2nd daughter.  (There's a country song in there somewhere).

my girls

You are probably wondering what all this has to do with quilting. . .

 I'm finally getting to that part of the story.

I went to a new little fabric store near our house that had just opened up.  It was called "Sew What".  I was looking for a different colored ribbon for the blessing dress.  I had used burgundy for Tina and I wanted a nice soft pink for Mitzi. 

As a result of me going to that particular store I was asked (through a friend) to teach their beginning quilting class.  My friend had confidence in me eventhough I didn't know how to quilt.  I knew how to sew, just not how to quilt. 

My mother had made quilts (previous post), my paternal grandmother made quilt tops, but my mother-in-law made numerous quilts which I had been exposed to and so it gave me confidence.

I was asked to teach out of the "The Sampler Quilt" book by Diane Leone.  So I went home and following her instructions taught myself how to cut out templates and hand piece a quilt block.  I was encouraged numerous times to make up a quilt to have on display so they could advertise the class.  That makes sence, but I had 5 children at home under the age of eight and so my time was at a minimum.

I stayed up late sewing after everyone was settled down.  And I got quite a bad infection in one of my eyes because of the eye strain.  But, I was able to hand piece a small top for display.

"What, you mean you want it quilted too?"

Finished quilt on a chair in my living room May 2012

I only ended up teaching two classes in a row before I could see that my family needed me more than the quilt store did.  But, I met some wonderful ladies and at least one of them is still quilting today.

The unfinished quilt top has moved from one place to another in the last 30 years.  It has moved from box to hanger to sewing stash to drawer.  But, I always knew someday that I would finish it because it was my first attempt at a craft that I've grown to love immensely.

This year was the year.  I was determined that the little top would not go unquilted any longer.  I tried to remember how I would have quilted it 30 years ago.  The traditional method at that time was to quilt 1/4" inside the seam line and so that is what I did.  I also remembered that I wanted to use white thread so my quilting would show (an interesting choice for an unexperienced quilter).  I was going to use a fat 100% polyester batt because that was all that was available in my town in the 1980's but I ended up using a lower loft polyester batt.

I also ended up with an orphan block.  Part of my class was spent learning how to hand piece correctly and part of it was learning needleturn applique.  (I can't believe how brazen I was to call my self a teacher!!!)  So I wanted an applique block in the sampler quilt.  Because there was only one appliqued block it looked sooooooo  out of place.  I replaced it with the Drunkards Path block.

I'm surprised how good my applique actually is.  (I'll save that for another post.)

Thanks for sticking with me through this long story.
Robin