One of the most fascinating quilts I have ever seen is the Sarah Nunn McCrea quilt. Indubitably, since I usually collect late nineteenth century quilts and embroidery, this is the earliest piece in my collection, dating to earlier in that century. Sarah and her antecedents have a genealogy ten miles wide and ten miles long. I like the quilt because of its unique repeat block, and its nice hand-quilting, and its unique, pieced linen backing. I like it because of its embroidered initials, its clamshell quilt design applied overall, and I like it because it has been used, loved, and patched.

I was inspired to make a reproduction block, seen above. I found that precision hand piecing and careful pressing were needed so that the block would lay flat and look nice. The “pieces of the past” just keep on giving. They shower more blessings than one deserves in a lifetime. It is my joy to keep the past alive through my writings and my work, and it is my honor that you show up to enjoy what I do.

To see the original quilt made by Sarah, visit this link:

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Patricia Cummings

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 15th, 2007 at 11:38 pm and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.