Sunday, August 29, 2010

Rediscovering Mary Brown

Having finished two quilts in the past month there was a small hiatus in my sewing. That is until I looked deep into my UFOs and pulled Mary Brown out of hibernation. This quilt is a reproduction of a gorgeous pictorial quilt from 1851 made by, who else but Mary Brown. A history of the quilt can be found in 'A Maryland Album', published in 1995.

I finished the top about 2 years ago and started hand quilting it. I had never hand quilted anything before and really struggled with it. I tried almost every possible quilting tool but eventually found not using a hoop was the best for me. I am sure you all agree that how you hand quilt is a very individual thing. Anyway, at the time I ended up getting quite dispirited by how the back of the quilt looked (it reminded me of chicken scratchings in the dirt) and cast Mary Brown aside.

But this is one quilt that deserves to be finished. And a second look at the back made me think it wasn't that awful.

I am echo-quilting the applique and then will do a simple cross hatching to complete the task. So far I have almost managed to finish the echo of the central diamond applique. Not that you can tell from the photo below, the quilting is virtually invisible.

This is obviously going to take a long time and my current enthusiasm for the task will surely wain over the coming months, particularly when summer arrives. But at least I have rediscovered Mary and won't leave her alone and neglected for so long again.

Until next time,

Meghan

PS. The pattern for Mary Brown is available from Patricia Cox.

15 comments:

  1. Wonderful pattern. Wonderful applique.
    Mary Brown looks sensational.

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  2. What a beauty and wonderful applique.

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  3. just beautiful , I ordered this pattern a while ago
    I need to get it out
    you have inspired me to give it a go
    I hope mine turns out as nice as yours did
    Kathie

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  4. That is beautiful and am glad you don't think your first attempt at hand quilting was that bad. You'll improve with every stitch!!

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  5. This is gorgeous...I'm glad you took her out of hibernation! I don't use a hoop when I hand-quilt, and the stitches on the back do tend to look smaller, but I am happy with the way it looks on the front. It takes me a bit of practice to get my stitches nice and even, stiff hands! Enjoy the process!

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  6. Ooooh, I have the pattern, too, and I love that you replicated the original inner border. I like it so much better than the one Patricia Cox put in her pattern. You inspire me to get that packet out, and start it soon! Beautiful work. Michele

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  7. Wow! It does deserve to be finished! It is beautiful!

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  8. Fabuloso trabajo me encanta .Un saludo desde España

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  9. I am sooo glad you found her!!! It is a gorgeous one!! She must be finished, would be such a waste of time you have put in appliqueing the gorgous flowers!! Have lots of fun quilting, Daniëlle

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  10. It is a beautiful quilt, and it definitely deserves your attention in hand quilting. Slowly, but surely it will get finished.

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  11. The bird applique is just gorgeous.

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  12. What a beautiful quilt. It deserves to be finished and displayed for all to see!! You have done an amazing job :)

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  13. You have done a wonderful job on this quilt!

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  14. I've just found your blog. Why are we not seeing more of these quilts in your blog at Huston or Paducah? They are stunning!

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  15. Hello! I have spent the last hour browsing the gorgeous pictures on your blog! I adore reproduction quilts and will check back often for the wonderful inspiration you provide here :)

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