Another Quilt Post! (It’s Long!)

I know, you’re sick of me posting about my quilt collection, but this time, I decided to do something about it. In this post from July, I had some images of quilted coats. I started mulling the idea of making a coat from one of the quilts with condition issues, like stains or wear.

I thought about it some more. The coat needed to be very simple. It needed to be simple because I’ve never made a coat, or even anything with sleeves before. I’d also never really made anything using a printed pattern. The coat needed to be a loosely-fitted, boxy design because of the quilt’s bulk. And I pretty much knew that there was no way in this world that I could construct and attach a collar. I finally found and  bought a pattern for the potential coat.

There was actually a belt with the pattern, but I thought that would move the coat into more of a bathrobe territory.

I pondered some more. How could I make this work? I didn’t really want to have to have to sew hems around the whole coat, because again, the bulk. All of a sudden, the solution came to me. Why not use the borders of the quilt for the edges of the coat! I could use the corners for the two front panels, and then the other borders for the arms and the back.

Once I figured that out, things pretty much fell into place. I had gotten a quilt a little while ago at a different auction from my usual one, and they had a full photo of it online. I screen-grabbed it and put it in Photoshop. As you can see, there’s a pattern of sorts. I wanted to figure out how to take advantage of the larger red squares, because there were only two of them.

Then I scanned in the pattern pieces and started moving them around until I found the layout which would take advantage of the borders and the red blocks. This was an early iteration of the lay-out.

I wanted to try and match the fronts, but alternating the brown and red, and the sleeves with the white at the top. It took some playing to get this done, with the quilt laying out on my bed, Figue trying to be part of it all and me pinning the tissue paper pattern to the quilt. I actually marked the patterns out on the right side of the quilt (in a Sharpie marker, no less!), because I wanted to be certain of where the pieces were going to be. Even after I printed out this lay-out, I changed it again.

The hardest part was actually putting scissors to fabric, but once I did, I just kept cutting. I have a dress-maker’s dummy, so I started pinning the coat on that and could finally see it taking shape… literally.

As I mentioned, I’ve never made a garment with sleeves, so I had NO idea of how this would work. As you can see by the middle image, I initially put the sleeves in backwards, and then realized i needed to turn the sleeves inside-out. I also put seam-binding around the neck-line, since it was the only place where the raw edges showed. Once I figured all of that out, it was smooth sailing sewing. All in all, it took about five hours to make the coat, not including the contemplating and pondering.

I  like how the pattern mostly matches up, and how you can see the amazing stitch-work on the plain panel on the back of the jacket. I think that the bright graphic pattern on this quilt steers it away from the bathrobe territory. I did adjust the sleeves a little, but they were still too long, so I’ve just folded them back.

To say that I am THRILLED about how the coat (or quoat, as a friend termed it) turned out would be an understatement. I started this morning picking up coffee and having a woman stop me to tell me how much she loved my coat. I had to tell her I had made it all by my self!

So, that brings up my next quandry. I thought I would have sold a lot of the quilts at my Pop-Up Shop in September, but I only sold one! I was pretty surprised by that. I am now thinking of making some of these quilt coats for sale. I won’t cut up the perfect quilts, but some of the ones that are 90% perfect, since I now know how much fabric I need. I would make them in S, M, L and XL, not by actual sizes. I am thinking that you could pick which quilt you wanted, and what size you need, and the coat would be made to order. Thoughts?

A Very Happy Birthday

I celebrated a milestone birthday over the weekend and it was simply amazing. A group of friends banded together to host the event, which was held in a recently re-built barn. The evening’s theme was Tweeds & Tartans, Tophats & Tiaras! The evening started with a ride down to the barn in a bunting-festooned Gator, with two bag-pipers leading the way.

The guests were great sports and many dressed as specified for the party!

And I was awarded numerous titles, including Lady Baltimore, Viscountess of the Discountess, Baroness of the Blog, Archduchess of Architecture, Princess of Pigtown and most wonderful of all, Queen of Hearts!

My friend Andrea made the medals, which were truly spectacular! I am planning on framing all of them in shadow boxes.

We were so pleased that HRH Queen Elizabeth II could join us for the party, and she was such a good sport about interacting with the guests.

Andrea was also responsible for the flowers at the party, which were just incredible.

Each one of the planning group was responsible for an aspect of the party. Stiles & Jonathan provided the venue and the menu, David & Chad provided the libations, Andrea did the flowers and decorations, Tracey found the entertainment, which included the pipers and the [Drag!] Queen, and Cat made the desserts, the most amazing pear-spice cakes for everyone!

It was such an amazing evening, filled with hilarious toasts from the hosts, loads of great friends, all of my siblings and their spouses, lots of fun and interesting conversations, and love all around. To my besties who planned the party… It’s a night I will never forget! Love you all to the moon and back! xoxoxoxo

Popped the Pop-Up!

Well, the Pigtown Anglo-American Pop-Up was a huge success! Actually, so successful that I kept it open for an extra two weeks at the request of the shopping village where I had opened.

We had planned to open with a little sip & shop party, but I ended up not getting into the space until the day before I had planned to open, so that plan was scrapped. And working all day to set up the shop didn’t really put me in the mood to party. Plus, we had a huge storm that evening and got 2.5” of rain! Just what we needed (haha!).

My friend, Stiles, helped me finesse the shop’s final look and made it really look spectacular. He knew exactly how to arrange the display shelves and tables perfectly, and brought along risers and stands, as well as ladders from his shop, Halcyon House Antiques.

I was fascinated to see that almost all the really HUGE pieces sold first. Platters, trays, tureens, candlesticks, bowls and pitchers, all went in the first two weekends. In fact, I had sold so much, that I had to plunder my house to get more items to fill the shelves.

The shop was located in a 50-year old mixed-use development, and one of the things I loved about it was that it was full of light, no matter how dreary the day was.

As always, my favourite pieces are the glass domes! Most of them sold, but in the meantime, I had fun filling them with both items from the shop and seasonal Baby Boo pumpkins.

And who doesn’t love transferware! I had it in a range of colours, including the rare mulberry!

All in all, it was a fun experience. At times, I felt like it was a revolving cocktail party with all of the friends coming and going. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to buy or just to say hello!

Quilts, Again…

If you’re following me on Instagram, you have seen that I am have been seriously collecting Amish and American patchwork quilts in preparation for the upcoming Pigtown Anglo-American Pop-Up Shop.

One of my theories of retailing is that I would never sell anything that I don’t love, would not have in my house or would not collect. When I began thinking about these quilts, I realized that I have been collecting them for several decades!In fact, over the weekend, I opened a container only to find my first quilt purchase.

But it’s not just me who has a renewed interest in quilts. This recent piece in Fashionista outlines the resurgance in using quilts in fashion.  And in the recent article on my friend’s house on Nantucket in Architectural Digest, there were quilts everywhere. In the “Design Notes” there was a mention of the quilts, with a reference to Calvin Klein. It was noted as “price upon request” which generally means that if you have to ask, you probably can’t afford it.

From the Calvin Klein website, comes this:

CALVIN KLEIN is pleased to present a series of vintage quilts, hand-selected from across the country, exclusively for the brand’s Madison Avenue flagship. Emblematic of both American heritage and a homespun, handcrafted ethos of days gone by, these one-of-a-kind pieces range in origin, dating from the 19th to early 20th centuries. Some arrestingly graphic, others intricately wrought, these heirloom objects are entrenched in America’s visual vocabulary, and synonymous in many ways with Chief Creative Officer Raf Simons’ vision for CALVIN KLEIN. At Simons’ debut for Fall 2017, vintage quilts lined oversized, utilitarian parkas, or became panel detailing on classic Wall Street topcoats; most recently they were seen on the Spring 2018 CALVIN KLEIN 205W39NYC runway, tucked under models’ arms.

Click the image above to see all of the quilts in the collection. No prices!

But Klein is not the only one who is using patchwork quilts in their designs. Rosetta Getty had these designs, using the Log Cabin pattern, in her spring 2018 collection.

I would murder for this jacket, from the collection of Emily Bode,

this is from Libertine,

and these are from Mimi Prober, all from their Fall 2018 collections

Quilts in fashion is such a trend that the New York Times has even written about it, in a piece amusingly titled, “This Old Thing?” For quilts that aren’t in museum condition, you can always re-purpose them like these pieces from Kelsey Parkerhouse’s Carleen.

So, I am letting you know that quilting is having a moment, and I am here to help!

#Instagram: Whirlwind Few Months!

It’s been a whirlwind few months, with work events, a trip back to England and all of the other things I try to fit into my weeks! I will have a fun announcement in a few days, so stay tuned for that, both here and on my Instagram.

Sadly, a lot of magnolia trees were badly damaged over the winter. Luckily, this one wasn’t!

My friend did the flowers for this spring wedding. Just stunning.

Friends with benefits! In this case, a huge hedge of lilacs, and permission to snip away!

We took a quick trip up to historic Odessa, Delaware, a completely charming village.

It’s always fun to spot your childhood home on someone else’s Instagram feed!

I was invited to a beautiful dinner at the Walters Art Museum.

Before it got too hot to eat outside!

There’s nothing quite as refreshing as a gin & tonic on a steamy afternoon.

Our hearts were completely broken by the newsroom murders in Annapolis.

This might be a hint.

This might be a hint, too.

Check back soon for a big announcement! I hope that you’ll be as excited about it as I am!

There Was a House in Nantucket…

… that is owned by someone I know, and was recently featured in Architectural Digest, with an article written by former blogger, Mitch Owen of Aesthete’s Lament. I’d had a bit of a preview of the piece when the owner shared the book that Markham Roberts, the decorator, had produced for her. The house isn’t exactly nautical-themed, as many there are, but it does have dashes here and there of the ocean and beaches that surround the island. One thing that I noticed was the number of quilts scattered around the house. You KNOW I love quilts, so it was fun to see so many!

I thought I’d share some of the pictures of this wonderful house, all from Architectural Digest’s June issue.

Symmetry rules in the entrance hall, where a pair of Delft-vase lamps and objets d’art sit on an antique table from John Rosselli antiques.

Painted panels by Bob Christian hang in the living room

In the paneled living room, a mix of patterned and printed fabrics covers the custom sofa and pillows, along with an antique quilt.

Custom dining chairs are slipcovered in a No. 9 Thompson linen. Painted floor by Bob Christian.

Raoul Textiles linen covers the seating at the kitchen table. Custom pot rack by Ann Morris.

A pair of 19th-century English armchairs in a GP & J Baker stripe cozy up to the living-room fireplace.

In the master bedroom, Roberts deployed the same Bennison floral chintz on the walls, curtains, lamp shades, pillows, and vanity skirt.

A John Robshaw Textiles linen covers the master bath’s vaulted ceiling.

A flock of painted-wood shorebirds by Pat Gardner perch above the guest bathtub.

A stone path leads to a marsh.

Hope you enjoyed this tour!