Pieces Connecting the Past

At least once a year 

I try to dig into my collection 

of Dutch Heritage fabrics designed by

Petra Prins of the Netherlands.

I love the colors and the traditional floral designs 

inspired by antique Dutch prints.

Anneke Van Leuvan

1747 -1785

My 5th Great Grandmother

This quilt really began with the center background fabric.

I was gifted a fat quarter of this historical 18th century reproduction,

Trails and Leaves,

from the fabric collection at Colonial Williamsburg.

It was just calling to be used for as a

background for some applique

I found the perfect design in the book,

Quilts from the Colonies, 

by Australian Quilt designer,  Margaret Mew.

From there it was pure fun.

Using my Dutch fabrics and some other

fabrics that wanted to play along,

I made lots of hst's and appliqued

melon shaped leaves.

The machine quilting was kept simple

as to not distract from the fabric's patterns.

I even had a large piece that I could use for the backing.

When it came time for the binding,

it took a bit of hunting to find the right piece.

I finally chose one of my favorite fabrics.

It was part of a group of reproduction  fabrics 

from Smithsonian's quilt collection printed in the

mid 1990's.

It's almost gone. 😢

Recently, I had been playing around on

Ancestry and rediscovered a family 

line that was located in Saugerties, New York

 along the Hudson River, which was an area

colonized by the Dutch.

I wanted to honor my family

that originally found their way 

from Oosterhout, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands 

to the America's sometime between the 1630's and 1650's.

*****

A photo shoot.

The weather was warm so

 I headed to the perennial gardens 

at Colorado State University.

Most plants are still hibernating from

the winter weather,

but the ornamental grasses add

texture to the dormant garden.

My quilt added some color to these barren branches 

that will eventually change to green once spring arrives.

In September, 1981 Andy Warhol came to the CSU campus

and was commissioned for one of his iconic soup can sculptures. 

My quilt and Andy's Soup Can

are visually very different.

But maybe we both 

have found a sense of fulfillment in being creative.

Until Next Time-

Kyle