Heavy Bed Roll Quilts: Comments

[Russ T Chambers]

Glad your'e back Del. 
While I don't sew, my wife does and makes 98% of my cowboy clothes.  A nice quilt for my rope bed would be good, as I work on making it a little more authentic each time I set it up.

This was EOT 2004.  Wish we could get awat from the RVs.

[Delmonico]

I split this off because I am hopin' someone will want to print this whole lesson and some to come in the future.   sides that it gave me a chance to try my new found powers.

The RV is simple, do what I do with things I want to hide.  Throw a quilt over it.

Other than the RV a nice set up.  GG and I are plannin' on movin' indoors soon.  A rainy night in a bedroll can be a lesson in history.  Snow ain't bad though. 

[Russ T Chambers]

Good idea, as I already printed the first installment.  If'n I can't get my wifle to try a quilt, Iv'e got a sister-in-law that didn't quite get blown from Wisconsin to Kansas by Slim's twisters, that was into quilts.

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[Delmonico]

If your wife will just help, you can do most of the work yourself, then you can tell folks you made it together.  There is a lot of pinning to do before you sew and you can do that watchin' TV if you want.  Heck I bet with a little prodin' you could learn to operate a sewin' machine.

[Delmonico]

I'm going to add a comment here on the crazy quilts.  Most of these preserved in musems and in private collections have had the material held to the backing with an embroidery stitch.  <Yes yer wife's cedar chest with her great-grandma's quilt is a private collection.>  This is another way of showing off skills because many will have many kinds of embroidery stiching. 

If one wants you can do that, I have one I did that way, but I worked as a security guard at the time and sewed at work to keep awake.

The machine sewn ones are more typical of what was a cottage industry, often a widow woman with a treadle machine would make these out of scraps from her sewing bussiness.  These could often be bought at the local sewing shop and were popular with cowboys for bed rolls. 

Any quilt does sure add style points to a camp.  Anyone with money can buy a wool blanket, a quilt you made or helped made has more pride to it.  At one time I wished to own a 6 point Hudson Bay blanket.  Today I'd probally use it to bat a quilt.   But what a grand one it would be.

[Silver Creek Slim]

Good idea, as I already printed the first installment.  If'n I can't get my wifle to try a quilt, Iv'e got a sister-in-law that didn't quite get blown from Wisconsin to Kansas by Slim's twisters, that was into quilts.

'Tweren't my twisters. 

Del, ya got any pictures of crazy quilts? I have two quilts my grandmother made. They are made from 12" squares on only one side and  a flannel sheet on the other side.

Slim

[Delmonico]

Gopher Grease is gonna bring his camera next visit.  By the GAF muster we may need a seperate trailer for the quilts.   I'm busy puttin' all my scraps into quilts.  

The nice thing is quilts can be made as desired.  I will finish a lighter one this evening after work, I have so many heavy ones, the only realy light one I have I my beloved purple 9 square and it is washed and put away, hoping not to be needed for a while, it may travel to the muster though as an extra.

[Silver Creek Slim]

Sounds good. Thanks, Del.

Slim

[Delmonico]

Last night about Midnight I finished a light weight quilt I've been working on.  A pieced calico crazy top, an ugly piece of wool material that was fee for the batting and a 1 piece bottom.  It ened up about 6 1/2 by 5 1/2 and is lighter than any I've made and kept except for my purple 9 square that is for special occasions, such as hospital trips.  (It cheers me up when nurses say, "I like the quilt and matching pillow case, did you mother or grand-mother make it for you?   And of course the answer is "No I made it fer me." )

Any way the test drive of the new quilt went fine.   

[Delmonico]

A little note here, I plan on gettin' back to finishin' up the quilt buildin' thread, but does any one know the proper name for that thread that is used in crotcheting dish rags?   It is one of the materials I use to tie quilts and every roll of it I have, don't have the center piece that give the proper name.   if no one knows I'll stop by somewhere on the way to work Thursday and figure it out.

Was workin' on a quilt upstairs the other night and had the CD player going, put on a Johnny Cash CD and 'bout lost it when "One Piece at a Time" came on.

[El Peludo]

Well, I was gonna answer your Q about the thread, Del, and then I realized you said "crocheting"; "DOH!", I read embroidery, for some reason or other.    My Grandma who did most of the crocheting in our family, used anything she could get her hands on.  The stuff I remember her using for dishcloths was just cotton yarn, and it had some size number.  Beyond that, I ain't any help at all.

An anecdote about heavy bedroll quilts:  I used to have one that I carried around in a GI duffel bag in the trunk of my car, that was made from surplus military blankets of several colors, that had been cut into  squares and strips, and pieced together with some sort of heavy thread.  It was three layers thick, and tied, rather than sewn - my Mother-in-law called it a "comfort", meaning comforter, I'm sure.  That thing was heavy, and about the size of a queen sized blanket.  I put some buttons and string loops on it to make a "bag".  What they say about wool keeping you warm, even if it gets wet, is true; I spent a wet night in that thing, wrapped up in a tarp.  It got wet inside, but I never got cold, until I crawled out of it.  It went "down the road" somewhere in the years past; I haven't a clue as to what happened to it.

[Delmonico]

I stopped at a fabric store today, they simply call it crochet thread.  Well I have lots of it that my wife gave me in several colors, enough to tie quilts for years, but it was only 99 cents cause they were havin' a sale.  My next quilt will be tied in a bright orangish yaller.

[Delmonico]

When I get finished with the Quilt thread I am going to edit it a bit and Gopher Grease is gonna take a few pictures.

I realized the other night after work how funny things must look for some who don't do living history or even under stand.  There is a lady, a little older than me and she has been at the store almost as long as I have.  She also works in my dept once in a while so she understands things.  We also work with a bunch of collage age kids.  Diane also quilts, it really must look funny to these kids, hurrying to the bar or home work, this ol' Cosie and this older lady, out in the parking lot after work show each other new material bought on the way to work or our latest finished quilt.

[Silver Creek Slim]

It's a Quilt Cult! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!! 

Slim

[Steel Horse Bailey]

Hey, Slim!

A quilt cult?  Do ya have to get a weird haircut ta join?

[Silver Creek Slim]

Hey, Slim!

A quilt cult?  Do ya have to get a weird haircut ta join?

Slim

[Delmonico]

Grab the supplies and join our cult, hair cut is optional.

[Silver Creek Slim]

Grab the supplies and join our cult, hair cut is optional.

Good! 

Slim

[Camille Eonich]

Ok...where's the pictures?  I'm dying to see these quilts now.


Please?

[jiminy criquet]

Ok...where's the pictures?  I'm dying to see these quilts now.

I agree.  One can hardly give a proper 'howto' without pictures for each accompanying written 'stage' ...particularly with something as visual as quilts.  Maybe a 'howto' for picture-taking should have been a prerequisite?