Victorian Crazy Quilt – The Purple Pansy – Block 12

 

When I was young we lived in the country. There were always wild pansies growing in the woods. These were not the same pansies that you see at the garden centers in the spring and summer. These were a lot smaller. I remember they were the most beautiful color purple and about the size of a nickel. The inside of the flowers were such a deep yellow that appeared brighter, as it reached the very center of the flower.

 

 

I decided to try to freehand stitch a pansy on the purple velvet section of this block. I didn’t have a picture to go by, so I just went by memory.

 

 

I surrounded my pansy with rows and rows of lovely stitches and beads.

 

 

Then I added little flowers. I mainly used pearl cotton to embroider the blocks throughout this quilt. I tried some metallic threads, but didn’t enjoy the process as much. I found the metallic threads broke easily and would catch on the fibers of the fabrics.

 

 

I just love the intricate overlaying of the different stitches that is needed to bring just one small section of one block to a completion.

 

Normally I would not have chosen the color white for bugle beads, but they really stand out against the blue fabric I used in this area. Quilt historians say the dyes used to color the fabrics years ago made a lot of the fabrics deteriorate. What a shame that this happened. I sometimes worry about the thread I used to sew on my beads. I used hand quilting thread. The beads on a lot of today’s crazy quilts are sewn on with a thread called Nymo thread.  At the time I had never heard of it and had no idea where to buy it. I really think I need to get some and try it.