The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1883-11-03
Crazy Quilts.

| quiltsp" asked reporter OF young
lady acquaintance.
'Is it possible that you have never
seen oneP'' exclaimed the young lady,
..when dozens of them have been ex-
hibited and ratified right here in San
Francisco. Why, I'll show you mine.
There" said she, triumphantly, after
spreading before the attentive gaze OF
| the reporter dazzling array of bright
colored blocks, "that is a 'crazy quilt,
or will be when these blocks are all
stitched together on the machine. You
can Judge of the effect by placing them
together
ats a great deal of work, isn't it?'
asked the reporter.
"Well, that depends" was the reply.
''Mine is made on these squares with a
piece of cloth for the foundation of
every block, on each OF which the silks
and velvets and brocades are placed in
erratic fashion, the more zigzag the
pattern and the greater the contrast of
colors, the better Some, though, put
all their patches on one large founda-
ton, which is a very bulky, clumsy
way; for, as you see, each scrap must
be worked all around its edges with q
fancy stitch in bright silk or floss. The
ordinary stitch is the feather stitch, or
else the old-fashioned herring bone.
But, of course, if one chooses, the
needlework may be very elaborate,
illustrating all the stitches known to
decorative art"
81 should think that the silk for the
ornamentation of the patches would be
an item of expense?"
ut was to me until | stopped buying
it by the spool. | get waste silk now,
all sorts of colors, for twenty-five cents
an ounce"
"Where did this idea of crazy quilt
originated" was the next question.
''Well, I've been told all sorts of YER
sions, but | believe that the truth is
this The officers wives in a military
post somewhere on the frontiers invent
ed it. OF course it's only new varia-
ton of an old idea. Patchwork is as
old as the hills. Silk patches are an
innovation on the calico quilts of our
grandmothers, who early in their tender
years were initiated into the mysteries
of star quilt that of the rising sum-
fox and geese, flowers and the log
cabin'-a the rage during the Presi-
dental campaign of 'Tippecanoe and
Tyler too, as the old Wing war-cry
had it."
Tell me why this particular style is
called a crazy quilt p" persisted the
reporter.
80, for any number of reasons. Be-
cause the pattern is crooked, confused,
confounded because there's an infatu-
alton in the work itself; because to see
one is to want to make one; because in
our search for pieces we drive dress
makers, milliners and dry goods clerks
crazy"
"Why, is it so hard to make collec-
ton of patchesP"
"Awful!" exclaimed the young lady,
in a tone of desperation. Everybody
wants them. Whenever two ladies
meet, greetings are hurriedly exchanged
and if they do not both speak at once,
the one who can talk the fastest says
%, my dear, I've been wanting to see
YOU this long time to ask you for some
silk scraps You're not making a
crazy quilt, are your the other one in.
terrupts. l was going to ask you fol
some scraps myself
''Why, do you know" continued the
young lady, I've had people | was
visiting want to cut off a piece of my
bonnet string"
"Indeedn'
eyes I've asked all my gentlemen
friends for their cravats and hat Innings
there 5 always a clean piece, you know
underneath. Last week | went to my
milliner for some pieces and she tolC
me all her customers were coming il
for the same thing. 1 didn't get any
there. Then | went to my dressmaker
who does rushing business. Mrs. F., ,
said |, have you any Stop, said
she, waving me otfwith her hand, don't
say "crazy quilt tome. I'm wild I've
just taken away my own shears from a
ladywho intended to snip off some pieces
of the goods on my cutting table. Moth.
ing there. It's no use going for sam.
ples-they won't cut them for us at the
stores But you'll save me your era.
watts, won't you?"
The reporter, after giving the required
promise, took his leave. One his way
he stopped at dry-goods store, and as
bait said samples to the clerk at
the silk counter
Don't give any after ten a. m. Are
you making crazy quilt, too"
"No. But tell me, do you have
many such requests
'Guess we do! The ladies have no
conscience at all; expect us to cut and
hack away at our richest goods. We
have had to shut down on the sample
business. Why, it took time and cost
us something But we've had our fun
out of it, too. One day a little Girl
came in and asked for samples of light
silks. | noticed she looked queer when
gave them to her. Before she rot
out of the store she began to cry. Mr..
s., the proprietor, saw her and asked
her if she'd lost anything. What do
you suppose she said? NO, sir; but
that man over there cut the samples in
such long, thin strips that they're no
good for the quilt"
THAT was too BAD said the re-
porter.
Il can tell you a better one than that
OF Mrs. -" mentioning a well-known
name that the reporter was surprised
to hear. 'Shc came in to look at some
brocades. | showed her our handsom-
| 90 l.. 4 :.