The Steam Trunk Dresden

This is the Steam Trunk Dresden quilt.  I was recently given pieces of this quilt found by my client in her grandmother's steam trunk.  The blocks were already sewn into 4 rows and my challenge was to create a finished quilt that looked like it had been done in the 1930's.  This was my own personal challenge as the client admitted knowing nothing about quilts.  I felt a desire to be as true to the original quilter's vision as I could imagine.
I pieced the top only adding two small strips of muslin to make complete rows and not have to chop into two of the rows background.  I must mention here how the quilt was hand appliqued onto old sugar bags.  You can still see "C & H Sugar" print among others on the bags as well as the curved needle holes evident of the original bag structure.  For the quilt designs, I went old school.  I did free motion tear drops in each of the petals, did a feathered wreath in the center, and echoed the flower/plate itself.  To fill in the background, I choose and adapted a design from Quilting Designs from the Past, by Jenny Carr Kinney.  I found the most wonderful design and enlarged it and added a few scrolls.  After tracing this design with my laser from the back of the machine, I jumped to the front to fill in.  There were several open spaces that needed a flower or scroll added in order to achieve interwoven flow.  Quilting it like this left me with approximately 1800 threads to tuck when I was done.  It took me five hours to tuck those threads, but it was well worth it  for the incredible antique look I managed.
The best part is that the client loved it and can't wait to surprise her father with it when he visits this summer.  That is the most wonderful thing about quilts - their stories.  I'm sure this man can remember seeing his mother work on this quilt.  Now, he gets to hold his mother's work finished in his hands.  The grandchildren and future generations can feel the soul of their maternal creator in their hands.  To be able to help make this happen for people is what makes quilting so special for me. 
Keep quilting and Creating!