This photo was taken around 1920, the girls with the man whose name peppered lots of stories. His daughters called him Papa, one calling that name in the days before her death. “Papa is waiting for me.”
In this photo is Papa with two granddaughters; Cleo was born in 1914, Corine in 1916. Their mother died in 1918, giving birth to their little sister. Their father was in the Army, then a traveling photographer, so he was not around to parent them. They lived with this grandfather, spinster aunts, and an invalid grandmother.
The photo is printed on a fragment of vintage linen fabric, layered with wool batting, then collaged with bits of vintage lace, rickrack, beads, ribbons, hand and machine stitching.
The green background is a heavy linen fabric, frayed on the edges. I try to channel the little girl in me when I’m playing this way. One of the things I loved to do when I was a child was to pull threads on the edges of linen fabric to make a fringe. I see I still have that skill.
The heart in the top left is a bit of a silk log cabin quilt that was deteriorated to smitherins. I’ve used bits of it several times, but this time the edge seemed a bit too raw. So I couched a twisted black and white cord around the edges.
I layered all of it on a bit of new commercial fabric that looked old to me, then used freemotion quilting in a heart strings design to make the many layers one.
The backing is another commercial fabric that reminds me of a dress my grandmother wore. The label is becoming my go-to; handwriting on a vintage doily.
I’ve written more about these spinster aunts before: https://sandygilreath.com/spinster-sisters/
And, did I mention that the older girl is my mother? Oh, the wonderful Papa stories I’ve heard! I remember more every time I see his image.
The finished quilt measures 26″ x 16″.
Tha’s so amazing!
Thank you!