The Blackberry Hill Stitchers are descendants of
Appalachian mountain women who made beautiful
patchwork quilts from scraps of fabric cut from old
clothes, feed sacks, and anything else available.
Unlike today’s quilters, these mountain women sewed to
provide the only warm bedding their families would
have for cold winter nights.
The
industrial revolution passed Appalachia by.
But
it brought an abundance of leisure time to another
group
of women in the late nineteenth century, the newly
rich
middle-class women who could now afford to
employ
servants. Until then, fancy needlework was
just
for the very wealthy. These nouveau riche ladies
filled
their leisure time by producing beautiful needlework
techniques
that are as appealing today as they were then.
Crazy
patchwork was one of the most famous and
lasting
of these needlework styles.
Crazy
patchwork or crazy quilting is a technique that
features
irregularly shaped patches, typically
stitched
in elegant fabrics.
The
effect is delightfully rich and random and
incorporates
many sizes, shapes, and fabrics.
Because
crazy quilts were made from scraps (albeit
luxury
scraps), making them gave Victorian
ladies
a comfortable feeling that they too, like the less
prosperous
“underclass” women, were
being
useful and thrifty.
Our
Victorian crazy patchwork features a charming
mixture
of silk, brocade, satin, and velvet.
A
combination of hand and machine
stitching
is used to make the pieced top.
Consistent
with Victorian techniques and the weight
of
the fabric, no batting is used. Each item is backed or
lined
with an elegant fabric of a complementary color.
The
completed, pieced article is then tastefully
embellished
with decorative embroidery; buttons, lace,
and
if appropriate, fringe and tassels.
The
Blackberry Hill Stitchers crazy patchwork technique gives
strength
and durability to our products not possible
with
the traditional method.
This
technique is used to make the articles shown in
our
product gallery. If you prefer simplicity of fabric and
style,
these same articles can also be pieced using
homespun
fabric and classic patterns stitched from
soft
but sturdy fabrics in muted colors.
Its
the customer's choice. You can furnish us scraps
of
your own keepsake fabric to be incorporated
into
either a Victorian or homespun design.
All
Blackberry Hill Stitchers, products feature
unmatched
craftsmanship.
Please
be aware that all sizes are approximate
due
to subtleties inherent in our quilting and
embellishing
techniques.
Since
all of our products are one-of-a-kind
or
custom made to your specifications, price
ranges
are provided. E-mail or phone us for a
specific
price quote. We think you will be
pleasantly
suprised with the results!
