Back To The McHenry Quilt

A few years back, I started working on a Crazy Quilt using old photos of my little town of McHenry.  Well, it isn't so little anymore but I still love it here!  McHenry was est. in 1836.

I've done a lot of cross stitch projects lately and thought it would be nice to do some crazy quilting but due to current circumstances, I can't get to my sewing machine much less use it.

The McHenry quilt is worked the old fashioned way.  The foundation piecing is done by hand!

I'm trying to do this quilt in the traditional Victorian crazy quilt style so no beads or sequins on this one!  All the lace is very vintage or antique and the fabrics are dark jewel tones...velvets, brocades, satins.

The only other embellishment is a few antique mother of pearl buttons used to create a tiny spider on each block.

Well, I just finished Block #8 last night.  This is our old grist Mill (left) and Creamery (right):

The Mill was built in 1872 and the Creamery in 1881.

Here is the photo:

Both buildings still stand today.  The Mill has several additions on it and the Creamery is now a house. 

Here's a screenshot from Google Earth so you can see how it looks today:

I think it's so cool to see the old photos and then take a look at how things look now!

For the next block, I'll be doing our old movie theater.