A few of the quilts I get to quilt for the Community Quilts program are just weird, in my opinion — this one falls into that category. I have no idea what inspired Windham Fabrics to make this circus panel from the 19th century/early 20th century, or what inspired someone to buy it, or what/who inspired them to make a quilt with eight panels rolled straight off the bolt of this strange fabric!
I suspect this is an old panel, as the backing fabric also looked old and a dessicated carcass of a beetle feel out when I opened it up. Also, it had been hand basted and the thread used for the basting felt old too.
So, how to quilt it? There was so much going on in the panels that I decided to just outline the main features in a 100 wt almost-black thread. I wasn’t sure what — if anything — to do with the ‘sashing strips’ surrounding the panels and eventually decided to just stitch the cursive word ‘circus’ multiple times (in the same thread) to hold them down.
A very strange quilt…
(Click on a photo to view it larger)
If you look carefully, you might see the word ‘circus’ stitched in the black sashings/borders:
Threads used:
- Top: Wonderfil Invisifil (100 wt polyester?, colour IF 179)
- Bobbin: Wonderfil Invisifil (100 wt polyester?, colour IF 179)
Rhonda Bracey: At Random 
Ya never know….there might be that special “someone” out there who is “dying” for this one!!!!! Just sayin’……