Pause for a moment to readjust your eyes if you need to.
The above and next photo are the best I've seen this vintage 1930's quilt look. The problem with it is that the prints are so busy they're overwhelming to the eye up close; it's only from a distance that it looks ok.
I took the photos outside so the colors would show up more true than indoors or with a flash would show.
Close ups of some of the individual blocks:
See what I mean by busy?
The quilt is an interesting study. It's obviously Depression Era. And look at how the tan plaid square on the left (in the middle square) in the next photo is pieced together even though it's only about three inches square:
The light purple one here on the right is pieced too; plus the weave on it's coarser than some of the other fabrics:
I
think, but am not entirely certain, that a large portion of these fabrics are feedsacks. The quilt seems to have been made by someone who didn't want or have any fabrics to waste. Even the binding indicates this...
...because it isn't a separate piece. It's the old method of cutting the backing fabric edge larger than the front then folding it over to the front and stitching it down. The problem with this type binding is that it isn't durable:
Here's a bit of lumpy cotton batting sticking out:
No one in the family is sure where this quilt came from. When the family house from two generations or so was cleaned out in the 1980's this quilt and several others were there. It isn't one by great grandmother or her mother. There was quite a mix of quilts in the house that weren't family ones. Someone remembered how a great uncle was a country lawyer and often received quilts, hams, preserves, canned goods and such as payment and thank you gifts. This quilt might have been one of those.
The quilting is done in a scallop design:
The backing is a slightly coarse muslin.
Three more blocks:
Each block is a look at the fabrics that were available in the early 30's. The construction of the whole thing is interesting too. Sure it's not the prettiest 30's quilt, but it's great sewing history.
5 comments:
There are some gorgeous individual fabrics in there, and I love that it is pieced together to make the most of every last scrap. What a wonderful piece of history!
That is so much work right there. People quilt because they love to. It's just too much work if you don't like it.
Are you going to fix the binding?
No, I'm not going to fix any of it. Several of the individual blocks are worn through and show the batting underneath. I just put this out sometimes for show and refold it occasionally. Since it could never make it through the washer, I take it outside and fold it over a drying rack (like in the third photo) I then gently pat it to shake any dust out.
I have a similar looking quilt that had been nailed (!) over a window in the smokehouse at my grandmother's for many, many years. My aunt was going to throw it away, but my mom rescued it and washed it. She gave it to me. It's very worn and I have not repaired the giant nail holes, but I use it as extra covers. Sometimes these are the best kind to sleep under. They feel the way a quilt should, at least to me (I'm not a fan of the superthin ones so popular now).
Angela (I'm in Texas but the quilt is from upper east Tennessee)
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