One Patch Quilts

10 Monday Apr 2017

Posted by mcinnesjanette in antique fabric, antique quilts, hand piecing, hand quilting, old fabrics, old quilt tops, Old Quilts, Quilt Collections, Quilt Restoration, Quilt Stories, Scrap quilts, stitching

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1890s to 1910s. Antique Quilts, Fabric Study, hand quilting, One Patch Quilts, quilt collections, reproduction fabrics, vintage fabrics

Diamond Quilt

One patch quilts have been a mainstay of quilters since people picked up needles, thread and scraps of fabric.

Squares, triangles and diamonds or more complex shapes such as hexagons and clamshells have been used time and time again to create sophisticated designs.

One patch quilts can follow a formal layout of scraps and colours or can be randomly pieced out of the scrap basket.
Either way they make wonderful quilts.

Some of the one patch quilts in my collection include squares, triangles, tumblers, hexagons and apple core shapes.

Diamonds circa 1960s.

I purchased this quilt top at an antique market and hand quilted it in the Baptist Fan design. The maker had some great fabrics in her scrap basket including one with the American State flags and the year the states joined the United States of America. The last two to join were Alaska in 1958 and Hawaii in 1959. So we can presume this fabric was purchased in 1959 or later.

The quilter used great skill in her fabric placement. Solid colours are used for the diamonds in one direction and patterned fabrics in the other direction.

Detail of quilt and vintage fabrics used for the backing.

Old Fashioned Spools

Work in Progress

This is a quilt that I am presently hand piecing. I prefer the name Old Fashioned Spools but it is more commonly called Apple Core or Double-Bitted Axe. I am alternating light and dark fabrics throughout.

Vintage Tumbler

This quilt top contains shirtings, mourning prints, florals, plains, stripes and checks. Two cheddar yellow tumblers and the use of red and white spotted fabrics brighten up the sombre tone of the quilt. The top is hand pieced.

Tumbler Quilt top circa 1900s.

1910’s Triangles

The maker of this quilt planned her use of fabrics carefully making sure she had enough of each one to stitch a row of triangles across the quilt. The fabrics used are typical of the 1910’s but the indigos appear to be from earlier. The indigos are patterned with white and cheddar designs.

Simple shapes make wonderful quilts

I hope you enjoy seeing some of my one patch quilts and may be inspired to use your scraps to carry on this lovely quilting tradition. Happy Patching and thank you for visiting, Janette – The Plain Needlewoman

My Year of Repairing

23 Thursday Feb 2017

Posted by mcinnesjanette in antique fabric, antique quilts, English Quilts, hand piecing, hand quilting, Mending, North Country quilts, old fabrics, Old Quilts, Quilt Collections, Quilt Restoration, Quilt Stories, quilting projects, Red and White quilts, Repairing old quilts, Scrap quilts, stitching, Stripe Quilts, Strippy Quilts, Turkey Red, Uncategorized, vintage quilts

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1890s to 1910s. Antique Quilts

Patchwork Strippy Quilt

First on my New Year’s Resolution List for 2017 is to carry our repairs and restoration on quilts in my collection that need a little TLC. Armed with the excellent book ‘Quilt Restoration – A Practical guide’ by Camille Dalphond Cognac, I feel confident in tackling the intricate work needed to repair the quilts and to do so in such a way as to preserve their future.

Quilt Restoration – A Practical Guide by Camille Dalphond Cagnac

This beautiful English Patchwork Strippy Quilt is a stunning quilt displaying a great assortment of scraps tied together with a Turkey Red Twill. The red has held up well but some of the patterned fabrics have worn. Fortunately the white fabric is in excellent condition.

I purchased the quilt from the Antique Textile Company and Christopher Wilson-Tate provided me with information on the quilts provenance. The quilt is from a family in Alnwick, Northumberland, circa 1880’s and is a great example of North Country English Quilting.

Back of Quilt showing the cable quilting design.

To undertake the repair of the quilt I have cut squares of reproduction and vintage fabrics. Placing right sides of fabric to butter muslin, I stitch around the entire patch.

I make a small cut into the butter muslin, trim the seams and turn right sides out. I ease out the corners using a stiletto and press the patches. They are now ready to be carefully appliquéd onto the worn square.

Butter muslin

Squares cut and ready to sew.

Turned patches

Pinned and ready to appliqué

Stitched in place.

The final step will be to replicate the quilting design over the patches.

To quote Camille Dalphond Cognac “Scrap quilts are a joy to restore because the fabrics are chosen to blend into the totality of as many as a hundred or more colours.” With many hours of joyous stitching ahead, I hope to complete this task so this beautiful quilt will be preserved for many years to come.

Hope your stitching brings you much Joy.

The Lost Ships – circa 1890s

30 Wednesday Nov 2016

Posted by mcinnesjanette in antique fabric, antique quilts, hand piecing, hand quilting, old fabrics, Old Quilts, old sewing books, Quilt Collections, Quilt Stories, Scrap quilts, stitching, Uncategorized, vintage quilts

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Seventy-Two Lost Ship Blocks are set diagonally with a red and black print to create this stunning quilt. The blocks are pieced using a different fabric design in each block. These fabrics are complimented with a lovely cream and brown design.

The quilt contains a block where the maker found herself short of one print and pieced a section of the ship with a different but similar colour.

The fabrics used consist of florals, plaids, geometric designs and a few very unusual patterns. The maker had a good supply of scraps as well as the red and cream. The quilt displays 75 print fabrics. The scrap pieces may well have been dressmaking fabrics but obviously the red and cream was purchased for quilt making.

The piecework and quilting is very well executed. I presume this quilt was made by a talented and experienced needlewoman. The quilt is finished with the quilt front neatly rolled over to the back to create the binding. It is stitched in place with tiny, neat stitches. The backing is a plain homespun. The quilt appears to have never been washed.

The quilt measures 66 inches by 84 inches and the block measures just under 5 inches.

In Ruth E. Finley’s book ‘Old Patchwork Quilts and The Women Who Made Them’ published in 1929, Finley refers to this pattern “A pattern that was popular below the Mason and Dixon Line was called Rocky Glen though in the fishing villages of the Seaboard, where it was frequently employed, it was known as The Lost Ship.” So this is the name I shall use for this wonderful quilt which I am very happy to have to add to my collection.

Thank you for visiting and best wishes for your quilting endeavours, very warmly, Janette

The Plain Needlewoman.

A Learning Curve

24 Monday Oct 2016

Posted by mcinnesjanette in antique fabric, antique quilts, Feed Sack, hand piecing, hand quilting, Quilt Collections, quilting projects, Repairing old quilts, Scrap quilts, Uncategorized

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1930s, hand piecing, hand quilting, Piecework, quilt study, Quilting, Star Quilts, vintage fabrics, vintage quilts

Curved piecing is considered more difficult to accomplish than geometric designs. But with so many beautiful patterns to choose from it is worth attempting to learn to sew curves. There are many fine quilting books available that provide step by step instructions for piecing the curve.

I have made a few curved pieced quilts including two Robbing Peter to Pay Paul quilts, a Double Wedding Ring and a Mill Wheel quilt. I have recently hand pieced a quilt in memory of my mother which I have named “Marjie’s Star”. It is a six pointed star set with melon shaped pieces. It was a challenging design but enjoyable to hand piece.

Amongst my collection of old quilts, I have a Friendship Circle quilt.

This quilt is pieced from woollens, old suiting fabrics, velvets and silk. The block measures 17 inches. There are 16 full blocks and 4 half blocks to finish one side of the quilt. The seams are stitched with feather stitching and the quilt is tied. The backing is a paisley flannel.

Curved designs were popular during the 1930s and 1940s. These included the Double Wedding Ring, Drunkard’s Path, Fan and Dresden Plate quilts. Two unfinished projects that I have recently acquired both contain curves. The first project consists of 14 Dresden Fan blocks pieced and appliquéd onto a white background and set with hot pink. Also included with my purchase is extra hot pink fabric and the start of a scalloped border for the quilt. There is certainly enough to complete this 1930s beauty.

The Maker of the second project hadn’t progressed very far along with her piecing. There was a paper pattern with the partial blocks which I have identified as Mohawk Trail.

There are pieced blocks, partially pieced and many wedge sections cut.

I have re-drafted the pattern and will stitch a couple of blocks to see if it is going to work out. These sweet old pieces have sat undisturbed for many years and may have to wait sometime yet.

As this year is fast coming to an end, I will add these projects on my list of quilts to finish in 2017. Meanwhile I am busily hand quilting, and hope to finish a vintage Trip Around the World quilt before we bid farewell to 2016.

Happy Quilting, Janette – The Plain Needlewoman.

A Fine Old Quilt circa 1870

08 Friday Jul 2016

Posted by mcinnesjanette in 19th century Madder Fabrics, antique fabric, antique quilts, appliqué, hand quilting, old fabrics, Old Quilts, Quilt Collections, stitching, Uncategorized, vintage quilts

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Antique Quilts, applique, Fabric Study, hand quilting, handquilting, quilt collections

Basket Quilt

This basket quilt consists of 30 blocks set on point with alternating cream homespun fabric blocks. The quilt is a large one measuring 205 cms by 230 cms. The baskets are hand pieced and the handles are hand appliquéd.

Madder dyed fabrics are used throughout the quilt – mostly copper toned browns, a purple and an orange. The border fabric is a typical copper toned Madder stripe.

Border stripe fabric

Baskets were a popular design in the 19th century and baskets represented prosperity. The quilt maker appears to have been prosperous, as she had a good supply of yardage available to her. The quilt is extremely well made. The piecework, appliqué and quilting are of a high standard.

The quilting design is a simple but lovely design. It may have been adapted from a folded cut work appliqué design. I have three old Madder Red appliqué blocks in this design.

Hand quilting

Madder Red Applique Block

The backing is a plain homespun and the batting is an uncarded cotton.

The Basket Quilt came from California but no other information was available. As in so many instances there is no label on this quilt so the identity of its’ maker is lost in time. I can only wonder at the life of the maker and enjoy her wonderful quilt. Hope you enjoy seeing this old treasure. Happy Quilting, Janette

Busy Days in Winter

24 Friday Jun 2016

Posted by mcinnesjanette in antique fabric, antique quilts, Double Pinks, hand quilting, old fabrics, Postage Stamp Quilts, Quilt Collections, Quilt Restoration, quilting projects, Scrap quilts, stitching, Trip Around the World, Uncategorized, vintage quilts

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Detail of Album Quilt

The Winter months are the best time to catch up on quilting projects. The cold days and longer nights provide the perfect opportunity to stay indoors and stitch. To make a start I made a list of jobs to be done, then set to work.

First up I put the old Album quilt into a gentle bath for a soak in Retrowash.

The Album Quilt having a gentle soak.

I had been working on blocks for a new quilt and having completed 25 blocks I have started to stitch the blocks together. This gorgeous fabric that I found at my local op shop ties the blocks together beautifully.

Windfarm Quilt – work in progress

I made up cushion fillers for these lovely vintage cushion covers and added satin ribbon bows for ties.

Vintage cushion covers

After it’s bath the Album quilt was ready for a gentle machine wash and some fresh air. With a good wind blowing the quilt dried quickly. It is now fresh and beautiful.

Album Quilt circa 1870

Cold nights are perfect for hand quilting and I have started quilting an old Trip Around the World top from my collection. It is a large quilt, so I expect to be working on it for quite a few months.

Hand quilting Trip Around the World. Circa 1930s.

Centre of Trip Around the World.

I hope you are finding time for Stitching, Happy Quilting, Janette – The Plain Needlewoman

Darting Birds

09 Saturday Apr 2016

Posted by mcinnesjanette in antique fabric, antique quilts, Double Pinks, hand quilting, Mending, Old Quilts, Uncategorized

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Antique Quilts, Fabric Study, old quilts, quilt collections, quilt study, vintage quilts

I purchased this charming old quilt as a ‘cutter quilt’. This is the term used for quilts that are in a very sad condition and can be cut up for small projects with out feeling guilty about cutting up an old quilt. I could see it had potential for salvaging into small keepsake pieces.

A heart shape cut from the Darting Birds quilt .

When the quilt arrived in the mail, I realised I could not contemplate cutting up this beautiful old quilt. I identified the block pattern in Barbara Brackman’s Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Blocks as Darting Birds designed by Nancy Page.

The maker of this quilt had a good collection of fabrics dating from the 1880s to 1900s, including the gorgeous double pink used in the alternate blocks. The birds are pieced from reds, blacks, indigos and browns. The patterns are florals, checks, stripes and polka dots. The backgrounds of the blocks are mostly shirtings.

Detail of fabrics.

Darting Birds block

The beautiful backing fabric used on this quilt was a pleasant surprise as the seller had not mentioned this. The majority of old quilts have plain muslin backings.

Gorgeous backing fabric on display.

Obviously made by a skilled needlewoman the piecing is neat and accurate. The hand quilting stitches are tiny and even and the maker chose cross-hatching for her quilting design.

Most of the wear on the Darting Birds quilt was on the outside edges. I decided to cut the outside rows off the four sides of the quilt. Removing the damaged area has provided me with some scraps for cutter quilt projects. I stitched a new binding – nice and narrow in keeping with the original. Even though some of the remaining blocks are worn, I can still admire and enjoy this old and obviously much loved quilt. I hope you can too!

Softly aged and worn.

Annie Mary H. Gehris Redwork Quilt

29 Tuesday Dec 2015

Posted by mcinnesjanette in antique quilts, hand quilting, quilting projects, Red and White quilts, Redwork, Signature Quilts, Spider Webs, Turkey Red

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Antique Quilts, Kate Greenaway, Redwork Quilts

One hundred years ago Annie Mary H. Gehris proudly embroidered her name and the year onto the borders of her redwork quilt. <i

Annie was obviously very pleased with her neatly stitched quilt. Annie added her name to both the top and lower borders and the date ‘1915’ is centred on both the side borders.

There are 56 blocks featuring the seasons, the months and the days of the week. Little Kate Greenaway figures are carrying out their daily chores and enjoying seasonal activities.

Kate Greenaway figure for December

Wednesday’s chores

These motifs are placed beside a parrot, a goat, pug dogs, swans and many other designs.

Herringbone stitch was embroidered over the seams. The quilt has nice wide borders quilted with the classic cable designs. The blocks are quilted with cross-hatching. There is a very fine batting in the quilt, possibly hand carded cotton. The quilt appears to have never been used.

A spider’s web for luck

As we say farewell to 2015 it is the perfect time to reflect on our quilting past and present. The women of the past found time to do needlework through all kinds of trials, as we do today. Whether you plan to finish quilts already started or commence new projects may you find much joy in your quilting in the New Year.

Wishing you a wonderful year ahead, Janette – The Plain Needlewoman.

Redwork – Excellence with the Needle

21 Monday Dec 2015

Posted by mcinnesjanette in antique quilts, hand quilting, Quilt Collections, Redwork, Turkey Red, vintage quilts

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embroidery, hand quilting, Redwork

Emil. Mae’s Redwork quilt dated August 1917

The popularity of Redwork during the period of 1885 to 1925, coincided with the development of a colourfast dye that produced a lovely clear red. The name given to this red was Turkey Red. The name came from the country where this difficult and complicated dyeing process was created and produced under much secrecy. Even today it is not known beyond all doubt how the original methods were carried out.

Patterns for Redwork were published in the Women’s Magazines such as The Ladies Home Journal, The Modern Priscilla and Godey’s Lady’s Book. Stamping Kits and Patterns were offered to entice customers to take out subscriptions. This is an early example of advertising. The patterns used in Redwork were not specifically for quilts, but for all household linens. They were also known as Penny Squares, Storybook, Pictorial or Nursery Rhyme designs.

Due to the simplicity of Redwork and the basic requirements needed Redwork was a good project for beginners and children. Redwork quilts were often made up without batting and in some instances they were simply backed and not quilted.

A story book Redwork quilt -quilted without batting

A stanza from The Needles Excellency by John Taylor published in 1631 describes embroidered pictures. It is also a fitting description of the variety of images found on Redwork quilts made nearly 300 years later.

“Flowers, Plants and Fishes,
Beasts, Birds, Flyes and Bees,
Hills, Dales, Plains, Pastures,
Skies, Seas, Rivers, Trees,
There’s nothing ne’er at hand or farthest sought
But with the needle may be shap’d and wrought.”

Sheep in the Meadows

Pigs in the Farmyard

Horses – a favourite subject

Daisies

A Crib Quilt

Any-one for tennis?

Wishing you all a safe and peaceful Christmas. I hope you find time during the busy festive season to spend in pursuit of excellence with the needle. Sending my best, Janette – The Plain Needlewoman

Irva’s Ocean Waves Quilt

06 Sunday Dec 2015

Posted by mcinnesjanette in antique fabric, antique quilts, Feed Sack, hand quilting, old fabrics, Scrap quilts, Uncategorized

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Ocean Waves quilt made 1932

Hand written note

A hand written note attached to this quilt provides an insight into the quilt’s story. The note tells us that the quilt was made in 1932 by Irva Wagner with ‘a few stitches added by her future husband Eugene R. Douglas 1932’. A sentimental note was added to this information wishing ‘Good Health to who ever uses them. I.R.D. 1992’ At the top of the note there is reference to a Dark Red Quilt from Mother Wagner’s early years.

One can presume that the note was written when the quilts were being passed down through the family. On this tiny scrap of paper much information is revealed – the maker’s maiden name, her future husband’s name and the year the quilt was made. The addition of the note, stating that a few stitches were added by her future husband indicate that Irva was stitching this beautiful quilt for her approaching marriage and her new life ahead.

The quilt is hand stitched from many small scraps. The fabrics include shirtings, plaids, ginghams, feed sacks and dimities. The soft palette used certainly suits the quilt’s name – Ocean Waves. Shades of blues, pinks, beiges, reds, mauves and a touch of orange and black were selected from scraps, some dating back to the turn of the century. Placed next to a crisp white background, the quilt evokes a Summer’s day spent looking over the ocean with the constant ebb and flow of the waves. The quilt is beautifully hand quilted.

Detail of fabrics and hand quilting

Detail of piecework

Border detail

With the prospect of a long, hot, dry Summer ahead, I am happy to have Irva’s Ocean Waves quilt in my collection to remind me of the cool ocean breezes coming in from our bay.

Irva’s Ocean Waves

Thank you for visiting and hope the weather is kind to you all whether it be Winter or Summer in your part of the world. Janette – The Plain Needlewoman

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The Plain Needlewoman

~ Quilt Study, Sewing, Vintage Textiles, Collecting quilts and other old odds and ends.

Category Archives: antique quilts

One Patch Quilts

My Year of Repairing

The Lost Ships – circa 1890s

A Learning Curve

A Fine Old Quilt circa 1870

Busy Days in Winter

Darting Birds

Annie Mary H. Gehris Redwork Quilt

Redwork – Excellence with the Needle

Irva’s Ocean Waves Quilt