Category Archives: Quilt Stories

Piece by Piece

19 Monday Sep 2016

Posted by in Feed Sack, hand quilting, Mending, old fabrics, old quilt tops, Quilt Collections, Quilt Restoration, Quilt Stories, quilting projects, Repairing old quilts, Scrap quilts, stitching, Uncategorized, vintage quilts

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Two new additions to my postage stamp quilt collection arrived recently.

Pieces of Irish chain quilt

Pieces of Irish chain quilt

One piece is an incomplete Irish Chain quilt top. The maker had nearly completed the top when something caused her work to be discontinued. Fortunately all the pieces were kept together, including an incomplete row, many extra squares, the little cardboard template and a large piece of muslin.

Blocks and plain fabric for finishing the top

Blocks and plain fabric for finishing the top

I will complete the row, tidy up some of the piecing and appliqué work and finish the top.

Love the plain red.

Love the plain red.

I have enough of the plain fabric for the borders and possibly enough cut squares to add another narrow pieced border. The patterned fabrics include florals, plaids, stripes and novelty prints.

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The maker of this assortment of tiny pieces hadn’t progressed beyond stitching some of her one inch squares into rows.
The bundles of pieced sections were rolled into sets and a number was written on the last square to record how many squares are in the row.

Pencilled Number on the wrong side of fabric

Pencilled Number on the wrong side of fabric

It appears the maker was planning a particular design but the pattern is not clear to me. The basic square can be arranged in many ways. This could be a simple grid of continuous squares or a more complicated pattern such as Steps to the Altar or Trip Around the World.

Two strips of cardboard were sent with the piecework and there is a name written on it, but unfortunately it is too faded to read.

Faded writing

Faded writing

The squares measure 1 inch finished size and were hand stitched by an experienced seamstress. The fabrics are dress weight cottons and include novelty prints, floral designs, checks, stripes and geometrics.

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My two Postage Stamp projects demonstrate how the quilters of the Depression era were able to create beautiful quilts out of so little. It is my intention to complete the work they started – Piece by Piece.img_4419

Happy Quilting from Janette, The Plain Needlewoman

Doll Quilts

11 Thursday Aug 2016

Posted by in Doll Quilts, Feed Sack, hand quilting, old fabrics, Quilt Collections, Quilt Stories, quilting projects, Scrap quilts, Sewing machines, Uncategorized

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Every so often I make a doll quilt or two. It is a nice change to work on a small project that can be finished quickly. Doll quilts were often made by children to teach them sewing and were usually made from scraps.

Log Cabin made from tiny strips

Log Cabin made from tiny strips

When I start a new project I cut and sew a few more patches that I need and these extra pieces often find their way into a doll quilt. This is also a good way to trial colours and techniques. Children love playing with the little quilts and spend happy hours tucking the dolls or teddies into bed.

Here are a few of my doll quilts – hope you enjoy seeing them and that you may be inspired to start a doll quilt for your collection.

Great books for inspiration

Great books for inspiration

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Happy doll quilt making, Janette

Nanna Good’s Ocean Waves Quilt.

18 Wednesday May 2016

Posted by in antique fabric, Feed Sack, hand quilting, old fabrics, old quilt tops, Old Quilts, Postage Stamp Quilts, Quilt Collections, Quilt Stories, Scrap quilts, Uncategorized, vintage quilts

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This Ocean Waves Quilt was made by Nanna Good in Orrick, Missouri, USA. It was passed down to her daughter Kathryn Sue Bogart McAfee. Kathryn was born on the 21 December 1922 and died in 1982. The quilt was then passed onto her only ancestor – a grand daughter. Her grand daughter decided to sell this quilt as she has a number of quilts made by her mother and grand mother that were made specifically for her. This one was not one of them.

Detail of fabrics

Detail of fabrics

This lovely, scrappy version of the Ocean Waves pattern epitomises a Thirties quilt. The fabrics include florals, solids, stripes, juvenile prints and a couple of pieces from an earlier era. The placement of the solid red creates the effect of pinwheels across sections of the quilt.

Red Pinwheel

Red Pinwheel

The backing is a wonderful Thirties green and the binding a pretty pink. The quilt is quilted by the piece with a simple design in the plain areas. The batting is an uncarded cotton. The seeds are clearly visible when the quilt is wet.

Quilt backing and binding

Quilt backing and binding

Ruby Short McKim published a pattern for an Ocean Waves Quilt in 1931, although we see many earlier examples. It is a very effective design in a two colour combination as well as a great scrap quilt.

I have been busy with hand quilting and have just completed my Courthouse Steps quilt.

Courthouse Steps made with mid 19th century fabrics.

Courthouse Steps made with mid 19th century fabrics.

I am now settling in for the Winter months and have commenced the quilting of another of my old quilt tops. This one is a Trip Around The World – a very large quilt made of very tiny squares.

Trip Around the World.

Trip Around the World.

I hope your quilting is bringing you much pleasure. Thank you for stopping by, Warmly Janette

Yo-Yo Quilts

20 Friday Nov 2015

Posted by in antique fabric, Mending, old fabrics, Old Quilts, Quilt Collections, Quilt Restoration, Quilt Stories, quilting projects, Yo-Yo quilts

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It is uncertain of when and where the technique for making yo-yo quilts originated. The earliest known examples date to the 1920s but the technique and pattern became prominent in the next decade. By the 1930s patterns were appearing in the women’s pages of weekly publications. In Merikay Waldvogel’s book ‘Soft Covers for Hard Times’ it is recorded that kits containing materials and instructions were available for making yo-yo projects.

Due to its simplicity and minimal requirements, yo-yo quilts were very popular during the depression era. All that is needed to make a yo-yo quilt is a large supply of scraps, a circle template, a needle and thread. They are a very portable project, that can be put down and picked up again for a few moments of stitching. It is easy to imagine the busy women of this era making a couple of yo-yos when they could spare a few moments

A bundle of yo-yo quilts

A bundle of yo-yo quilts

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The two yo-yo quilts in my collection were purchased from The Donnellys.

Eileen and Bernie shared the story of how and where they found them. The quilts were bought from an antique shop in Winchester, New Hampshire USA on 7th October 1994. They were lying on the very dirty floor of the shop.

Of the two quilts one is in good condition and the second one needs some repair work.

area needing repair

area needing repair

The first quilt is constructed with 25 yo-yos stitched 5 x 5 to make a block. The blocks are joined with 2 rows of mauve yo-yos to create a lattice effect. Four lemon yo-yos are placed as cornerstones. The maker then created lovely bunting type triangles to give her quilt a very decorative finish.

Lay-out arrangement

Lay-out arrangement

Decorative finish

Decorative finish

The second quilt is a random design but is brighter than the first quilt. Both quilts contain a great assortment of fabrics including feed sacks, dress fabrics, shirtings, ginghams, stripes and juvenile prints. The first quilt was probably the best quilt and the second was the everyday quilt receiving much more wear.

Brighter colours and random placement.

Brighter colours and random placement.

I soaked the quilts for 36 hours in Retro Clean.

Soaking the quilts

Soaking the quilts

After soaking I transferred them to the washing machine. Yo-yo quilts are very heavy and once wet even more so. They had to be machine washed in two separate loads. Once washed and dry I assessed the repair work. The first quilt only needed a couple of yo-yos restitched and two needed replacing. The second quilt is in the repair pile awaiting restoration. Both quilts are a wonderful time capsule of the fabrics from the 1930s and probably include fabrics from earlier decades.

Reverse side of quilt.

Reverse side of quilt.

Detail of fabrics

Detail of fabrics

I hope you enjoyed the stories of the yo-yo quilts. Thank you for stopping by,
Hope your stitching is going well, regards Janette – The Plain Needlewoman.

The ‘Collins’ Quilt – circa 1840s

01 Thursday Oct 2015

Posted by in antique fabric, antique quilts, Double Pinks, hand quilting, handquilting, Mending, old fabrics, Quilt Stories, Scrap quilts, Signature Quilts

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The ‘Collins’ quilt was purchased by Eileen and Bernie Donnelly in 1994 from Peterborough, New Hampshire, USA. It is a lovely old Album quilt with signatures of the Collins family and dated 1849. The names on the quilt are Thomas G. Collins, Samuel B. Collins, Smith Collins, Daniel Collins and Mrs Lewis Collins. They also added their location as Halifax and West Halifax.

The block is a simple but appealing Album Block. There are 49 blocks set on point with an alternate plain block in a lovely double pink and white floral. The blocks are pieced from scraps so there is a good variety of interesting fabrics to study.

Detail of blocks

Detail of blocks

There is some wear to this quilt due to its age and it appears to have been well used. Eileen has noted that a brown fabric has disintegrated, due to mercury being used in the dyeing process of brown fabrics in those days. Eileen has carefully stitched tulle over these areas to protect the fragile fabrics. The quilt backing is a plain cream calico. The quilt is hand pieced and hand quilted.

Tulle stitched onto the quilt to protect a fragile area.

Tulle stitched onto the quilt to protect a fragile area.

Bernie researched the history of the family and traced the Collins family to New England. Bernie traced the family back to 1740 to a Daniel Collins who married Alice Pell in New London, Connecticut in approximately 1762. Daniel and Alice were the Great Grand Parents of those who signed the quilt. Bernie also found a Robert Collins who married Ruth Browning in New London in 1809. They had 10 children including Lewis 1817, Daniel 1819, Samuel 1823 and Thomas G. 1831. These signatures are on the quilt along with Mrs. Lewis Collins. (perhaps she was widowed). Thank you Bernie and Eileen for the wonderful research and preservation work on the ‘Collins’ quilt and for providing me with the information.IMG_3027

Hope you enjoyed the story of the ‘Collins’ Quilt. Happy Quilting from Janette – The Plain Needlewoman

Perfect Piecing

07 Monday Sep 2015

Posted by in hand quilting, Mending, old fabrics, Old Quilts, Quilt Stories, Repairing old quilts, Scrap quilts, stitching, vintage quilts

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LeMoyne Star Quilt circa 1860 to 1880

The maker of the LeMoyne Star Quilt was skilled in both piecing and quilting. The three inch LeMoyne Stars are constructed from eight tiny diamond pieces measuring approximately one inch in length. There are 345 stars in the quilt. Each star is accurately stitched with nice sharp points and the centre seams aligned perfectly.

Tiny LeMoyne Star

Tiny LeMoyne Star

The stars are stitched into a nine patch configuration and are set with three inch wide lattice strips. More LeMoyne Stars are placed as the cornerstones. Two plain borders were added with the remaining two borders made up of the lattice strips and star cornerstones.

Lattice and quilting detail

Lattice and quilting detail

The quilting is remarkable in both design and execution. The quilting consists of double cross hatching and feathers. There are 12 stitches to the inch, counted on the right side of the quilt. The batting is a lightweight cotton.

Unfortunately some of the fabrics used to piece the stars are extremely fragile and showing signs of wear.
This could be due to corrosive substances that were used in the dyeing process at this time. The white background fabric and the quilt backing are in excellent condition. I will eventually stabilise the weakened areas with tulle. Despite this problem the quilt is still a beauty. One can only wonder at the ability of this quilt maker to accurately stitch this intricate design with out the benefits of the sewing accessories available to quilters today.

LeMoyne Star Quilt

LeMoyne Star Quilt

Thank you for visiting, I am off to do some mending,
Janette, The Plain Needlewoman

Lucy’s Quilt

01 Saturday Aug 2015

Posted by in Feed Sack, Old Quilts, Quilt Collections, Quilt Stories

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Four Petals made by Lucy M. Hauser

Four Petals made by Lucy M. Hauser

The Four Petals quilt was made in Kentucky by Lucy M. Hauser during the 1940s. It is hand pieced and hand quilted. The fabrics used in this quilt are feed sack and dress fabrics. The borders, lattice strips and setting squares are a bright pink and aqua. The backing is a feed sack print in a dainty pink floral which compliments the pink and aqua fabrics perfectly. The binding is of the same fabric and is machine stitched. The machine stitching is very fine indeed which indicates it was probably stitched on a treadle machine.

Detail of The Four Petals

Detail of The Four Petals

Fabulous Feed Sack fabrics

Fabulous Feed Sack fabrics

The story of Lucy’s Quilt was passed onto to me by Eileen and Bernie Donnelly who have entrusted this quilt and it’s story to me. The story of The Four Petals quilt is reproduced here as told by Eileen and Bernie. ‘We were driving through West Virginia and Maryland on the last part of our trip.(October 1994) We were looking for old quilts and had been told by one of our son Stephen’s friends, who came from West Virginia, that “old” or Antique Quilts were no longer easy to find. They suggested we stop at some of the old general stores in the small country villages and ask. We did just that and were sent to see Mrs. Lucy Mae Hauser on her farm a couple of miles away. At this stage we we were right in the middle of the Amish country in Maryland, just near the West Virginia border. Lucy invited us in to show us what she had. She was absolutely thrilled to see us as she had not met Australians before. She told us she was 79 then she remembered she was only 76. She took us into a spare bedroom and pulled back a crocheted afghan to reveal a very bright quilt. “Railway Tracks” design. She said she had not sold quilts before, but would sell one to us. So we bought it, literally off her bed. Then she remembered she had some other quilts in the cupboard. She showed us “this one” and we liked it better than the one we had bought, so she agreed to exchange it, so we remade her bed.

Quiltmaker - Lucy Mae Hauser born 9 May 1920

Quiltmaker – Lucy Mae Hauser born 9 May 1920

This quilt was made mostly from Feed sacks and dress fabrics and she said she had made it in Kentucky in the 1940s. The design Four Petals, is very unusual and comes from the Farmer’s Journal which was first published in 1877. The design has probably been handed down through the family.’

The Label beautifully hand written by Eileen.

The Label beautifully hand written by Eileen.

Feed sack backing

Feed sack backing

The instructions for reproducing this quilt were written by Eileen and published in The Australian Patchwork and Quilting Magazine Vol. 9 No. 4 February 2002.IMG_2997 Hope you enjoy seeing The Four Petals Quilt and reading the story of it’s journey to Australia. It is wonderful to have provenance of the maker’s of old quilts, so thank you to Bernie and Eileen for sharing the story of this lovely old quilt. Thank you for visiting The Plain Needlewoman.