Tag Archives: quilt collections

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

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.

Sailboats and Sunbonnets

07 Wednesday Jan 2015

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Vintage Toy Sailboats

Vintage Toy Sailboats

Beautiful old French monogrammed bonnet

Beautiful old French monogrammed bonnet

Here in Melbourne, where I live Summer is well underway. January arrived in a blaze of heat. Hot, dry and windy conditions prevailed and we are once again faced with the prospects of bush fires. With temperatures in the high thirties, dare I say it is almost too hot for hand quilting. As I always have a few projects on the go, I turn to my hand piecing when the temperature soars.

My ‘Sail into Dreamtime’ quilt brings to mind a Summer’s day spent out sailing on our bay with cool breezes blowing off the water. The pretty fabrics in this quilt which are either reproduction thirties or vintage fabrics from this era, transform me to another place and time.

Sail Into Dreamtime - a quilt for Summer

Sail Into Dreamtime – a quilt for Summer

I was inspired to make this quilt after being shown some old quilt blocks from 1939, that were signed and dated. I drafted my pattern from the original blocks and made 36 sailboat blocks using fabrics from my collection. The quilt is machine pieced and hand quilted.

Detail of fabrics used.

Detail of fabrics used.

Sailboat block

Sailboat block

Sunbonnet Sue quilts were very popular in times past. This quaint design evokes little girls in pretty dresses and bonnets playing happily in shady gardens. Studying these quilts transports me back to another time, when girls wore floral dresses, bonnets and cute little boots. It must certainly have been Summer.

Sunbonnet Sue quilt

Sunbonnet Sue quilt

This quilt is once again inspired by the wonderful quilts made during the Great Depression. This little girl is my own design and it is hand appliquéd, embroidered and hand quilted. Choosing the dress fabrics and co-ordinating them with just the right shades of solid pastels for the bonnets and boots was a wonderful opportunity to look over lots of pretty fabrics.

Another little Summery Sue.

Another little Summery Sue.

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Another gorgeous Sunbonnet Sue quilt

Another gorgeous Sunbonnet Sue quilt

I purchased ten Vintage Sunbonnet Sue blocks from ‘A Piece of Cloth’ and made one more from the original design to construct this quilt. By setting it in a zig-zag setting I was able to create a good size quilt and preserve the beautiful work started by another quilter many years ago. These girls are appliquéd and finished with a black running stitch around the appliqué pieces. The reproduction and vintage fabrics worked well together. It is amazing how similar the reproduction fabrics are to the original.

Vintage Sunbonnet Girl

Vintage Sunbonnet Girl

the eleventh block reproduced from the originals

the eleventh block reproduced from the originals

I hope these quilts have carried you to another place and time. Either to escape the heat of Summer or to send you Sailing Into Dreamtime, perhaps looking forward to warmer days to arrive.

Happy Quilting, Janette, The Plain Needlewoman

Spiders and their Webs

01 Thursday Jan 2015

Posted by in old fabrics, old quilt tops, Spider Webs, vintage quilts

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Turkey Red and White Star Quilt

Turkey Red and White Star Quilt

This quilt is another Variable Star pattern. It was probably made late 1890s or early at the turn of the 20th Century. I purchased the top from the quilt collector Jan Baker in 2009. This quilt is basted and is next in line for hand quilting. I am quilting my Seven Sisters quilt at the moment and have a long way to go on this quilting project just yet.

I was taking this photo of the quilt to post on a Facebook page and as I took the photo a spider crawled out from the folded quilt. Can you see it in the photo? As I am not afraid of spiders and never kill them (it is bad luck) I caught it and placed it outside in the garden. As I was folding the quilt to put it away, I remembered I had marked this quilt ready for quilting with the spider web pattern. The spider may have thought this was it’s home. As I mark my designs very lightly with a HB lead pencil it may not be visible in the photo. The Spiders web quilting design is a favourite of mine and quilts up beautifully. Can’t wait to get started on the quilting. As for the spider I shall look on this as a good omen for 2015.

Wishing you all a very peaceful, kind and wonderful year of quilting and happy days!
Best Wishes from Janette – The Plain Needlewoman

Fabrics and Styles in Double Wedding Ring Quilts.

31 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by in hand quilting, old fabrics, old quilt tops, old sewing books, stitching, vintage quilts

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The Double Wedding Ring pattern was one of the most popular patterns made during the Great Depression Era. Although a difficult pattern to piece it was made many times over. Double Wedding Ring quilts still remain a favourite with today’s quilters.

Vintage Double Wedding Ring Quilt

Vintage Double Wedding Ring Quilt

Detail of quilt

Detail of quilt

Backing in that green!

Backing in that green!

Laser cut templates, paper piecing and books devoted entirely to constructing the Double Wedding Ring pattern are readily available. However, the older quilts show some variation of the numbers of pieces of fabric in the arcs. Perhaps patterns were used from the syndicated newspaper columns popular in the 30s or patterns were adapted to make use of what was in the quilter’s scrap basket.

The yellow and green in this quilt clearly identify it as a 1930’s to 40’s quilt. This quilt was probably made from the scrap basket as it also contains shirtings, dimities, plains and a liberal use of a gorgeous red polka dot. The red polka dot fabric reminds me of confetti. This quilt is beautifully stitched, with six fabric pieces in each arc set against two pinks and a green. The background is yellow and the backing is Thirties Green. The hand quilting is neat and even. This quilt was purchased by The Donnellys in October 1997 at Buckhannon, West Virginia.

1930s Wedding ring quilt top

1930s Wedding ring quilt top

Detail of quilt top

Detail of quilt top

Another quilt from the thirties contains a fabulous array of dainty florals and prints. This quilter chose to use 12 fabrics in her arcs, enabling her to use many designs throughout the quilt. The background is a fine weave cotton and the arcs are set with green and yellow. A wonderful collection of prints, plaids, florals, checks, stripes and geometrics were used in this top.

A treasured fragment

A treasured fragment

Another example of a 1930s Wedding Ring can be seen in this quilt fragment. A notable feature of this quilt is the use of Prairie Points to finish off the curved edges. The arcs consist of seven pieces and are set with pink and green patterned fabrics. The quilting was done in the Hanging Diamond pattern. I love this little fragment and can only wonder at what an exquisite quilt it must have been.

My Double Wedding Ring quilt

My Double Wedding Ring quilt

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I completed my Double Wedding Ring quilt in 1996. There are six pieces in the arcs and they are set with a red and tan solid. I was inspired to make this quilt from a photo of an antique quilt in a Hallmark Calendar. I used primarily checks, plaids,stripes and geometrics. There are very few florals used in my quilt. I machine pieced this quilt and it is hand quilted. I carried the check and plaid theme through to the backing, using up all the remaining fabrics.

Pieced backing

Pieced backing

I hope you enjoy studying the Double Wedding Ring quilts. Thank you for stopping by, Janette, A Plain Needlewoman

The Stars Are Shining Bright

13 Saturday Dec 2014

Posted by in hand quilting, old fabrics, old quilt tops, old sewing books, vintage quilts

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The Variable Star Quilt Top

The Variable Star Quilt Top

Star Designs are one of the most numerous and splendid of all quilt patterns. If you only made quilts featuring Stars you would have many beautiful quilts.

The Variable Star quilt top is a recent purchase from my friends and quilt collectors The Donnellys. Eileen and Bernie identify this quilt as a ‘Time Span’ quilt. The Donnelly’s date this top as being stitched from Circa 1880 to 1930. A Time Span quilt is a quilt which has been made over a period of time, and in this case it is over quite a long period. The fabrics appear to be dress cottons including some fabulous shirtings, turkey reds, double pinks, a 30’s dark maroon and some pretty florals, stripes and gingham.

Dark Maroon and floral print circa 1930s

Dark Maroon and floral print circa 1930s

Shirtings circa 1880s

Shirtings circa 1880s

Another from the 30s.

Another from the 30s.

I love the way the maker of this Variable Star quilt placed similar colours together making for a very strong focal point. This practice seems to be common in older quilts, whereas today we would place them apart.

Reds side by side

Reds side by side

In studying and documenting this quilt Eileen has noted ‘The patchworker has essentially used the same pattern when assembling the blocks but occasionally she seems to have reversed the pieces, and also altered the centre of some blocks. She has therefore created the impression of different block patterns forming the quilt. Perhaps, as it took so long to make she made some blocks without looking at the ones already constructed and just forgot which pattern she was following.’ Many of us can relate to this.

Variation in design

Variation in design

Also noteworthy is the pink setting squares and bright blue sashes and borders. The Donnellys purchased this top from James Carrol through the Quilt Loft at Groton, Massachusetts, USA in 1996.

When I first saw the Variable Star top I loved it immediately. I thought it was the same block that I had used in a quilt I had recently completed. However, on returning home and placing the two together, I realised that my design is another variable.

Constellation Star

Constellation Star

I had long admired this quilt from the book ‘In The Beginning’ published by That Patchwork Place in the Quilt Shop Series and written by Sharon Evans Yenter. Sharon calls this quilt Constellation Star and I think it is also known as Annie’s Choice. Which ever name you prefer it is a lovely design. I drafted the pattern for rotary cutting and machine piecing. I made it a fraction smaller to make use of my collection of reproduction fat 16ths. The lattice and borders are vintage fabric that proved difficult to hand quilt, but the colour is just perfect. As my block is smaller than Yenter’s I made 36 blocks, which is the same number as in the Variable Star quilt top.

In The Beginning

In The Beginning

Inspiration from the book

Inspiration from the book

The Constellation Star Quilt is dated Circa 1910. Perhaps there are similar fabrics as in the Variable Star.

I think my Constellation Star Quilt could be described as a ‘Time Span’ Quilt as well. It contains some vintage fabrics, including shirtings. It has been inspired by an old quilt from a book that was first published in 1992. I pieced and quilted the Constellation Star during 2013 and 2014.

Finished quilt showing reproduction backing fabric

Finished quilt showing reproduction backing fabric

Constellation Star prior to binding

Constellation Star prior to binding

May all your Stars shine brightly,
Janette – The Plain Needlewoman