I've spent the last few days rearranging my antique quilts. I use most of them for guild programs and lectures which means I am in an almost constant state of packing or unpacking! Right now I am unpacking "100 years of quilts" and packing "Signature quilts - clues to family history" which I am presenting to a Genealogical group for the second time.
This did however also give me a chance to look at the purple fabrics from around 1850. Why you ask? Well, I am making a quilt that uses a quilt from that time period as inspiration. I need a lavender fabric. So far I've ordered two on the internet and not been happy with either when it arrived. The first was just wrong. The second the color was right but the print was too large for the applique pieces I'm doing.
These other purples are more difficult to date as the quilt has fabrics from 1850 to 1880 in it!
So I guess this calls for a "Quilt Emergency" road-trip Maybe the last week of the month I'll either head to Mary Jo's or down to Atlanta and go to Little Quilts and the little shop in Conyers. We do not have a LQS that carries reproduction fabric...so sad.
Which brings me to this little doll quilt (18x24 inches.) It was given to me after a quilt program. I know it is in poor shape but I love how the older 9-patch blocks were put together, most likely in the 20's, to make a little quilt for some child's doll....and it has purple!
8 comments:
Would love to attend one of you speaking engagements, do you ever get to North Texas? You should write a book, your a wealth of information.
What lovely quilts... and you're right about the lavenders/lilacs... you just have to see them in person!
You're speaking to the converted LOL, I just love purple and a little splash of it in a scrappy quilt is just perfect!! I notice that the maker of this quilt did quite a nice job of fussy cutting in places, she obviously took pride in her piecing!! The quilting stitches are wonderful and small too!! I love the close-up shots of antique quilts, love to see some of the tiny secrets it holds, thankyou for sharing these wonderful old treasures!!!!!
I love to find good reproduction purples--and I would love to find a shop that specializes in reproductions! We have one shop that carries a small selection, and another that hardly carries any. Wish I could go on that Quilt Emergency road trip, too. : )
Prior to retirement I traveled for work and was able to find shops that carried reproduction fabrics here and there. Quilts Plus in Indianapolis comes to mind as does Prairie Point Fabrics in Shawnee, KS (suburb of Kansas City). The latter has a Jo Morton club and a good selection of her fabrics. Sadly, this is not in evidence on their web site. The purples are not that common, are they? Happy hunting!
Love the close up photos. Yes, the older fabrics do have a special look to them!
Yes, I agree, an emergency trip is most needed!!
Nice irish chain. I like that different fabrics are used where the "chains" cross.
heard on quilt cam orca bay is off to the quilter...yay! can't wait to see it done!
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