Amazing antique tree quilt block and quilt

An amazingly beautiful tree block found in a kind of scary quilt. I need to rescue it.

The other blue block that is pretty awesome

The ties which weren't horrible in the first block keep getting scarier and scarier

Though aren't too bad on this block that is newer. I think it is a multi-generational project.

Early Toile Antique Strippy Flying Geese Quilts

One of my very favorite quilts is this strippy flying geese. A wonderful bird print - English toile from the late 1700s. Printed by the Talwin and Foster Co. at Bromley Hall. The quilt is about 1830s.

It features ducks and a peacock and other birds too.

Note the simple chevron quilting. In this time period, the focus was on the expensive imported fabrics, not the quilting.

The bird toile is pieced in long strips with pieced flying geese in between.

And here is more of it with a yardstick for scale and measuring the repeat of the toile (36 inches). 

Dated 1842 New Jersey Antique Sampler Quilt

Details of my 1842 antique signature quilt from Burlington Co New Jersey.
Love this heart appliqué - Meribah Kempton, Jacobstown. Google her & you’ll find she was part of a family legal case (or her estate was).

Sarah Rogers

Benjamin Rogers - Georgetown

Circle the Wagons - Antique Wagon Wheel

What a charming wheel quilt! I can never get enough blue and cheddar. How about you?

Very simple hand quilting but very striking, almost sculptural. 

Cheddar and indigo blue and polka dots - oh my.

Turn of the century, early 1900s. Interesting to see the difference patterns created by color placement.

Antique Kaleidoscope Quilt -Antique Novelty Conversation Fabric

One of my very favorite quilts - kaleidoscope star. The pattern is Ships Wheel.
The quilt is circa 1890**, these steel engraving novelty prints are mostly from the 1880s.
**The top is c. 1890 but was minimally quilted a few years ago with a polyester batting. I've since unquilted it and removed the poofy poly but left the backing to protect the seams.

The fussy cutting, selective cutting is very impressive as is the careful piecing and placement. Look at the little fox, ferret, badger? in a hat. Even more impressive is the fact that the maker was using small pieces and many had to be pieced before they could be cut into diamonds.

This quilt is a tour de force of fussy cutting! And has more novelty or conversational prints than I've seen on any other quilt. Please be sure to click on the individual photos to see the details and all the amazing novelty or conversation prints.

Antique Hexagon Medallion Quilt

Thought you'd like to see some details of my 1880s hexagon medallion quilt. Enjoy.

Antique Horse Quilt Designs across the Decades

In honor of the royal wedding which will feature cavalry and the royal couple in a horse drawn carriage ... several equine images from my collection.

Antique Quilt - Goose in the Pond Quilt

This is one of my cheeriest quilts, you can definitely see it was made in the transitional period between the dark Victorian quilts and the bright 1930's quilt. It is a circa 1910 Goose in Pond quilt and from Ohio. It is a fairly uncommon pattern to find and I was quite pleased to find it.

Here is a four block section, note again the blues and burgundy of the first quarter. Also the simple functional baptist fan quilting, another dating clue as this wasn't the time of elaborate quilting.

Here is one of the two blocks that have sawtooth 'coping strips' to make them fit into the top. Blocks like this always interest me, wonder what happened . . . was it a group quilt and some people didn't read the instructions, did the maker decide to recycle blocks that weren't quite the right size or did she really have technical difficulties???? In spite of, or maybe because I'm such a diehard on my own quilts, I love these 'maverik' or what was she thinking quilts (thanks Julie Silber for one of my fav. quilting phrases).

It may be the person was a new quilter as this quilt has another unusual aspect: 3 different binding techniques were used - self binding (back brought to front), applied binding, and a knife edge. Again, don't know if it was a group quilt or a practice/learning quilt.

Happy Flowers Antique Lily Quilt

 Part of the Starley Antique Quilt Collection - Birds & Blooms trunk show.

A graphic red & green lily or peony quilt that is hand pieced, hand appliqued, and hand quilted, with early fabrics dating from 1830-1850.   This quilt is from the pre- civil war era.

This would be a formal quilt but the stems are all different (some quite wonky) which gives it a bit of a whimsical, folky feel.

Beautiful hand quilting around the piecework and in elaborate straight line, feathered, maple leaf, and sunflower designs in the background.   And it almost goes without saying the turkey reds are absolutely amazing.  

Civil War Quilt - Antique Signature Quilt from New York

Thought I'd share a bit more of this 1860s signature quilt from New York State. Several have wonderful sentiments and Bible quotes. Starley quilt collection. Sign of the Times quilt trunk show.

"Be Kind to all Man Kind" Sarah Jane Seacord

Lovely prints and look at the indigo print on the right

Antique Trapunto Quilt Antique Stars

Carpenter Star variation with AMAZING trapunto quilt from the 1840s. Part of the Starley Antique Collection - Antique Stars trunk show.

It has a variety of quilting designs including this unusual 5 pointed "Texas" star set in a trapunto wreath.

Absolutely adore the 5 pointed star with circular feather frame. And come in closer, closer, closer ... look at the intense background stippling. This maker LOVED to quilt. **Be sure to click on the photos to enlarge and see the amazing quilting.

and these wonderful pineapples in the borders (look sideways) are soooo fab

The full quilt. Thanks Fourth Corner Molly

Cheeky British Birds - Antique Quilt flying to Kansas

Hope several of you are planning on joining me and my quilts in Kansas in a few weeks (June 7-9, 2018). link for forms
 Here's another sneak peek of this cheeky British bird quilt from my Birds & Blooms lecture.

An English quilt from Weardale, Durham, the North Country.

Quilted in a circular medallion design (probably from the back).

Antique sampler signature quilt

Sampler album signature quilt -Sign of the Times trunk show and class.  Dated 1879 signature quilt from Pennsylvania (Tuscarora, Bradford Co.) Some of the family names  are Hall, Montgomery, Chamberlain, Lake, and Wood. 

Isn't that flower basket lovely?

And this floral spray

And several religious sentiments are included this one: "God is my Salvation"

The full quilt

Antique Alphabet Quilt

Isn't this a wonderful pieced alphabet quilt? From the Esprit Collection. Love the house and what I think is a date of 1914 and a sideways & (or maybe a duck)?

The patterns are from the Ladies Art Company pattern catalog from about 1900.

Because 26 letters don't lend themselves to even straight rows, extra something needed to be added. In my quilt above 4 extra blocks.  Quite often these alphabet quilts are dated like mine.

Little Pink Baskets - Antique Basket Quilt

Aren't these adorable little pink and brown baskets? Love all the double pinks and the brown stripes. Great antique quilt top from my collection. Starley Collection.

More of the fun

And some more