April Showers Bring May Flowers

Thought I'd share a bit of springy brightness /my repro Batik Tulips! Pattern available on my Etsy shop.

The vintage inspiration quilt / a kit quilt except for the wacky, very original border

Horses, and Pigs, and Dollys, Oh my - Antique Quilt

You have to love anyone who appliques horses, pigs, and dolls on quilts, don't you? I know I do. Such a wild and wacky sampler from the 1880s with lots of unusual appliques and wonderful cheater cloth (faux patchwork) prints. Starley Collection.

Cheater print mariners compass and horse applique

Pieced sunflower and pig and doll applique and an anchor and initials. And a zigzaggy stairstep block

And that crazy quilt cheater print that I adore and that was extremely popular in the later 1880s and 1890s.

Birds and Blooms, Oh My! Antique Quilt Extravaganza, Event Details

Here's another sneak peek of my Birds and Blooms Lecture/trunk show that will be June 8, 2018 in Kansas City, Kansas. Scroll down to see the event flyer for all the details and also the lodging flyer. Please email me if you have any questions.

Circle Around, Dotty Antique Quilt Fun

Somebody really liked making circles/dots and appliqueing them!!  Cherry Tree block antique applique quilt in the Starley Collection.

Love the combination of formal center with the more whimsical, free form border. Enjoy.

Quilted full of Love -more from 1858 New York City Quilt - Coming to Kansas

More from my antique quilt full of love! Made for a beloved Sunday School/Bible teacher in New York City in 1858 and full of poetry, hymns, Bible verses, and LOVE!! Part of my Sign of the Times show - Come see it in Kansas in June

Birds, Glorious Birds

Just a bit of my bird quilt collection - old, new, American fabric and African prints. Guess which ones will be flying to Kansas this June in for my Birds and Blooms trunk show? Join me for an amazing event!

Antique New York Beauty Quilt and friend- Cheddar

Antique Rocky Road or New York Beauty in my collection. Love that cheddar

Details of 1858 Antique Signature Quilt from New York City

Thought you might like to see some close-ups of my heart quilt from New York (put York in the search box to see/read more).

Another quilt treasure from the Schwenkfelder PA museum

1851 Caesars Crown Antique Quilt

The Caesars Crown block is a difficult one to piece so I was surprised to find that it was used a fair amount of time as a friendship or signature quilt block.

Be sure to click on pictures to enlarge and see detail. This one is unusual as it has such wonderful quilting and signature quilts generally have basic/minimal quilting.

Dedication block to Elizabeth Bickel or Bechtel from Berks Co/Montgomery Co. Pennsylvania

The full quilt

Antique Rolling Stones Quilt Blocks Pennsylvania German

Antique Rolling Stone signature quilt blocks from Montgomery Co. Pennsylvania and dated 1865. Names were written "signed" by a paid scrivener (writer - see his initials in corner) and some blocks still have the original signed paper from the named person. Part of my antique signature quilt trunk show. Come see them in Kansas City KS  June 7-9, 2018

This block was written for Susan Binder. Yes, the scrivener was dyslexic and also not a native  English speaker - his 1st language was almost certainly German.

Block for Mary/Maria Polsgrofe or  Polsgrove

This block was written for Josiah Davidheiser

Log cabins quilts - love them

Visit me on Facebook or Instagram to see close ups of this wonderful log cabin quilt from my collection and play the quilt dating game

200 Year Old Hexagon Masterpiece Antique Quilt

Another treasure from my Textile Time Travels to the New England Quilt Museum is this 200 year old Chintz hexagon masterpiece. Be sure to click on pictures to enlarge and savor these beautiful fabrics.  And to see other amazing chintz and early quilts, join me in Kansas in June ...

Provenance on the front of the piece noting that it was started in 1816 and finished in 1817

Wonderful fussy cutting in the hexagons and special center designs as well.

Love the butterfly and bird.

Cowboys, Cupids, and Canines, oh my! Charming Feedsack Prints

While I'm generally an 1800s quilt person, I do have a soft soft for 1930s novelty prints. Here are a few from a Rolling Stone quilt in my collection.

Can you believe this wild cupid/cherub print is the sashing and a wide sashing to boot. Makes for a busy quilt. This is a Percy Kent Company feedsack print.

And of course, you can never go wrong with adorable canines, aka cute dogs :)

Fabulous Antique Princess Feather Quilt with Fugitive Feathers

Love this fabulous antique Prince's or Princess Feather Quilt with such detailed applique -just look at all those thin cuts. I especially love the hearts at the ends of the feathers and the basket border

The greens are fugitive/unstable dyes, likely synthetics and would have been a rich tree/grass green when made.

Antique Novelty Conversation Prints: Dogs, Horses, Circus Dogs, oh my

I just adore novelty prints or conversation prints - so named because they sparked conversations. Their heyday was the 1880s and into the 1890s and zillions of yards were printed.

Here are a few from one of my tumbling block stars quilts from Lancaster County Pennsylvania, 1880s.

 Dogs were extremely popular motifs.

 And horses, horseshoes, jockey caps, etc. anything equestrian was super popular!
 

And lots of tiny, intricate prints like this circus dog performing tricks!

And I just found a great article on the collection of the Design Center at Philadephia University. Happy reading.