Day 31 - A Magical Month of Antique Quilts - Starley Quilt Collection

 BIG NEWS - Yes, I'm shouting!! My Newest Cheddar Antique Repro Quilt is patterned in the current issue of American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine!!! APQ did an amazing job styling and presenting my Cheddar House quilt - "Close To Home". This makes me want to paint a wall blue.

Photo -"USED WITH PERMISSION FROM AMERICAN PATCHWORK & QUILTING®. ©2021 MEREDITH CORPORATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.”  ** The beautiful fabrics I used are from the Homestead Harvest collection by Julie Latty Letvin of Me and My Stitches for Robert Kaufman fabrics. Aren't they yummy! 

Here's the antique inspiration quilt from the Starley Quilt Collection

And a progress shot from creating the mini repro quilt -

Here's the cover (btw, that beautiful cover quilt is also an antique inspired quilt). I love that APQ magazine is so antique quilt friendly and really promotes antique quilts and quilt history!! 

"USED WITH PERMISSION FROM AMERICAN PATCHWORK & QUILTING®. ©2021 MEREDITH CORPORATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.”

Day 30 - A Magical Month of Antique Quilts - Starley Quilt Collection

Another one of my favorite patterns is Hexagon Medallions, like the circa 1890 beauty below from my traveling antique quilt collection. They are also featured in my Patterns Through Time lecture trunk show.

Lots of wonderful fabrics!! Be sure to click on the picture to enlarge it so you can really see the details.

Click on the picture of the center to find the 1876 Centennial flag print. You may have seen a recent reproduction of this print by Lisa Bongean of  Primitive Gatherings. 

Another detail of the amazing figural (people) prints and cheater prints (the bird and the patchwork right below).

Day 29 - A Magical Month of Antique Quilts from the Starley Quilt Collection

 Another favorite block of mine is the Tumbling Block Star. I shared another Tumbling Block Star a couple of days ago with a center block of solid fabrics. This top doesn't have that feature but it is still pretty awesome. Part of my Patterns Through Time trunk show.

The maker made horizontal rows of color by carefully arranging her fabric placement, like the pink, blue and red fabrics below.

The quilt top is circa 1885/90 and from Pennsylvania. Lots of wonderful novelty prints and cheater fabrics. Be sure to click on the photo to enlarge and enjoy the details of the fabrics.

Day 28 - A Magical Month of Antique Quilts from the Starley Quilt Collection

 Another very holiday season quilt is this applique Coxcomb and Berries antique quilt, circa 1850, Starley Quilt Collection. 9 blocks straight set to create a secondary design where 4 blocks meet - it repeats the red X in the center of the individual blocks.

Unusual red and green circles create a frame or border around the blocks that are anchored by 4 lovely applique vases or baskets of flowers and more berries!

A close-up of the red and green berries - someone liked appliqueing circles! The green would have been a darker, more forest green but I do like the limey color it has now.

Day 27 - A Magical Month of Antique Quilts - Seeing Stars

Another favorite block of mine is the Tumbling Block Star and it is another pattern featured in my antique quilt trunk show: Patterns Through Time

This quilt is part of a special group of Tumbling Block Star quilts that were made in Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania in the 1880s. The special part is that they all feature a central block made solely from solid (non printed) fabrics - see photo below,

This quilt also was precisely planned and executed with each set/pair of touching points in a star using a very close matching fabric. For example the pink and green star above left has 6 different fabrics but the pink are almost exactly alike as are the 2 greens and the 2 brown dots. Or look at the 2 double blue or Lancaster Blue prints in the top right above - so similar! My friend Greta and I have found at least 20 of these Tumbling Block Star quilts with the solid fabric centers, all have origins of Lancaster Co and 1880 or 90s time frame.

Day 26 - A Magical Month of Antique Quilts - Super Christmasy Quilt

 This is one of my most Christmasy quilts!  Staghorn applique pattern, antique quilt, circa 1860. Starley Quilt Collection. Of course, red and green proclaim the holidays, and the holly berry style wreathy appliques do too. Click on the picture to enlarge and see the details - such as all the embroidery that makes this quilt delightful.

Here's the full antique quilt. It is always interesting to see how the earlier quilters arranged their applique designs. This unknown maker aligned the 4 ferns to face to the center, focal point applique.  

I also like to see how makers figured out their borders and got their designs around the corners. This quilter made each border separately, starting in from the border width and continuing to the corner, repeating 3 more times. A great method that avoids having to make the borders meet in the corners. Note - if the border designs are not continuous, you don't have to worry about them matching :) 

A bit of the folky border. Actually, the whole quilt is a bit folky and I really like that. Folky and informal is more fun than precise and formal design.

Day 25 - A Magical Month of Antique Quilts - Starley Quilt Collection

 Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all. Here's a beautiful Christmas wreath to spread holiday cheer. Love the extra detail of the little indigo blue circles <3

The full quilt from the Starley Quilt Collection.

Day 24 - A Month of Magical Antique Quilts - Seeing Stars

 I love to share this quilt now because it reminds me of the Star of Bethlehem.

Don't you think the blue background is a perfect touch and of course, the added satellite stars. Quilt was made in SE Pennsylvania.

In this picture you can see a bit more of the wonderful sparkly blue background and the unusual yellow backing. It was made circa 1860 but figured probably almost a century later in about 1950.

Day 23 - A Month of Magical Antique Quilts - Seeing Stars

A very Merry Christmas Star!!

Click on the photos to see all the yummy early fabrics. Lovely reds and greens and great backgrounds too.

And look at these beautiful blues <3 <3

And more of the reds and pinks. Note the dye mordant damage I have mentioned before. Click on the pic to enlarge and see the issue. In this example, the little yellow circle flower is outlined in black and that outline is caustic and erodes the fabric.

Day 22 - A Magical Month of Antique Quilts - Seeing Stars

 I think I'll be able to find a few more antique star quilts ... Here's another one, a quite Christmasy French Star quilt. Click on the photo to enlarge and see the amazing piecing and quilting!

Here's the full quilt. Doesn't it just sparkle!! Circa 1870, Southeastern Pennsylvania

The French Star is an unusual and uncommon pattern and one of my very favorites. It is part of my Patterns Through Time trunk show. Because the French Star block has some difficult piecing with those elliptical pieces between the LeMoyne Star points, it is not a common pattern. It was printed during the quilt revival of the 1930's but still did not become a regularly made block and so I feel lucky to own several examples. 

These quilts are part of my antique quilt lecture: "Patterns Through Time" which illustrates quilt history and the evolution of quilt patterns. The lecture feature a dozen different quilt patterns with 2 or 3 examples of each pattern - and yes, those are all real antique quilts (not photos). You can get up close and personal with these wonderful historical artifacts. Patterns Through Time is also available as a half day lecture where you can really study and drool over these beauties. I'm available to come to your guild, show, shop, etc. Hope to see you and share my collection with you! Or we can do a virtual trunk show!

Day 21 - A Month of Antique Quilts - Seeing Stars

 Ready for another star quilt? I hope the answer is yes! Here's a close of one of the blocks with wonderful blues and a red equestrian novelty print in the center. Quintessential markers for dating quilts to the 1890s.  

And here is one of the pieced stars from the sashing. This is the scrappiest one with each of the eights points sewn in a different fabric.

The full fabulous quilt. Click on the photo to enlarge and see more details. I love how the large stars look like they are made from several different pattern due to color placement. Starley Quilt Collection.

Day 20 - A Month of Antique Quilts - Starley Quilt Collection - Seeing Stars

 Let's look at another fab antique star quilt  This is an uncommon pattern. A variation of the French Star pattern. Starley Quilt collection.

Look at all that hand quilting! That background grid is like a quarter inch.

The full quilt set on point with lots of partial blocks needed to complete the top.

Day 19 - A Magical Month of Antique Quilts - Starley Quilt Collection - Seeing Stars

 Hmmm, wonder if I can find another star quilt? Ha Ha! With a last name of Starley, I'll bet you can guess I have a few of them (maybe a few dozen :)  This beauty is an antique signature star quilt. Made by Quakers in Delaware County, Pennsylvania (SE PA near Phila. and NJ and Delaware).

Made with a great variety of Turkey Red print fabrics. Aren't they beautiful! I especially love the one above with blue, yellow, and green flowers.

And here it is in all its glory! It reminds me snowflakes or stars in the night sky. Dated 1848.

Day 18 - A Month of Antique Quilts - Zigzag Stars

 I guess it is about time to get a little bit Christmasy :) which to me doesn't just mean red and green.  Let's show some stars!! 

Isn't this sparkly and Fun! And remember you can never go wrong with a zigzag setting.

By the way, these are super cute little stars from the 1860s and 1870s (see that 1876 Centennial Green - aqua stripe, above -right corner).

And look at all the wonderful novelty or conversation prints below! These are a bit newer 1880s.

Day 17 - A Monthlong Celebration of Antique Quilts - Starley Quilt Collection

 More 9 Patch Fun! Another Uneven Nine Patch from my collection. This one is quite early and has some fabulous fabrics. And something very special ...

Amazingly, it is signed and dated 1836 in teeny crossstitch! It is so awesome to have a name and date on a patchwork quilt like this. Such a great resource for dating the fabrics.

Setting the 9 Patches on point makes strong graphic lines, especially with all the red fabrics.

Day 16 - A Month of Antique Quilts - Starley Quilt Collection - More 9 Patch Fun

The 9 Patch is a very versatile block and one of the earliest patchwork blocks. Not a surprise that simple patchwork like 9 Patch, and 4 Patchwork, and single repeated blocks like hexagons were the first pieced blocks. It is common to see it set like this antique in pairs of nine 9 patches, aka Double 9 Patch blocks. These are little blocks.

Here's more from the early 9 Patch quilt. Look at the yummy green ivy sashing. The quilt dates to circa 1840. Starley Quilt Collection.

And the backing fabric is AMAZING! This beautiful floral pillar print in a China Blue/white colorway.

This column or pillar print was very popular in the 1820s. It was printed in about 20 different colorways or color combinations like this blue/white, red/white, tan (drab), a polychrome (multi-color), and much more.