Day 12 - A Month of Antique Quilts

 Did I mention that I love antique signature quilts? Well, I really do!! This one is done in a lovely Oak Reel applique pattern with a great swag and bow/ribbon border. It has names in the center circles (see 3rd pic below) but no place names or dates. I really do need to work on finding out where it was made.

The blocks are striking and the border bows are delightful!

Unfortunately it suffers from a condition that is regularly seen in mid century, circa 1850 Turkey Red fabrics - damage from the black dye. The dye or mordant (a substance that keeps the dye on the fabric) was very caustic and erodes the fabric. On this block, there was a 4 line black stripe and it is disintegrating wherever the line was placed. Commonly, the reds were decorated with flowers outlined with black and they now look like someone took scissors and cut out the flowers. Luckily, it doesn't affect the signatures or the quilt's history.