Cat and Horses on Quilts --Oh My!

Cotton crazy quilt top-detail of block circa 1890

Novelty print -cats and thread

Novelty print- horse & rider (polo pony?)

I'm very fond of novelty or conversation print fabrics. And thought I[d start sharing some of my favorites -both from my quilts and other sources. The cotton crazy quilt has lots of notable fabrics and funky folk appliques and the block above includes a cat along with a horse novelty fabric which worked well with the other 2 blocks I found in my photo collection.

The cats and candles and thread are too cute although they do seem like a fire waiting to happen. These were a set of blocks that got away- I was outbid. The cats and horse blocks were sold on eBay by JK Gardner. Both are also circa 1890. I'd love to see novelty prints in other collections, so please post and share.

Antique Quilt -- Quilted Joy Rose of Sharon Bird Garden

circa 1850 Rose of Sharon 86" x 86"

Wow--this has to be what JOY looks like when it is quilted. I thought my earlier whig rose or rose of sharon quilt was busy with no negative space but this quilter really upped the ante. Can you tell I love this quilt? I didn't want to post it because I won't want to add anything else that will bump this down...so you will probably see it again. Another treasure from Mark French of Ohio.

The border is over the top with all the different flowers -irises, tulips, etc. I really like how the 3 stemmed flower groups have been stitched to make them into a basket. And the two different birds are delightful and the red birds seem to be enjoying the blue berries. They do look delicious. There are a lot of embroidered details (stitching on appliques, etc.)--so much to take in. Enjoy-I sure am.

If you have seen a similar quilt, please let me know as I haven't found anything close and neither has the dealer.

August 6th Antique Quilt Trunkshow Springville

c. 1860 basket quilt with bird appliques, probably New York state

(This beautiful basket quilt with birds, hearts and fruit or flower appliques found its way to me via Julie Silber of The Quilt Complex.) This is a Civil War era quilt.

Looking for an antique quilt fix--please come see me at the Springville Utah Art Museum Quilt Show trunkshow afternoon on August 6th, 2010 at 12:30 p.m. I will be sharing a dozen antique quilts from 1800-1900 and their stories. Learn a bit of quilt history while looking at some beautiful quilt stars (these are the original 100+ year old quilts not reproductions).

After the trunkshow you can enjoy the great new quilts on display at the museum through September 1st which by the way, includes 2 small quilts made by me and one by my sister Donna. If you can't make it to the show, read further on to see some of the antique quilts and visit my art quilt blog to see our Springville quilts (crazy quilt, folk art applique and peacock incognito). Feel free to contact me for a trunk show or quilt appraisal.

Update: my friend Bev posted an unsolicited but much appreciated glowing review of my trunk show on her blog, click here to read and see a few pictures. Thanks Bev.

Pink Antique Goose in Pond

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.

Bloggers Quilt Festival

I'm happy to have another opportunity to participate in the Bloggers Quilt Festival. Here's another favorite from my antique quilt collection. If you were lucky enough to attend the Home Machine Quilting Show 2 weeks ago, you may have seen this quilt hanging in my quilt appraisal booth. I also had a special antique exhibit which included the hexagon quilt pictured in my last post and which caught Amy's eye .

This c. 1885 blazing star is a good example of the colors, fabrics and styles of quilts of the 1880's and 90's. It has 2 red novelty prints with horseshoes (equestrian designs were very popular) and the typical reds and blues and light shirtings. The small star corner posts elevate the quilt and the double pink sashing is the crowning touch for this quilt star. Please click on the photos to see more detail of the fabrics. And please let me know if you have any questions about antique quilts.

Stop by my second blog as I am showing another c. 1890 star quilt for the festival-a cheddar orange variable star and its newly made reproduction.

Appraisals at Home Machine Quilting Show

Hexagon Madder Medallion Quilt c. 1875
I will be doing appraisals on May 6, 7 and 8, 2010 at the Home Machine Quilting Show (HMQS) in Salt Lake City, Utah. I am certified by American Quilters Society (AQS) to appraise all types of quilts-antique, vintage and newly made and traditional and art quilts. I will be in booth #514 so please stop by. I will be doing a demo lecture Thursday at 1:30 p.m. on Challenge Quilts-how to find and enter national challenges. On Saturday at 2:30 my lecture is on Learning from the Past-integrating insights from antique quilts into new. And on Friday, I will be presenting an hour long trunkshow 'Textile Time Travel' 150 years of antique quilts with approx. 30 quilts. I will also have a special exhibit with 9 antique quilts from 1830-1900.

Rocky Road to Kansas via Lancaster PA

Another great late 1800's Pennsylvania quilt. There really must be something in the water as those PA quilters and their unique and funky color sense continue to amaze me. I don't think anyone else does pink in a such an assertive way with no fear. Okay, yes that is a lot of generalizing but after a few years of studying, it is easy to pick the PA quilts out of the line up.

This Rocky Road to Kansas has a lot of movement due to the use of the double pink Greek key print ground that reads as a stripe. That fabric choice would probably have pushed the quilt over the top had the maker not been so careful in piecing the 'stars'. They are arranged in a very controlled manner/order: red/blue in centers, then chrome yellow, then the same fabrics used in the facing points. The centers are double blue/Lancaster blue and turkey red with chrome yellow details. There are a number of mourning prints and the back is a great neon stripe. Hand pieced, hand quilted. To see a very different example of a Rocky Road to Kansas, from another time and place (1930's Utah), click here .

Las Vegas Quilt Trunkshow and Appraisals

This c. 1910 Pennsylvania Rising Star or Bethlehem or Lone Star quilt is one of the 25-30 quilts I will be showing in Textile Time Travels: 200 years of American Quilts, a trunkshow/
bedturning/lecture in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 18th at the Las Vegas Quilters Guild Meeting at 6:00 p.m. at the West Charleston Library.
Earlier on the 18th I will be doing quilt appraisals at Nancy's Quilt Shop from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. And on the 19th I will be appraising at The Fabric Boutique from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.
You can email me if you have questions. Appointments for appraisals are recommended and can be made through Ida Connors at 702-254-8711. For more details about the Las Vegas schedule and location and more quilt photos, see
http://www.lasvegasquilters.com/Starley.html
I am a nationally certified quilt appraiser, trained and certified by the American Quilter's Society (AQS) in appraising antique, vintage and newly made quilts including art quilts.
Appraisals are needed to properly insure both old and new quilts so that they are valued as more than blankets or import quilts, in case they are damaged, lost or stolen. Appraisals can be written for fair market value if you are interested in selling your quilt. Appraisals are also done for estate, tax and donation values. And an appraisal given along with a newly made quilt or a family quilt leaves no doubt as to how valuable the quilt is and that is should be treasured (not used as a dog bed or a picnic blanket).

Crazy quilt update

This quilt I made for the Alliance for American Quilts is up for auction right now on eBay until tonight.

Here is a link to see it on eBay

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dllViewItem&item=130340088420

I was very pleased that it was an honorable mention award winner in the contest and shown in Houston and on 2 Alliance newsletters but even more thrilling to this quilt historian is that it will be part of the Quilt Index run by the Alliance. What an honor to know that my quilt will be in such great company and have a permanent place in that great repository and resource of quilt history.

To see more about the process of making of my crazy quilt, see my art quilt blog

http://starleyquilts.blogspot.com/search/label/crazy%20quilt

And here are links to view each set of quilts up for auction:

Week One: Monday, Oct. 26 - Monday, Nov. 2
Week Two: Monday, Nov. 2 - Monday, Nov. 9
Week Three: Monday, Nov. 9 - Monday, Nov. 16
The bidding for each quilt will start at $50 and each 7-day auction week starts and ends at 9:00 pm Eastern. All proceeds will support the AAQ and its projects.

1879 PA signature album quilt

Forget me not, Forget me never -Em Wood

This is a Pennsylvania signature album quilt dated 1879, purchased recently from Texas quilt dealer John Sauls. I've done a little research via ancestry.com and found that it is from Tuscarora, Bradford Co., PA. Some of the family names are Hall, Montgomery, Chamberlain, and Lake. The quilt has been washed and many of the signatures are faint and/or only have first names. A number of blocks have very small buttonhole applique stitch and fine chain stitch stems. In addition to the variety of mostly floral motifs, it also has a variety of quilting designs.

I'd love to hear from anyone from that area of PA and anyone who owns or has seen a similar quilt.

Red and green

Civil war era antique quilt top from Pennsylvania, Lancaster Co. The pattern is a variation of King David's Crown, Brackman #3649. Blocks were hand pieced not appliqued and then joined by machine. One of the things I really like about this pattern is the secondary design in the off white background-a cross or 4 bells. Once I saw it, it is now the first thing I see when looking at the quilt; it would have been lost if the maker had added sashing.

I really enjoy these red and green quilts and this is another I may try to reproduce-just a few blocks or maybe one and I'd have to applique it as I don't have the curved piecing skills of this maker. Another top for my own quilt history and appraisal study and to share with my students. Enjoy.

1876 Centennial Preprinted Patchwork Part 2

Here is the 1876 centennial preprinted patchwork in the madder brown colorway. The maker really enjoyed using this fabric throughout the log cabin quilt, reminds me of the way many of us used the millennium 2000 fabrics (not unusual since they are both commemorative/moment in time prints). This fabric is featured in Trestain's Dating Fabrics 1800-1960 and a large section is shown on page 75. It is also shown in several other places in the 1860-1880 section (pg 77 3rd row middle -paisley swatch; pg 78 1st row -left swatch, 2nd row middle -flag swatch, and 3rd row-left and middle swatches).

I have previously posted a scan of yardage in the red madder colorway, click here or scroll down to view that post. I don't know if there are any other colorways of this print. It is interesting to note the 1776 Liberty bell square pictures war time with cannons firing and cannonballs flying, swords, bayonets, flags and drum while the 1886 Peace shield square shows peace time with peace dove, liberty cap, plow, crops and a new day rising. I've heard that this fabric replicates an actual pieced quilt of the era, but I haven't had time to research this yet--does this ring a bell with anyone?

This circa 1890 log cabin quilt is actually a coverlet or summer spread, the logs are hand pieced to muslin foundation squares which are then pieced/appliqued together covering raw edges. There is no quilting although the hand piecing looks like quilting from the back. The coverlet is bound with the centennial fabric and a red/black buffalo check and other fabrics. Don't forget to click on the photos to enlarge them and look at the other fabrics from the last quarter of the 19th century used in the coverlet (mourning gray prints, chocolate browns, shirtings, etc.).

Antique Quilt Study

This spring I taught an in depth antique quilt study workshop on 19th century quilts and did appraisals at Elaines Quilt Block in Salt Lake City. Here is the shop display showing two circa 1890 quilts from my collection. On the left is honeycomb or hexagon patchwork (earlier version of grandmother's flower garden) and it features the red and blue fabrics so often seen in the late 19th century quilts including one bit of a mill engraved horse. And speaking of novelty fabric, the blazing star quilt has several equine fabrics and other conversation prints. These fabrics are excellent clues to dating to the late 19th century, 1880's and 90's. Be sure to click on the photo to take a closer look. You'll see 2 red horseshoe fabrics, a simple one and a detailed version with horseshoe, riding crop and jockey or riding helmet. By the way, if you are ever in Salt Lake make a point to visit Elaines, they have a great selection of fabrics, including reproduction fabrics.

Crazy Quilt Challenge

What I'm working on --a crazy quilt for this year's Alliance for American Quilts challenge. They are currently accepting entries/donations of 'crazy quilts' which will be auctioned this fall on eBay to help with their mission of preserving American Quilts and quilt history. In honor of their 16th year, the quilts are 16 inches square and must be postmarked by June 1, 2009. If you are a quick worker, there is still time to join in and "there's room for all kinds of crazy". Anyone can buy a quilt on eBay to help support the Alliance. I'll post when it is time to vote for your favorite and again when it is time to starting bidding.

I'm taking the theme literally and spelling it out, as you can see in the sneak peek block. Drafting paper pieced letters in a log cabin, cq format with strong graphic appeal of black and white and hot pink/fuchsia. What a lot of fun for a great cause. If you haven't visited the Alliance yet, finish reading my posts and then hurry on over to their site where you will find many treasures including the Quilt Index one of the best quilt research resources.

Favorite antique quilts- Virtual Quilt Festival

I just posted on my contemporary quilt blog about the favorite quilt I've made as part of the 1st annual virtual quilt show hosted by Amy- Park City Girl blog and then decided to post about my favorite antique quilt too. I couldn't decide on just one, so I'm showing my favorite red and green quilts. The 3 quilts and one top, are all from the civil war era, c. 1865, shown left to right- Rose of Sharon or Whig Rose, Oak Leaf, King David's Crown (top) and Princess or Prince's Feather. You can see more about the two hanging quilts by scrolling down about 2 posts. If I had to pick only one -- it would be the whig rose. It is so bright and cheerful and has excellent workmanship in both applique and the triple rod quilting (3 lines close together). I can't help but smile each time I look at it.

Thanks for visiting, please leave a comment. Also let me know if you would be interested in participating in a virtual antique show quilt. After seeing the success of Amy's show, I'm thinking it would be very fun and educational.

There are over 220 people participating in the current virtual quilt show which is an alternative show for those of us who are unable to go to IQA Spring Quilt Festival in Chicago.
Please go to Amy's blog to see the show by following the links.

Guest Blogger

I'm a guest blogger on quilting gallery and I've written about my quilt appraising and collecting and quilt history along with photos. I also discuss my own quilt history, my new quilts and classes plus a bit about me and my family. Click on guest blogger above or on the guest blogger logo block to the right.

There is also a give away on the gallery; two people who leave comments there will win one of my patterns so please go read and comment and then come right back. To see some of my designs click on PATTERNS. And don't forget to see my art/contemporary quilt blog

Red and Green 1860's Oakleaf Quilt

Here is the other quilt purchased with the whig rose quilt shown below. Right now I am recreating one block in a smaller scale for a project with fellow AQS certified quilt appraiser Pam Weeks. Duplicating old quilts does help one feel a kinship with earlier quilters. I can now really appreciate the amount of time it took to quilt an entire quilt with the 3/8 to 1/2" diagonal quilting this quilter did on this quilt as it is a lot of work on just a 9 inch block. It is hand appliqued and hand quilted, circa 1860.

Whig Rose or Rose of Sharon Quilt

I usually try to be objective but I'm loving this new (to me) quilt, circa 1860. This lady sure didn't understand negative space as every inch is covered with applique and triple line quilting-fabulous. While this pattern tends to be very formal, this example is quite folky. One of the cheeriest quilts with a great floral basket border. Circa 1860, 9 block whig rose, rose of sharon or democrat rose quilt.

1876 centennial cheater fabric

This is the newest piece in my antique fabric collection, the 1876 cheater (pre-printed patchwork) fabric. This is the red version, the madder orange/brown version can be seen on page 75 of Trestain's Dating Fabrics: 1800-1960. I won the fabric in the silent auction at the American Quilt Study Group seminar in Columbus, Ohio earlier this month. It was generously donated by Pat Nickols.
I have a log cabin featuring the orange version which will be shown in my next post. If you click on the photo you can see the dates1776 on the Liberty Bell and 1876 on the Peace shield. The fabric was made in honor of the United States Centennial in 1876.

Squirrel quilt

There's been a discussion about quilts depicting possum's on Quilthistory list but here is a quilt* actually made from real squirrel pelts. Yes it is a dead squirrel quilt. Part of the Jean and Boyd Christensen quilt collection at This Is The Place Heritage Park in Salt Lake City, Utah. The back is very soft deerskin. From Boyd's visit to our quilt appraisal course in 2006, it seems to be his favorite quilt in the collection. They found it in New York and were told it was made by an 11 year old girl. *For purists, it is tied not quilted so it is technically a comfort not a quilt.