Friday, January 30, 2015

1956 Friendship Quilt, Westfir, Oregon


This awesome Friendship Quilt came from an eBay seller in Camas, Washington, and the inscriptions indicate it was made in 1956 in Westfir, Oregon.

Score!! 

Although there are plenty of old quilts to be found for sale in Oregon, many are anonymous and not in good condition. It's something to crow about when you find a vintage, Oregon-made quilt that can be definitively traced to a maker or group of makers, and in good condition! The year 1956 is found in a few places, along with Westfir, Oregon, a town not far from Eugene to the southeast.



Love the ink inscription with the staff and G clef, and shout out to my Facebook friend Kay Sorensen- same family name. There are also several Abercrombie family members on the quilt.





The quilt is 66" x 80" and the pattern is called Friendship Quilt, Brackman #1648. The pattern was published by the Kansas City Star in 1934. Took a few moments to find it since the block looks a bit different in the drawing, with inscriptions in nine patches rather than one in the center.


Each of the 30 blocks has 21 pieces, and the sashing (with cornerstones) includes 113 pieces. The total number of pieces in the quilt is just under 750. An interesting quilt, great colors, and nice to find something made in Oregon.


Posted by at

19 comments:

  1. Create/Enjoy (@suzannahstanley)January 30, 2015 at 7:18 AM

    It is so cool how personal quilts used to be. Great finds!

    ReplyDelete
  2. marlynnJanuary 30, 2015 at 8:02 AM

    Wow. This is such a special find!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Meredith {Martha Chartreuse}January 30, 2015 at 8:50 AM

    Awh, I love the stories that come with quilts! I come from a small town in Montana that has strong Irish Catholic roots. The local LAOH chapter, an IC organization of which I am a member of, makes and raffles off a quilt for St. Patrick's Day every year. The process of planning the quilt, making it and selling has become a huge tradition in the group and community. All of the proceeds go to a charity the group has selected. Yay, quilts for a cause!

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownJanuary 30, 2015 at 9:05 AM

    This is amazing! I am lucky enough to have a couple of quilts made by my great-grandmother and her mother. So special!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Rachel @ Love, RachelJanuary 30, 2015 at 9:15 AM

    These are stunning! I am loving the designs. I love finding hidden gems.

    ReplyDelete
  6. OrangeMewJanuary 30, 2015 at 9:33 AM

    You are an encyclopedia, being able to just remember and find the exact pattern source!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bill VolckeningFebruary 1, 2015 at 4:08 AM

      We have some good resources in the quilt history world. Barbara Brackman's book of pieced quilt patterns is the true encyclopedia. I just know how to use it. :)

      Delete
  7. Ladies in NavyJanuary 30, 2015 at 10:02 AM

    i just love those little details!
    ladies in navy

    ReplyDelete
  8. dianeJanuary 30, 2015 at 7:02 PM

    I keep coming back to this quilt. it's wonderful and there are so many things to look at. yes, you did score with this quilt. I'm not a collector but would have had to get this one if I saw it.

    ReplyDelete
  9. DebbieJanuary 31, 2015 at 8:49 AM

    I loved how they solved the problem of all the blocks not being exactly the right size.

    ReplyDelete
  10. UnknownJanuary 31, 2015 at 9:45 PM

    I feel like all quilts should have mandatory timestamp on them--not just for sanity's sake, but once you make a half dozen quilts, it helps to know what you made when (and why perhaps). Good find!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bill VolckeningFebruary 1, 2015 at 4:06 AM

      Even if a quilt is not dated, it is possible to decipher approximately when it was made using information about fabrics and construction. Today, a lot of quiltmakers put labels on the backs of their quilts.

      Delete
  11. UnknownFebruary 1, 2015 at 9:42 AM

    Beautiful quilt - love the history and can't help but think about the hands and people that made it. Wonderful! Now I have to ask a silly question. Is it called friendship quilt because a different person made piece and signed their part? ~ Beate

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bill VolckeningFebruary 1, 2015 at 10:29 AM

      "Friendship Quilt" is the name of the block design, published by Kansas City Star. It would appear to be a reference to the tradition of friendship quilts, which were projects with blocks made by many people and put together. These quilts were sometimes made for special purposes such as a gift to a friend who was moving away.

      Delete
  12. KarenFebruary 2, 2015 at 4:19 PM

    I like the colors used in this quilt. I like that some blocks stand out and others kind of fade away. Good purchase.

    ReplyDelete
  13. MarlaFebruary 3, 2015 at 8:19 AM

    Love the way so many blocks needed to be brought up to size. Always a challenge with group quilts.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Susie QMarch 1, 2015 at 5:12 PM

    Small town label got me looking...as I still dream of moving ..... this town was a company town..... saw mill.... the paper given in my link tells of Edward Hines Lumber Company - Chicago - buying the mill, etc. My dad worked for Hines for years.... I did not read all of this but there were some lady names in the section from the 1950's Can't help but wonder if any of them match up to the names on your quilt.

    http://www.apawood.org/PPA_StructuralWoodSociety/pdfs/PPA_24.pdf

    ReplyDelete
  15. Susie QMarch 6, 2015 at 4:10 PM

    I guess I was too late with the comment

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)