Where have I seen that quilt before? (5)

The French expression "deja vu" translates to "already seen" and is meant to express the uncanny feeling of recollection. Sometimes people look at the quilts in my collection and think, "Deja vu!" Chances are, they have already seen the quilts...but where? 

This marvelous, modern looking 1870s applique quilt was once part of the Sandra Mitchell collection. Years later, it was part of Shelly Zegart's collection, then it went to a private collector in Texas who had it for a brief period and later consigned it with The Quilt Complex in California.

The first time I remember seeing the quilt was in The Quilt Digest 4, published in 1986 by Roderick Kiracofe and Michael Kile. It was part of an article about collector and dealer Sandra Mitchell (pp. 76-85). A lot of people saw The Quilt Digest during its five year run, and many more discovered it later. 

When I saw the quilt for sale by Shelly Zegart more than ten years ago, I wanted it but another collector bought it before I could scrape together the funds. The collector consigned it with The Quilt Complex in 2011, and that's when I bought it. 

I displayed it once in a small show here in Oregon, "Airing of the Quilts" at the Milwaukie Center when I was the featured guest at their annual show 2 & 1/2 years ago. Otherwise, it has been in a safe place, away from extreme temperatures and out of the light. 

Today, it is one of the quilts in the news book "Inspired Free Motion Quilting: 90 Antique Designs Reinterpreted for Today's Quilter" (2018, C&T/Stash Books). Even if you have not seen this quilt before, you may see it in the future.

The best part about having a quilt collection is sharing the quilts, even if it seems like oversharing. People worry about oversharing in 2018. It's a thing. I never worry about it with old quilts. I want everyone to see them, even if some folks saw them before. The quilts may be old, but it never gets old looking at them.
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