Time-Span New York Beauty

A time-span quilt is a quilt that is finished long after it was first started. Very often, the top was made decades earlier and finished by another person. This time-span New York Beauty was a top for a long, long time, and was recently finished by the amazing Tim Latimer. Tim hand quilted it, and the finished quilt looks very much like the work was done all at one time. That's what makes Tim's work so remarkable.

When I first bought the top a few years ago, I thought maybe it was 30s or 40s because of the lavender, but when I started looking at fabrics, I was pretty sure there were also some fabrics from the 50s and 60s. The orange, yellow, green and white floral print, in particular, seemed to have a 60s vibe. I always loved the top, but couldn't exhibit it easily. After thinking about it for several years, I decided to have it finished. Tim was the obvious choice. He works quickly, and loves hand quilting.

the top before quilting

It appears as though the top may have been made in the 60s, even though the stash of fabrics may have gone back as far as the 30s or 40s. The improvisational style of the patchwork certainly fits the 50s and 60s. So, presuming the top was made in the 1960s, the time-span date for the quilt would be c. 1960s to 2014 - more than 50 years between the time the top was made and when Tim finished it.

Tim did a wonderful job, and worked very much in the spirit of the maker of the top. It was very wonky, and he handled it beautifully, retaining some of the wonkiness while getting the quilt to lay flat. He posted several blogs with pictures while the work was in progress, and it was a lot of fun to see the work as it was being done. Kudos to Tim, the "quilt whisperer" - the person who made the top would be thrilled to see it finished, especially so well.