I have not been buying much this fall-- there are already more quilts in my house than I can accommodate, and I have not been terribly inspired by the selection of vintage and antique quilts available at the moment. But this lovely little appliqué quilt from Pennsylvania fits perfectly with an exhibit of quilts I am planning for the spring.
In March, I will be displaying quilts as the featured guest at the 21st Annual Airing of the Quilts at the Milwaukie Senior Center here in Oregon, and all the quilts will include representations of nature; trees, leaves, flowers, fruits and birds. I thought it would be fun to add a new quilt for the exhibit, and this appliqué quilt with leaves was just the ticket. Price was right, and it fits with one of the other quilts, a green and white, 1840s Prince's Feather from Maine.
The new quilt should arrive this week, and I will share more details when it is here. Apparently it has a signature, Minnie Wilkins. The seller thought it could have been made as early as 1880, I'm thinking possibly a little earlier, but we'll have to wait and see.
Wow, those are beautiful. I love historic pieces like that, and thinking about our country's history through art/domestic pieces.
ReplyDeleteI love this quilt. Simple beauty! I often wonder as a quilter, if we have too much temptation of fabrics and colors these days, we often forget to enjoy the calm and serene that evolves from this kind of work.
ReplyDeleteI like simple beauty, too. There is something very elegant about it.
DeleteWhat a wonderful quilt! I look forward to seeing it in person!
ReplyDeletelove that first shot!
ReplyDeleteladies in navy
Bill, you've got a real winner here! In my research on 4-block quilts, I found a few true 6-block ones as this one is, and some 4- blocks with 2 half blocks to accommodate a pillow tuck. These full 6 blocks and 2 half 4-block partners were obviously made for rectangular beds. IMHO, they are more rare than the 4-block quilts whether they were square or made rectangular by adding different sized horizontal and vertical borders.
ReplyDeleteWhat good luck I have sometimes. The quilt was a steal. I just liked it because it seemed to fit with what I will be exhibiting. This quilt is fairly humble compared to most of the others in the exhibit, but it is great to know it has its own sense of rarity. It really does fit in with the group.
DeleteI think Sujata raises a good point: as a quilter, it can be so tempting (and overwhelming) to get caught up in all the color and texture that we sometimes forget how beautiful simplicity can be. This piece is lovely.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely. Sometimes a quilt will surface and it will remind us of the virtues of simplicity. Right now quilts are starting to evolve from a period of very elaborate "show" quilts, heavily quilted and encrusted with crystals, to more simple, bold, modern quilts that explore graphic design more than embellishment.
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