Vintage Beauties

Imagine receiving a gift sack full of antique quilt tops! That's what happened to my quilting friend Mary. She received these lovely quilt tops from a woman for whom she had done some longarm quilting. Happily, Mary brought them to our quilt group for show and tell.

There seems to be a range of dates for the fabrics in these old treasures. Many are hand pieced.




My favorite... well, I can't really pick one. But my favorite parts of the quilts include this border, seen in the Basket quilt above. It's Double Flying Geese, and all the units are hand pieced. The pieced border surrounds the basket blocks, all of which have retained their vibrant color.



And then there is this colorful and bright Log Cabin. I find it so appealing. Of course, the Log Cabin design is an enduring and popular pattern. Many quilters have made at least one of them. The fabrics in this one are fun to study up close. There are decorator prints, silky dress goods, and cotton prints. Together they create a very bold and graphic quilt.Plus the impact of the long view is stunning. Joined together in the Sunshine and Shadows block setting, the contrast is created by arranging the deep, dark colors of four adjacent blocks so that they touch each other.

I think this may be my favorite. But no... I love them all. I just cannot get enough of looking at quilts! Old ones, new ones, big or little. Back when my daughter Joanna was in grade school, and I was just beginning to quilt, she commented, "Mom, if you took all the time you spend looking at pictures of quilts in magazines and spent it sewing, you'd have a whole bunch of quilts of your own." She was right...I just love gazing at quilts and quilt images. And now I spend more time at the sewing machine, so I do have a whole bunch of quilts of my own. With more underway.

There are more of Mary's quilt tops to share with you... so watch for them. I'm happy I had my camera with me.