Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Birthday Antique Quilts

In my last post, I mentioned receiving 2 antique quilts for my recent Birthday.

I was honored to be able to select one form my friend Mary's collection and I chose this as my Jubilee Birthday gift:


I have always loved 2 color quits and bow tie quilts.  This one
was purchased in 1997 in Indiana.  Here is the back showing the hand quilting.


I also received this quilt from the 1930s.  It was from my mother's best friend and Hanna's Godmother, Dorothy.  It was made by her grandmother and great aunt.  As far as she knows it is the only quilt that they made.  It is the very traditional Dresden plate patten with that 30/40s mint green.


In addition to selecting a Birthday quilt from Mary, I also purchased 2 antique quilts from her collection.

This one was documented as a Cactus Basket Quilt circa 1885.
I love the butterscotch fabric of the plain blocks.


I love the pinks and browns with the shirting print.  It has simple hand quilting.  It was purchased in Wiscasset, Maine in 1993.


And finally this wonderful 9-patch!  Which is my all time favorite humble block.


I love the pink and brown blocks that march along the top -



What a great study piece of antique fabrics.  They are set with a striped shirting.  I need to get more information from Mary about this quilt.  I am sure it from the late 1800s.


The backing is this wonderful red and white pin stripe.  It has a very narrow and lovely blue binding.


The hand quilting is in a chevron pattern.


It was obviously made for a four poster bed and the workmanship is excellent.


I am so thrilled to add these beauties to my small collection of antique quilts.  I will treasure them!

Wouldn't it be fun to recreate one on these?

33 comments:

Janet said...

Wow you sure know how to celebrate!! What great quilts!! I love them all! The basket quilt is probably my favorite. I love the few striped baskets and the butterscotch fabric is wonderful. Could the date be a typo? The 9 patch is marvelous as well. You will enjoy these very much I think :0)

Kim said...

Stunning! I love them all! I'm going to have to use that nine patch as a jumping off point and do something similar! I absolutely love it! I'm actually working on a two color bow tie quilt right now in red/white, but my friend mentioned how she might like to do one in cheddar! Yours is just gorgeous! Happy birthday to you!

Kim said...

Oh boy turning 50 never looked like so much fun!
Oh yes, I'd like to make all of them!
Like you I am a huge 9 patch fan and this one is delightful. gonna have a sew along for us?

Happy Sewing

Nifty Quilts said...

These are all jaw-droppingly beautiful. Thanks for the show! I have to say my favorite is the cactus basket. May have to make one of those someday myself.

Lee Prairie Designs said...

WOW! A these quilts are wonderful!

Love the Catus Basket quilt. Great colors...butterscotch...YUMMY!

What a wonderful way to celebrate your special birthday "Barb", with treasured quilts!

:) Carolyn

Vivian said...

Such a plethora of beauties--no doubt about it. I especially enjoy the closeup photos of the 9-patch blocks, seeing the similar but not identical fabrics in the same block.
My favorites have to be a tossup between the 9-patch and the basket quilts.
My goodness! You've set the bar for future birthdays.

antique quilter said...

oh they are all beautiful, what a nice collection of antique quilts.
and yes reproducing some of them would be fun!
LOVE the bow ties but the nine patches is calling me, love those fabrics, yes it must be fun to look at all the different fabrics, ah the baskets are beautiful too...
it really is hard choosing a favorite,
Hmmm seems like you need to buy one more 5 for 50?
LOL

Pinkadot Quilts said...

What fabulous birthday presents!!! I love the Cactus Basket but a good nine patch is great too!

O'Quilts said...

These quilts make my heart sing..especially the golden ones. Lucky you!

Kyle said...

Gosh! What a jubilee birthday treasure. Hard to pick a favorite, but they do look great together in your collection. I agree with Kathie, you need one more to represent 50!

Sue said...

Great birthday presents and love you treated yourself too.
Fab cactus basket quilt.
Being 50 isn't so bad after all!

MB in MI said...

W O W ! That's the stuff a great Jubilee is made of!! Beautiful quilts I know you'll cherish...

Anonymous said...

They are all so beautiful, I hope I find one when in the Us in September, have looked on eBay but i think I like to see before I buy from there.
They are all stunning, nine patch my favorite too as I love making them.

Jan said...

I can't choose a favorite, and I'll bet neither can you!

Ruth said...

What a wonderful birthday! The quilts are all lovely and so interesting to see. It's a celebration that you can continue to enjoy!

Sujata Shah said...

Okay, so word "collection" has caught my attention. I love all of these quilts and now curious to see more! I wonder if you have posted pictures of some of the quilts from your collection before.
The nine patch is wonderful. One can spend hours looking at all those prints. Love the butter scotch yellow background for the cactus basket. It is such a pretty quilt!

Beth D said...

The nine patch looks like 1870s to me. It's that rusty madder brown that gives it away.

One Minnesota Quilter said...

I am having to wipe the drool off my keyboard. Lucky girl! :)
Hard to choose a favorite....

Judy

Barb said...

Happy Birthday...love love the quilts, enjoyed seeing them up close.

Thimbleanna said...

WOW! Those are some awesome quilts Barb! I LOVE the four poster finish on that 9-patch -- that would indeed be fun to make!

QuiltSue said...

They're all lovely quilts, and you're so lucky, but I particularly love the basket one as I think the pinks and chocolatey browns look great together.

Me and My Stitches said...

WOW! I love each and every one of your quilts. I think I could spend hours just taking in all of the different fabrics. What a great birthday for you!

regan said...

Oh, these are all fabulous! I'm in love with that 9 patch and the bowtie! What treasures!

Shelley said...

Wow! I wish I could get gifts like that for my birthday! Oh, wait....maybe it has to be your "Jubilee" birthday lol! Hope you had a happy one and ate lots and lots of cake!

Dawn said...

They are all wonderful - I think the T quilt is very fun!!
The little 'extra' to fit the bed posts - great variety of fabrics. Beautiful additions to your collections - thank you for sharing with us.

Jeanne said...

WOW! You hit the mother lode with this birthday! They are all exquisite and well preserved. Enjoy them.

Tonya Ricucci said...

what an amazing birthday. woohoo!!!!!

Anonymous said...

I would like to know more about the 9-patch quilt as well. I live in the town next to Wiscasset and the basket quilt does not look like a typical Maine quilt however the 9-patch is quite typical for Maine quilts of that era, especially because of its shape. We have found hundreds of quilts in our statewide quilt project that have the cutouts for the 4-poster bed, all the way through to the 20th century. I also think this may be a charm or at least I cannot see any duplicate fabrics in the photos you posted. Charm quilts were so popular in New England that I would be curious to know if there were any duplicate fabrics in this one. What a treasure!

Lori said...

What fun Barb!! That nine patch is amazing and I love the cut out for the 4 poster bed!!

Nancy said...

Happy birthday, and you're right... any of them would be wonderful to replicate. I love the cheddar Bow Ties.

Rachaeldaisy said...

Seeing these just makes me so happy because quilts make the world such a lovely place to be. All of them are wonderful!! Lots of lovely yellows! How cool is that 9 patch block with different black/white polka dots.In fact I think you'll see different beautiful block every time you look at that quilt!!

Browndirtcottage said...

Oh My Goodness Girlfriend!! What marvelous goodies you have received!
Cant' think of a better way to celebrate!!

I think the cactus basket is pretty darn cute!!

libbyquilter said...

now that's what i call celebrating~
those are some absolutely beautiful quilts~!!~

love the bow tie and the cactus basket the best . . . i think because of the colors used. they're all pretty wonderful though.

:-)
libbyQ