Antique Quilts

I love antique quilts.

I especially love the quilts made with fabric and feed sacks from the 1930's.  I love those colors and the ingenuity behind them.  It was pure genius for flour, feed, sugar, and tobacco manufacturers to make their sacks out of material that could be "up-cycled" into dresses, shirts, and quilts! 

Dating the actual quilts from this era (or any era, for that matter), can be tricky.  Just because a fabric or feed sack was manufactured in the 1930's doesn't mean that the quilt was made in that decade.  It could have been constructed in the 1940's or even later.  Quilters back then were no different in many ways from quilters today -- most of us have fabric in our stash that is years old, but if it fits our current need for color and shade, we pull it out and use it.  Who cares if we bought it in 1989?  It works.

Couple that with the fact that most quilters prior to at least the early 1990's didn't see the need to put a label on their quilt...and dating a quilt can be difficult and complete accuracy is nearly impossible.  At one time there may have been an oral history behind the quilt, but unless someone saw the value in writing it down, the actual completion date and maker of the quilt is often lost to history.

So it's easy to see how accurate dating is difficult.

I  have several 1930-ish quilts in my collection.  They're made from feed sacks, but other than that, I'm not sure where they originated from and who was the quilter.  I've had really good luck finding these in thrift stores...like the one below.

This is definite a quilt that was made just for warmth.  No fancy piecing or quilting is involved.  Someone took feed sacks, opened them up into the rectangles, pressed out the creases and sewed them together on the front (above) and back (below).

It is machine pieced and machine quilted on a cotton bat.  The quilter used diagonal quilting lines to hold it together, but did change the color of her top thread to match the material.

 

No material was spared for binding, she simply left the backing a bit larger and pulled it to the front and whipped it under to cover the edges.  I've discovered that this is typical for a lot of older utility quilts.

It's also kind of pretty, as the binding changes colors as it goes around the quilt. 

This isn't a very intricate quilt, as quilts go.  There is no special piecing or quilting.  In my mind I can imagine that the quilter was racing to get the quilt completed before cold weather set in for the winter.  She was busy with a thousand other things, so the quilt was constructed as simply and as quickly as she knew how.

It is in remarkable shape.  No holes, no worn places.  I purchased it in a thrift store at the beach.  It needed a good washing, but other than that, it is in terrific condition. 

I have a few other of these feed sack quilts in my small collection that I want to share with you this year.

Love and Stitches....

Sherri