Antique Quilt Show

I decided to move all my antique quilts back up into my Grandmothers hutch. I thought before I fold them all I would share them with you.

Since it is my grandmother's hutch, I will show her quilts first. I never knew she was a quilter until after she passed away in 91 from a car accident. I had recently started quilting and she had told me she "quilted", but I had never heard her talk about it before. I assumed she maybe tied a quilt of squares when she was young. After she died, we found an old quilting frame (wood rotting) with this quilt in it. Lots of cheater fabric so I assume it is from the 60's.

The back is dresden plate cheater and there are some cathedral windows cheater fabric in the squares on ther front. It was more than 1/2 quilted. Since I got the family Bible, and grandma's prized dining room set (hence the hutch) I cut this quilt (don't cringe) at the place she stopped quilting and bound it to present to my sister on her 30th birthday from grandma. This section is what is left and I have never touched it.

These blocks were another find from Grandma's basement. I guess she did earn the right to call herself a quilter. "Sorry Grandma". There are 16 of them and they measure 24" across. Most of them have stitch lines around the outside like she tried to put them together. They are missing the connecting pieces. Again, I have done nothing with them, but I treasure them all the same.

OK, that is all of Grandma's quilts.

A circa 1940 butterfly quilt. Great stitchery on each butterfly. Still just a top.

Circa 1940. One of my favorites and I plan to hand quilt it. The downfall? It is poorly hand pieced. You can't tell, but this top is almost a rag. It has fabric meticulously cut out. I was told by a quilt expert at a guild meeting that this was made by an African American quilter in the deep south. The border strip going through the center told her this. Does anyone else know of this special signature? You can see it in the close up. It is the pieced dark green and pink colored strip.
Circa 1930 Grandmothers Flower Garden. Needs some TLC.

I bought this 1930's wedding ring quilt and it's twin for $325. The most I have ever paid. My plan was to save them for when my future granddaughters came along. My Father-in-law came to stay with us when he was fighting cancer. He loved these quilts so I broke one out and let him use them. He actually passed under one of them. They were in perfect condition but since needing to be washed they could use some repair. circa 1930 dresden plate. I love the points on the ends. It could use some TLC too. Here is the "One". I got it for a song and it has been dated by that same quilt expert (wish I remembered her name) as dating back to the 1850's. It is a pink and green Hearts and Gizzards and is beautifully hand quilted through a thick bat. I think it is wool. The only thing that hinders it, is that the binding was replaced in the 1940's. The original binding is still underneath. It is my favorite regardless of the date as it is so beautifully done.

So there is my Antique Quilt Show. Hope you enjoyed it. I am off to fold and display them and then to continue on with the Masterpiece block. Here is one more look at it before you see the finished product.