Historic American QuiltsHistoric American Quilts
675 Fox and Geese with Flying Geese Border, ca1990, 63x74, Illinois. A beautiful vintage quilt, but it has some worn fabric and some discoloration. There is a homewoven backing. This is machine pieced and machine quilted. There is medium weight filling in the form of a red wool blanket. The binding comes around from the backing. You'll love the variety of inidgo prints in the triangles. $250
522 Corner Star, 1880-90, 70x84. A good-looking country quilt, with an interesting red and black print sashing and brown, blue, tan and gray prints in the stars. There is a dark brown and copper-colored print on the backing and the binding. Some of the block colors have run into the light print backgrounds, and so tannish areas may be adjacent to the "stars". At least two of the blocks have well-worn fabrics, and these have been stabilized with bridal veiling basted over the whole block. A couple of patch replacements have been made with vintage fabrics (not repros). The quilting is only 3-4 st/in but in regular parallel lines throughout the quilt. $250.
566 Irish Chain, ca 1900, 72x77. A very attractive quilt with some fading problems. The quilting is very good at 7st/in in wide parallel lines, The front is turned to the back as binding. This is very clean but has about four small blue spots on the top. It will make a good addition to toss for all kinds of uses at Christmas time. $200.
582, Friendship Quilt, 1910-40, 64x77. Perky and quirky. You might call this a lively quilt, and if you have orange or red in your room, its perfect! Or, there is Halloween! Four edges are scalloped and bound in white; the backing is white.The machine-piecing is very good, and the quilting is about 7st/in in contours and rather close so that it is heavily quilted. This is in excellent condition. $200
581 Ship's Wheel, Harvest Sun, or Prairie Star, after 1940's, 68x89. Patriotic quilt with 12 stars, sashing and triple border in red, white and blue solid fabric. There is a knife edge and white backing. The batting may be a blend, it's not 100% cotton. The quilting is 8st/in in contours, grids and lozenges on the borders. Daisies are quilted into the corners. It was hand-pieced and some of the seams tend to be loose. The fabric is a bit soft indicating it has been washed rather frequently, but it is a great looking quilt and with colors much sought after. $100
471 Trip Around the World, 1920-40, 82x88 Queen. This is a really nice depression era quilt in lovely multi colors and in blue. Part of the quadruple border was added after the quilting because it does not contain batting and is a bit floppy---no doubt an addition to bring it up to queen-sized. The backing is a beautiful blue, and the quilting at 7st/in is in contours around the patches. An inexpensive quilt for a child's bed or a guest bedroom. $200!
528 Dresden Plate, 66x82, 1939-40, northwest Illinois. This is a very attractive quilt with a myriad of prints from the era. It has been machine quilted by a local shop, now no longer in existence. The backing is a darker lavender and is brought around to form the binding. The large yellow centers and the matching border pull it all together. It is in excellent condition and is all hand-pieced except for the borders and binding. $250
665 Dresden Plate, 1920's, 60x76. This is a very naive Dresden plate, probably made all of feed sack fabrics and and the patches blanket stitched at the edges. On one border, the pieces contain various feed sack labels,(corner on first photo) one being "Grandmother's Salt and Fine Grain Sugar from Denver". Each plate is tied in the yellow center. The outer border is pieced of feed sack fabrics, and the backing is pieced also. The quilting is very simple. This is was obviously made with what was available at the time and is a representative of hard times in the US. $195
361, Dresden Plate, 1920-30, 54x80, Waterloo, Iowa. This is an unusual Dresden Plate in that the plates are only five inches across with pieces 1/2 to 1 inch wide, and hand pieced. The depression era fabrics include feedsacks, and there is a white background . The 4.5 inch border is pink, the sashing is pink with white cornerstones, and the quilt has a biased white binding. The quilting is 8 st/in and very carefully done. There are four leaves quilted around the plates, and the background is all in diamond grid. There is a single cable within the border . The fabrics and general condition are excellent. If you have a twin bed that needs a quilt, please consider this beautiful piece of handiwork and tradition over an oriental import. $225
531 Whig Rose Variation Applique, 81x82, probably Wisconsin. This is a stylized pattern of florals and leaves, including block centers that are rather mysterious. The combs and leaves that were green have faded to barely perceptible tan. The alternate leaves are bright mustard yellow matching the sashing and border, which are on two sides. The binding is folded over from the top. The quilting is 9-10 st/in and is in outline and in double curving lines. Some of the leaves on the stems are just quilted rather than appliqued. The quilt is in very good condition except for a slight coloring adjacent to the fugitive yellow fabric. This is a very graphic and attractive quilt. I'm sorry that I don't have any good clue as to how old it is. SOLD
530 Sawtooth Variation, 77x90, 1940-50, Jo Daviess County, Illinois. The fine hand of the quilter in 529 is present here as well. The whole quilt is hand-pieced, including the knife edge. The quilting is about 7-8 st/in with more elaborate fleur de lis in the white alternate blocks and with zig zags on the turquoise border. Simple fleur de lis are in the white spaces between the sawteeth. There is a white backing. There is an orangish quarter-sized spot on the back which comes through to the front ever so faintly. Otherwise this is in excellent condition---unused and unwashed. Crisp.$275
561 LeMoyne Star, 73x85, ca 1870-80. This is a very attractive quilt made with double pinks, green and yellow prints, and madder prints. The back is also a madder print. The binding is solid brown and may have been added later. There are a few fabric pieces that have worn through to the batting, also some on the back. The quilt has signs of discolorations poorly removed, but the dark colors tend to make these unnoticeable. There is nice even quilting at 4-5 st/in in parallel lines and contours. A good hanger! $275
559 Jacob's Ladder, 67x74, 1900-1920. Here is a traditional pattern pieced with blue fabric with a yellow overlay. There is a sawtooth border on the top and bottom, The white fabrics, including the backing and border, are all muslin. The quilting is 8st/in in diamonds. It is all hand pieced and quilted and in excellent condition. This is a great quilt to add to a room with other quilts. $250
562, Log Cabin, 72x84, 1930-60. This seems to be a 20th century take-off on the 19th century Log Cabins. There is no overall pattern and there are no consistent centers, but if you look at the whole quilt, it is quite attractive with numerous 20th century fabrics. Whoever made this had a nice sense of color and has come up with a quilt anyone would be happy to have in their bedroom. It is pieced and quilted by hand and machine. The binding is zig-zagged. The quilting is in contours, except for the white border which contains jelly jar circles. It is in excellent condition, and is very appealing. $275
All White Quilts and Coverlets