A Step Back in Time - Vintage Series I

A dear friend of mine owns a late 19th century home in the center of town....

She graciously consented to a photo shoot on her property featuring my vintage quilt collection.  All quilts shown in this post were quilted by me.  The quilt above - Southern Belle, c. 1920's - was purchased as a set of 12 blocks and is the only quilt I've sewn entirely with period materials.  Using a vintage pattern, each block was set in blue sashings and framed with a snow cone border.  

Here's a bit of history on the Southern Belle, (aka Colonial Lady and Umbrella Girl), a design that was originally used in the "Quilt Code" of the Underground Railroad. According to Traditional Quiltworks, "Free women in the North wore long dresses with Sue bonnets". The earliest "Sunbonnet baby" figures are in redwork embroidery, and date to around 1905. The "Sue" appliqué block didn’t appear until 50 years after the Underground Railroad disbanded; the earliest known "sunbonnet" appliqué quilt (by Marie Webster, called Sunbonnet Lassies or Keepsake) was first published in the Ladies Home Journal in January 1911. Quilt historian Barbara Brackman notes that the Sunbonnet appliqué pattern "did not trickle down to the quilt-making public until the late 1920s".

Ahh, the Nine-Patch Variant.  This quilt top was found antiquing at a local shop.  I was intrigued with it because I own a very special one that my maternal grandmother hand-pieced and hand-quilted. More on that quilt later!  No history as yet on this design, but I hope to have a tidbit or two when I reveal my grandmother's quilt later in this Vintage Series.

Who can deny the romanticism of a Double Wedding Ring quilt? Again, the quilt top was found antiquing and I quilted it using patterns especially for Double Wedding Ring quilts.  

History of this design:  Some consider this pattern among one of the oldest, while others insist that there was no historical mention of it until the 1920s, at least in the U.S.  It’s no surprise that many Double Wedding Ring quilts have become family heirlooms – made by grandmothers and mothers for their children and grandchildren. There is a folklore belief that a newly wed couple will be protected from bad dreams and bad luck, and their marriage will be a blessed one if they sleep under a Double Wedding Ring quilt received as a wedding gift.

There is a lot of symbolism behind this pattern – some point to the “gimmal ring,” a betrothal ring popular in 15th-16th centuries. The Gimmal ring was two rings fitted together to form one; the two parts were worn separately by the engaged couple, and during the wedding ceremony the rings were interlocked to be worn by the wife. The infinity of Celtic Knot and Roman etching patterns with interlocking rings also comes to mind when we look at a Double Wedding Ring quilt, and the message of eternal love inevitably follows.

The part I loved most in the quilting of this quilt was the rings, which were done non-stop in continuous curve.  Quite the feat to attempt and accomplish.

I absolutely love vintage quilts.  I had so much pleasure taking these photos and wish to thank my good friend once again for her lovely home as backdrop.

Look for another edition to the Vintage Series in the weeks to come!  

And later this week I'll be sending you a personal invitation to my Grand Re-Opening!