Tuesday, March 25, 2008

30's Quilt

A lucky friend had this 30's fabrics quilt donated to her as a top. Apparently it was made by someone's grandma in the early 5o's. The fabrics are 1930's so I don't know if that means these are the real thing. The fabrics were most likely purchased in the 30's and 40's and the blocks made over time. Anyway the quilt was sent out for machine quilting and my friend can only hand sew for a few minutes at a time because of pain in her hands. So I offered to hand sew the binding for her, how could I resist with a beautiful old quilt like this, I wish it was mine to keep..sigh...I have to give it back. I got the binding sewed this weekend and returned the quilt to my friend. The blocks are 2 1/2" finished size and there are 18 across and 23 rows which makes for 414 little rail blocks.
Here is a close up of the quilt, I like how the rail blocks are alternating directions, makes for a real interesting quilt. The plain alternate block is muslin, it doesn't look so yellow in the picture but the muslin has a antique yellow hue to it. The binding is new 30's fabric done scrappy, the new and old really blend nicely. I like this quilt so much I've already started a little pile of my own but for ease of math my blocks will be 3" finished size.

I hope you had a relaxing Easter with your friends and family.
Happy Stitching.

30 comments:

Unknown said...

Ohhh I think I'd have a hard time handing it back too. What a lovely quilt, and how fun that you got to work on it. How sweet of you to offer. Looking forward to seeing what your little rails look like.

Mar said...

Oh yeah! I wouldn't want to part with that one, how trusting she is! It's lovely just as your's will be.

Pam said...

Such a lovely quilt. The scrappy binding is just perfect. The machine quilting on it looks very nice. Who did she get to do it?

How nice of you to stitch the binding on for her. I just love the 30's fabric. It is so nice to see the "real thing"

Paula, the quilter said...

That is such a lovely quilt. Those authentic 30-40s quilts hold a special place in my heart for some reason. I've never seen a rail block set like that, but it is really effective. I, too, have combined the old original fabrics with the reproductions. It works well to be able to finish a quilt.

antique quilter said...

I agree it would have been hard to give back!
very nice of you to hand sew the binding down.
OH I just may have to start saving 1 1/2" strips of 30's too!
I love this and I agree
3" would be a great size :)
what fun will be looking forward to seeing yours someday.
Kathie

Fabricmom said...

Very beautiful quilt. I love 30's prints. It was very nice of you to do the binding for her. You are an angel.

Darlene said...

Oh, Wendy that's so cute! I can imagine how difficult it was for you to return it. LOL And, that's alot of blocks - whew!

*karendianne. said...

What fun. This is an award winning share!!!

Carol said...

Oh I love it...3" blocks would be the perfect size. I sure do like how that is set. The scrappy binding couldn't be better.

Needle, Thimble and Thread said...

the quilt reminds me of a confetti cupcake! Very sweet of you to do the binding for your friend. The scrappy binding is wonderful. Can't wait to see yours.

Andrea said...

It is a beauty. Bet it was a real chore returning it. Looks like a quilt I may have a dabble at too. I have quite a lot of 30's scraps. Fancy swapping some blocks ?

Anonymous said...

What a pretty quilt. Love your binding.
I think that would be a fun quilt to make. I like the idea of 3" blocks also.

Ginger Patches said...

What a cute quilt! I can't wait to see your version :)

Karen said...

This is beautiful quilt. I really like this era. It reminds me of the quilts my great grandmother made.
You did a beautiful job with the binding. I really like the different fabric that are used.
What a dear dear friend you are to help out with the hand sewing.

Knot Garden said...

A beautiful quit! I love those 30's fabrics. The scrappy binding is just right for it.

Karen said...

Wendy that quilt is a real treasure - so pretty and sweet. What a nice thing for you to offer to put the binding on for your friend. I love scrappy bindings that the one on that quilt. It always adds such a nice surprise to the edge of a quilt.

I can see why it's hard to give it back because it looks pretty nice on your quilt rack. Maybe she can let you have visitations once in awhile, LOL.

Hugs - Karen

Suzy said...

The quilt is beautiful! How lucky that you were able to help it truly become a "quilt." The new 30's fabrics in the border goes so well with the vintage 30's fabrics, you'd never even know if were weren't an appraiser. :o)

Unknown said...

That sure is a special quilt, nice of you to offer to put the binding on.

Unknown said...

I, too, think that I would have a hard time giving this one back! I am such a big fan of 30's prints!!

Kim said...

Gosh, most quilters least favorite part of the quilt is sewing on the binding. Such a good friend you are to help with that. I don't mind sewing bindings by hand. The fabrics are sweet. So pretty. The machine quilting looks very nice too.

Bonnie said...

What a great scrappy quilt! I love your mix of thirties fabrics for the binding too - a perfect finishing for the quilt.

corry said...

What a pretty quilt! I love those 30's fabrics. And the binding is perfect!

Beertje Zonn said...

What a lovely quilt!
Kind regards
Sonnja

Debi said...

Very beautiful quilt, and what a great friend you are for finishing it for her.

sewkalico said...

Wow! That's just lovely.

Doodlebug Gail said...

Lovely - what a treasure that quilt is. I have a ton of 1930's scraps ..... this might just be a perfect project to work on with them. Thanks for sharing.

Libby said...

Oh my - what a fabulous quilt! How lucky for you to have the chance to put your stitches into this heirloom *s* I think the owner may have to arm wrestle you just a little to get it back *s*

Christine said...

What a beautiful quilt. Thanks for sharing the pictures. You are very kind to finish it for your friend.

MARCIE said...

Sweet! And simple. You can't beat that! That's what my scraps want to be when they grow up!

Helen in the UK said...

This is really beautiful - no wonder you wanted to keep hold of it :)