When I visited California in June, I had the privilege of seeing some vintage quilts. My cousin, Sally, had a quilt that was made from a quilt top that was found in a trunk belonging to my great-grandmother, Eliza Hannamon Thompson, who may or may not have made the quilt top around 1890. My Aunt Lois Blakely Scott (Sally’s mother) was given the quilt named Signature or Album in 1999 by her cousin, Merle Jackson, who did not think Eliza made the quilt top “because she would have finished the quilt.” I’m thinking that Merle perhaps was NOT a quilter because I know from personal experience that not all quilt tops become finished quilts!

Lois removed the appliqued Rose of Sharon block from the center of the quilt top and placed it on the back of the quilt, and then she constructed another Signature block to replace the center block from an unfinished border. Finally Lois and other members of the Willamalane Senior Center hand-quilted the quilt.

Below is a close up of some of the blocks on the front. If you look carefully at the second block in the first column, you can see that this block was repaired, and the first block in the second column was also repaired. We are not sure when the repairs were made or by whom. There are a few other mended blocks throughout the quilt which just adds to its character. It’s also a good reminder to not worry so much about perfection.

 

Here is a close up of the quilt label that my Aunt Lois made and attached to the back of the quilt:

I also visited my friend, David, in Monterey. We hadn’t seen each other in 30 years since I moved to New Mexico to go to grad school. David has developed an interest in vintage quilts and I was able to see this lovely Yo-Yo quilt at his house:

He also shared photos of two other quilts with me. David is holding the Dresden Plate quilt in the pic below, and he also sent me a photo of a quilt with lovely embroidered holiday blocks.

When I visited my niece, Mary Frances, in Michigan in March, she brought out a quilt that my mom made for her in the 1980s. The binding is totally frayed, so I told her that I would re-bind it for her. The quilt measures 47″ x 62″.

The photo below shows a frayed edge and also two pink fabrics that I pulled from my mom’s stash to make new binding for this quilt that is special to my niece.

Even though I consider myself to be more of a modern quilter, I absolutely love all these traditional quilts. Quilting has such a rich history, and many of us are lucky enough to have some precious heirloom quilts. I hope you enjoyed seeing these amazing creations.