A hand pieced quilt made of broadcloth and muslin, quilted at 8 stitches to the inch with a delicious orange straight of grain applied binding, this quilt exudes precision in applique, in piecing and in quilting.  It is a delight to view as the eye moves back and forth between squarish design of the appliquéd blocks and the round open spaced rings that are formed by the leaves and buds in what could be considered the negative space.  It is this visual movement that keeps a repetitive and unchanging block interesting and engaging for the viewer. 

Remember I told you I had a bias.  Well this is another example of a crossed tulip design.  Aside from colour and scale, each had subtle differences, for example in the stems and leaves, and in the design of the flowers. I didn’t know I had this bias until I dove into the research for this year, but that is one of the great things for me about doing this … learning about what catches my eye and seeing patterns in that. It’s a good thing to know and gives me loads of inspiration and information to consider for my own work going forward.  

Did you discover something for yourself with this year’s quilts, about the type of design you like in tulip quilts?  I’d really like to hear what that was.

I am so glad that you joined me on this “better late than never” edition of the Twelve Quilts of Christmas 2024.  I wish you and your family a healthy, peaceful and happy New Year.

Happy Stitching!

Mary Elizabeth

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If you have followed along for the past 12 years, you know I will not easily post a picture of a quilt that is poor quality in either example or photography, so why am I posting this one? This quilt is an exception for a number of reasons. 

Featured on page 194 of American Quilts and Coverlets (by Safford and Bishop, 1974), they found the quilt very interesting for its primitive quality.  They wrote that “the heavy quilting in a broad wavelike design echoes the naïve feeling of the piece. 

I totally agree about its naïve quality in the quilting and this photo captures it beautifully.  However, the bold design executed with jaunty variations in motif placements adds a degree of sophistication that defies the primitive moniker.

I have an attachment to this grainy black and white photo for another reason.

The photo in the book was small, squished onto a page of other quilt photos and easily lost to the eye.  But this black and white photo of a tattered quilt wasn’t lost to the keen observation of Gwen Marston and her mentor and friend Mary Schafer.  Gwen wrote: “it had everything we look for in quilts: interesting quilting, bold shapes and eccentricity.  After many conversations with Mary Schafer about the quilt, speculating on the colours, studying the quilting, thinking about what kind of quilter might have made it, Mary drafted a pattern and started a copy of the quilt the same week we did.”  It was the first time they had seen quilting right across the applique with freehand fan concentric rings that were not marked but judged by eye for placement.

I recently had the opportunity to purchase Mary’s version of this quilt. I fondly remember phone calls with Gwen, where we would be looking through a particular book at the same time, discussing different quilts. I cherish those memories. I learnt so much from Gwen about studying antique quilts. I feel honoured to be the keeper, for now, of this piece of their story.

This is Mary Schafer’s version:

I love how Mary interpreted the outer border as two fabrics.  She honoured how the tulips are articulated as in the original and her proportions were fairly true to the original as well. She changed up the value of the tulips, but I think the stems, leaves and sashing are fairly true to the colour value in the original.

And this is Gwen’s version:

Gwen also interpreted how the tulips are articulated as in the original, but she changed up the colour and value distribution, as well as the proportion of the borders, and the finished size of the quilt.

Individual interpretations by each of them and I think both are grand successes! And doesn’t their quilting just make you swoon?

If you look at Mary and Gwen’s quilts you will notice that they have leaned towards a Baptist Fan quilting pattern with more rounded arcs. Now look at the original. Notice that the arcs have more of an angle to them, elbow quilting some call it. I have seen that in a lot of Southern quilts.

And although during my research I have only seen one other big single piece appliquéd tulip quilt (not to say there aren’t more out there) the other big tulip quilts that I saw were appliqués with more that one piece for the flower and they were predominantly from the south. So was this quilt made in Pennsylvania or did it travel there, or someone travelled there from the south and made it in Pennsylvania. Without proper provenance we will never know.

The old original inspiration quilt is no longer in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Gwen discovered when she wrote to the museum. I can say that in all the quilts I looked at for this year, this one I find totally enchanting and I will totally admit it is partly because of Mary and Gwen’s story.  Wherever that old quilt has gone to, I am grateful those giant chunky tulips live on in their quilts.

What colours do you think the antique quilt was originally?  What do you see in the quilting design?  What kind of quilter do you think made it?

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This vintage quilt stopped me in my tracks.  Modern looking before modern day modern was modern! Which truly continues to beg the question what truly is modern?  This one has all the hallmarks … bold distinctive design with loads of negative space.

I think some of the green leaves and stems have faded, but that doesn’t change the graphic success of this design.  There is a block in Barbara Brackman’s Encyclopedia of Applique that has some of the same elements of this block; the centre motif and the shape of the tulip petals on the top edges are different, but close enough to say that it could help date it: block 8.64, T. Tulip comes from a quilt c. 1935, Robertson/North Carolina, pg 76.  So possibly 1930’s.   I am so grateful for Brackman’s two incredible encyclopedias.  I reference them often.

The quilting design is three concentric simple lines forming approximately 1/3 of a circle, creating a profusion of small-scale fans. A close up photo of the quilting is below.

What an absolute delight of a quilt!

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Originally from Phyllis Haders’ collection, she wrote about this quilt:  “Applique quilts made by the Amish are unusual.  The tulip blossoms in this quilt have been cut from velvet, which may well represent an intrusion of Victorian taste into the culture of the plain people.”

For me, this quilt is stunning.  I love how the deep chocolate brown ground sinks back, true meaning of background, and the way it makes the red, black, blue and white tulips pop, as the green stems and leaves sink gently into the middle ground.  What looks like a tulip done all in one red fabric, is actually a red tulip done in two very close shades of red. That block along with the blue and black tulips that are similarly done in two low contrast fabrics, along with the single black tulip give a sweet charm to this quilt as well as places for the eye to rest.  The stitching between the blocks, like seen on crazy quilts, is a delightful addition that adds significantly to the folky charm of the quilt, which is actually quite sophisticated in its design.

I adore this quilt.  What about you? Do you see anything additional?

And does anyone know the location of this quilt now?

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Cameron Art Museum Executive Director Anne Brennan writes, in relation to choosing this quilt as the anchor of the recent “The Work of Their Hands” exhibition:  “We chose the tulip quilt made 170 years ago by a now unknown, enslaved woman in North Carolina, for its direct power to connect through its beauty and strength. In her time-honored design and choice of spare colors in orange, red, green and white, the beauty and excellence of her creation convey calm and continuum. Through her masterful stitchwork, still so alive, is sewn a story of strength and perseverance of all people connected with the quilt, many rebuilding a life in the face of despair.”

While crossed tulips may be a time honoured design, the makers skillful use of colour and value placement creates an engaging composition with a secondary design of what appears to be interlocking circles. While Brennan hit on the right words of calm and continuum, it is the complexity of the design that draws me in. I could stare at this quilt for hours.  It is simply mesmerizing.

The post Twelve Quilts of Christmas – #8 appeared first on Mary Elizabeth Kinch.

From the Williamsburg website:

“This is an almost square white cotton bed quilt appliquéd with cottons in red, green and yellow and stuffed in a four-block format. The design consists of four large floral vases (positioned on the center field with two right side up and two upside down). Each vase has two handles and a large abstract group of tulips, leaves and red berries cascading over the sides of the vases. Two red and brown birds perch within each spray of flowers. All the berries are stuffed or padded. The border on all four sides consists of pots of flowers with floral and leaf elements growing horizontally from the pots. It is quilted in 9 running stitches per inch in triple parallel lines on the diagonal and appliquéd with blind stitches. Chain stitches are used on some stems and birds legs. It is dated on reverse in outline stitch with the date “1862”. It is bound in the same green cotton that was used in the vases and foliage and backed with white cotton.”

A quilt similar to this one appears on page 242 of Carrie A. Hall and Rose G. Kretsinger’s book The Romance of the Patchwork Quilt in American (New York, 1935), and the pattern is identified as “Pride of Iowa”.   Barbara Brackman points out in her book, Barbara Brackman’s Encyclopedia of Applique, that this quilt block (Brackman 41.552 T Pride of Iowa) was likely an original 19thC design.  And likely a very popular one, as I have seen several variations.  There is a similar quilt in the collection of the Shelburne Museum, at Old Sturbridge Village and also in the Winedale Museum in Texas.

If you want to play around with different colourations, there is a colouring page available on the Shelburne Museum website here.

I have always loved these four block appliqué quilts and their delightful borders.  I love even more the version Gwen Marston did (see photo below), taking her favourite elements from quilts like this one and paring this type of design down to perfection.  Gwen loved studying antique quilts, but this design of hers is all her own. I love all the little idiosyncrasies that she added!

What elements would you chose, from the antique quilt above, to include in your version?

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This cheery quilt has such a strong secondary design, that you almost loose the tulips to the graphic check/plaid pattern and the motif developed with the crossing stems and leaves, but look right in the midst of all of that and there are the tulips!

From the close up picture below, it seems that the maker used raw edge appliquéd with large embroidered stitches, adding a delightful element to this quilt.

What technique do you like to use for appliqué?  Raw edge machine stitched, Raw edge hand stitched? Needle-turn appliqué? Freezer paper technique? Interfacing technique?

The post Twelve Quilts of Christmas – #6 appeared first on Mary Elizabeth Kinch.

This quilt is exquisitely made! The border has been executed with precision, the corners resolving perfectly in each one. The same is true of the half square triangle border where the colours mirror the patterning of the opposite border. The teeniest of variations can be seen in the appliquéd tulips with tiny bit more variety noted in the appliquéd centre stars. The maker’s attention to detail was fantastic.

The maker’s precision and attention to detail, combined with their eye for design is what sets this quilt apart. Several things contribute to this: the balance they created through the white space they left in the sashing between blocks and through the undulation of the border vines, while at the same time squishing that border vine and leaves right to the edges; the way a half square triangle in the border meets the middle of the tulip motifs adding to a sense of balance; and the combined visual energy of the spinning tulips and the undulating border. That last detail might feel a bit overwhelming or too busy to be successful, but with their combination of effects, the execution is perfection.

If you were to remake this quilt, would you change anything?

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Red and green and cheddar is one of my favourite colour combinations in antique quilts. Interestingly enough, I have never made a quilt with this colour combination, always just admired them. I think that is going to have to change.

Two other things about this quilt knock my socks off, beyond the colour combination.

First, that piping! The floral blocks are 16″ square, so not small at all. Rather than adding wide sashing, the maker added very narrow red piping to define the blocks and outline the centre of the quilt just before the border. The piping adds a wonderful contrast to the weight of the floral arrangement in each block, and frankly I think it’s delicacy makes this quilt stand out as one that is notable. Notice how the maker continued the piping into the border in the lower right. Wonder what was up with that?

Second, those borders! They are are 10″ wide and many of the applique motifs are stuffed. Three of the borders share matching appliquéd motifs of undulating vines, tulips, leaves and hearts. The fourth is a departure with the hearts being replaced by stalks of berries. Notice how each of those stalks have their own personality, somewhat like how the maker of the quilt yesterday made slight but visually interesting alterations in the placement of some of the elements. These variations create to visual appeal, intriguing the eye.

The quilt is bound with 1/4″ finished binding and rounded corners.

I am so grateful to all those who shared their quilts during documentation days and to those volunteers who spent countless hours recording these magnificent works. This quilt, although made in Ohio, was part of the Arizona quilt documentation project.

I would love to hear your thoughts. That being said, the captcha on my website that allows you to leave comments is currently nonfunctional, but I would love to hear your comments over on Instagram or Facebook. Hopefully over Christmas I can get that fixed as I so love reading your thoughts and comments about the quilts.

The post Twelve Quilts of Christmas – #4 appeared first on Mary Elizabeth Kinch.

Another bold, folky, striking design to inspire us today.

Antique quilt dealer Julie Silber has looked far and wide since acquiring the quilt, to see if maybe this design was from a 20th century published pattern, but so far she hasn’t found a source and it seems to be one of a kind design. That being said, if you have an idea of the inspiration for this quilt let us know! It is such a stunning example of the maker going to town with her own idea.

While each block is the “same”, it is the lively little differences in each one that gives this quilt its charm: leaves that are set at just a tiny bit of an angle compared to it’s neighbour; yes three triangles on each side of the flower but some are a bit bigger than others or spaced or set a tiny bit differently; red crosswise sashing that almost match in some places, but are off just a bit. Are these really faults in design?

Somewhere along the way, in our glorious quilting history, perfection in quiltmaking became the focus and goal: teeny tiny quilting stitches, precision piecing and perfect applique. Quilter’s developed see-through templates to lay on top of blocks so that the elements would be placed precisely in the right spot before stitching down. Those quilts can be stunning without a doubt, and to be honest I have worked really hard to make circles as perfectly round as I could for one quilt. However, in that particular quilt of mine, their random layout gave me exactly what I personally wanted … a little liberated (as Gwen Marston would call it) quiltmaking interest. I am so glad the maker of this quilt didn’t let anything get in her way of creating this stunner!

And really isn’t that what Gwen’s liberated quiltmaking is all about? Finding a way, sometimes muscling your way through, as Gwen would say, to create the quilt we want to make the way we want to make it. It’s just the best in my opinion.

I would love to hear your thoughts. That being said, the captcha on my website that allows you to leave comments is currently nonfunctional, but I would love to hear your comments over on Instagram or Facebook. Hopefully over Christmas I can get that fixed as I so love reading what you have to say.

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