antique fabric

Past Glory from Ann Quilts

Sometimes a really, really damaged quilt is still incredibly beautiful. This is one of those times.

The quilt was sent to me for assessment and my thoughts about what to do with it. It has much fabric damage, both faded colors and lots of tattered, dangling, and missing fabric.

I think the tan fabric was likely dyed with an early synthetic dye. Fading of colors to this kind of tan, often called dun, was common with the experimental new dyes in the later part of the 1800s, as the fabric industry tried to find new dyes that were stronger colored ...

added by Ann 5 hours, 7 minutes ago. under antique fabric , antique quilt , applique , faded fabric , hearts , prince's feather , quilting , synthetic dyes , textile conservation

Preserving Our Quilt Legacy - Virtual Workshop from Ann Quilts

Good news! My Preserving Our Quilt Legacy Virtual Workshop is coming up soon. Sessions take place on five Saturdays, Jan 28 - Feb 25 2025. This is a rare opportunity to learn about the many aspects of restoration and conservation all in one package. Find out more:

A full description and registration info

An introductory video

Besides lectures and demos, you’ll receive a set of samples of tools and fabrics, access to video demos of techniques and stitches, links to other resources. You’ll be able to show a quilt and see everyone else’s quilts and learn about how ...

added by Ann 1 year ago. under antique fabric , antique quilt , book on antique quilt care , how-to , quilt repair , quilt repair workshop , quilt restoration workshop , vintage fabric , vintage quilt

Incredible Fabric- Quilt Top from Humble Quilts

At first glance this doesn't look too special.

But a closer look reveals more!

This top is beautifully hand pieced.

Minty

The brown geometric prints are stunning!

I'm a little baffled on the minty green. 1860's?

This looks fussy cut to me.

A real beauty! I'd love to know your thoughts on the year for the fabric and quilt.

It is in my Etsy shop!

https://humblequiltsbylori.etsy.com

Lori

added by Lori 1 year, 5 months ago. under antique fabric , antique quilt top

Virtual Quilt Repair Workshop - Registration is Open! from Ann Quilts

Taking good care of antique and vintage quilts is taking good care of family, textile, and social history. It’s a wonderful journey!

My next workshop will be held January 27 - February 24 2024, on 5 consecutive Saturdays. All the details and registration are on my website. If you have questions, contact me here or at annquilts@comcast.net.

Restoration

Conservation

Preservation

Philosophy

Techniques

Supplies

Each student can present one (or two if time allows) quilts for discussion of how, when, and why to use the various supplies and techniques. All eras and styles are welcome. This will be our ...

added by Ann 2 years, 1 month ago. under antique fabric , antique quilt , preserving our quilt legacy , quilt conservation , quilt repair , quilt repair workshop , quilt restoration , vintage fabric , vintage quilt

Virtual Quilt Repair Workshop - Registration is Open! from Ann Quilts

Taking good care of antique and vintage quilts is taking good care of family, textile, and social history. It’s a wonderful journey!

Preserving Our Quilt Legacy Virtual Workshop

My next workshop will be held January 27 - February 24 2024, on 5 consecutive Saturdays. All the details and registration are on my website.

We will cover many aspects of the process. Restoration, conservation, and preservation. Finding patching fabrics, which includes gaining knowledge of the history of fabric printing and dyeing. Learning about needles, threads, and other tools of the trade. Learning stitches and tips for well-sewn patches. Learning how to ...

added by Ann 2 years, 1 month ago. under antique fabric , how-to , quilt conservation , quilt repair , quilt repair workshop , quilt restoration , vintage fabric

Quilt Repair Tidbits #4 from Ann Quilts

Quilt Repair Tidbits. The next (somewhat) weekly installment of quilt repair tidbits and photos.

This week’s tidbit: A hand-me-down set of vintage/antique Mosaic/Grandmother’s Flower Garden blocks.

I’ll be teaching a virtual quilt care and repair workshop in winter 2024. One thing I’ll be talking about is learning how to tell the age of the fabrics in old quilts. These blocks have a secret key to their age.

All the info about the workshop is on my website. And you can email me to be added to the interest list for notification when registration opens ...

added by Ann 2 years, 1 month ago. under antique fabric , antique quilt , english paper piecing , grandmother's flower garden , mosaic quilt , quilt repair , quilt repair workshop , vintage fabric , vintage quilt

Quilt Repair Tidbits #2 from Ann Quilts

The second installment of weekly quilt repair tidbits and photos.

Schoolhouse quilt, c. 1915-20

This week: a wonderful schoolhouse quilt, a lovely and unusual rendition of a favorite traditional block. One of the benefits of working with antique and vintage quilts is that it’s like having your own up close and personal quilt show!

I hope I can inspire you to join the virtual quilt repair and care workshop I’m planning for winter 2024. All the info is on my website. Email me to be added to the mailing list for notification when registration opens.

The workshop will ...

added by Ann 2 years, 2 months ago. under antique fabric , antique quilt , family heirloom , quilt repair , quilt repair workshop , schoolhouse , textile conservation , vintage fabric , vintage quilt

Antique Pineapple Quilt Blocks from Humble Quilts

Look at these amazing foundation pieced pineapple blocks a sweet friend sent to me!

Funny how I didn't notice one block is different- only after I took a photo did it stand out!

It is also the only one with that light blue fabric.

The darker portion is toward the corners.

Love that pink print!

The next blocks seems to have a wide time span of fabrics.

The butterscotch, chrome yellow and poison green are a bit later then the shirtings. (I'm not an expert, so feel free to weigh in!)

Love! Love! Turkey red, yellow and green ...

added by Lori 2 years, 5 months ago. under antique fabric , antique quilt block

Caring for Family Mementos from Ann Quilts

Here comes some thinking and wondering that I've been doing lately.

Over the last few years, people have been asking me to repair soooo many really seriously damaged quilts from the 1960s-70s and onwards. For the most part, these are family heirlooms, made by beloved grandmas and great-grandmas.

I'm thinking that what I'm seeing are the quilts that have been used and loved and "used up" in the old-fashioned terminology.

Many are not fancy in pattern or workwomanship. Part of this is that in the 1950s-70s era, the making of super intricate quilts kind of drifted off ...

added by Ann 2 years, 5 months ago. under antique fabric , family heirloom , quilt repair , storing quilts , vintage fabric , washing quilts

Taking Care of a Crazy Quilt....by not Restoring It from Ann Quilts

The owner sent me these photos of her gorgeous crazy quilt for an initial assessment. She and I decided not to do any repairs at this time. However, it's such a beautiful quilt that I wanted to share it, and I am grateful that she has allowed me to share her photos.

It was made for my great great grandfather John Davis Cassada when he was born by his mother Lucy and his aunts. Many were single or widowed from the Civil War. All the initials are attributable to family members. They were very thrilled to have a male ...

added by Ann 2 years, 7 months ago. under antique fabric , crazy quilt , embroidery , family heirloom , painted embellishments , quilt repair , shattered silk , textile conservation , yo-yos

New Video: "Welcome to my Studio" from Ann Quilts

Hi, everyone! I'm announcing a new video on my YouTube channel. It's a bit of a tour of my quilting studio and fabric stash.

You'll see fabrics, new art quilts, and loads of doo-dads.

Click here to access the video.

Please come visit!

(You can also find my channel and see the whole video collection, and my interview on the Just Wanna Quilt podcast, by searching in YouTube for my name - Ann Wasserman.)

added by Ann 2 years, 9 months ago. under antique fabric , art quilts , fabric stash , quilt repair , quilt studio tour , studio tour , vintage fabric

Billie's Guild Box from Humble Quilts

I stayed in a lovely home with a wonderful host named Billie. She shared a box of vintage and antique blocks, bits and pieces that were donated to the guild. A knowledgeable woman took the box, documented all the blocks and presented a trunk show to the guild. They are going to donate the box of goods back to the woman so can use them for future teaching opportunities.

Here is peak into the cool textiles!

YES to red and cheddar!

Uhhh a little humble.

Love that black print!

Not even a close substitution on this one! lol

This looks ...

added by Lori 2 years, 9 months ago. under antique fabric , antique quilt block , vintage fabric , vintage quilt block

Antique Quilt Found in Virginia from Humble Quilts

As I was prepping to vend at the Oregon Quilt Festival in Salem, I realized I never took ANY photos of this amazing quilt! So I spread it out in my kitchen and snapped these before packing it up to take to the show. It measures about 80"x80" and has this giant red border!

It has some simple cable quilting and squares. (filler because the cable wasn't wide enough?)

It has some lovely madder prints and mourning purples,

It has some issues- mostly the browns.

The green/blue print has been exposed to sun or bleach so it ...

added by Lori 2 years, 11 months ago. under antique fabric , antique quilts

The Exact Match - One More from Ann Quilts

Just a little while ago, I wrote about how exciting it is to find an exactly matching fabric when patching vintage and antique quilts. I told the stories of 6 times that has happened for me in nearly 40 years of repairing quilts.

And lo and behold, number 7 just happened!

The quilt in question is a 1930s Dresden Plate with what today is known as an ice cream cone border.

Not only is the fabric exact, but it is a piece taken out of an old quilt and very nearly the same shape as well.

And there is also ...

added by Ann 3 years, 4 months ago. under antique fabric , dresden plate , ice cream cone border , quilt repair , vintage fabrics

Beauville Textiles from Humble Quilts

I am completely under the weather. Am going in for a covid test this afternoon. I don't get sick often and I have been completely miserable. I've had my Mill Girls quilt downstairs to hand sew the binding and I've been too weak to pick it up! I have not been around my kids at all, so it's a fluke that we all got sick about the same time. I was in an airport and airplanes most of the day on Friday and I'm sure that is where I picked it up.

This blog is ...

added by Lori 3 years, 5 months ago. under antique fabric , french fabric

The Exact Match from Ann Quilts

Finding just the right fabrics to restore a vintage or antique quilt can be a challenge. The chances of The Exact Match are slim. It's almost always about finding fabrics that blend in as unobtrusively as possible. This is true whether using vintage or modern reproductions.

Sometimes fabrics that blend perfectly into the existing set of fabrics seem to fall into my lap, but sometimes a lengthy search ends up with settling for the better of several options.

My restoration of this Lone Star quilt (1930s) serves as an example of the fabric search stage of quilt restoration. I ...

added by Ann 3 years, 7 months ago. under antique fabric , buckeye beauty , capital t , faded fabric , grandmother's flower garden , quilt repair , rose wreath , sampler quilt , vintage fabrics

Improving an Improved 9-Patch from Ann Quilts

***
Do you wish you knew more about repairing and caring for your quilts? There's another session of my Preserving Our Quilt Legacy virtual workshop coming up in a few weeks. Learn about techniques, supplies, fabric dating, etc., etc., and bring a quilt of your own for assessment for repair and future care. Full information on content and registration is on my website.
***

I recently did some minimal repair work on this lovely Improved 9-Patch quilt. Well, it was just a few small places, but there was lots of thought and several important decisions. It makes a good story of ...

added by Ann 3 years, 11 months ago. under antique fabric , fading fabric , improved 9-patch , quilt repair

Three Quilts, Three Generations - The Story from Ann Quilts

I recently had the pleasure of repairing three heirloom quilts made by three generations of quilters. Two are heavy, wool and flannel crazy quilts, and the third is a cotton log cabin. (You can read about the repairs at Three Quilts, Three Generations - The Repairs.)

Here's how the owner describes the quilts:  

The “Greta” crazy quilt, with a date of 1948 sewn in white on a pink panel, is so named for the owner’s mother, whose name is stitched in cursive on another panel. The quilt has many detailed and individualistic flourishes sewn between and on the panels ...

added by Ann 4 years, 2 months ago. under antique fabric , crazy quilt , dated quilt , embroidery , log cabin , name inscribed quilt , quilt repair , vintage fabrics , wool quilt

Three Quilts, Three Generations - The Repairs from Ann Quilts

The family story of these three quilts is at Three Quilts, Three Generations - The Story. Here, I will descirbe the repairs that I made to them.

The two crazy quilts were made primarily of wool and flannel fabrics. One of the crazy quilts has an embroidered date and name, as well as more and more varied embroidered details. The crazy quilts have some fabrics in common, so it's likely that they were both made around the same time. The log cabin is cotton and significantly older.

The repair techniques chosen for each quilt were chosen according to the kinds ...

added by Ann 4 years, 2 months ago. under antique fabric , crazy quilt , dated quilt , embroidery , log cabin , name inscribed quilt , quilt repair , vintage fabrics , wool quilt

Grotto Girl from Humble Quilts

A couple of days before the quilt show my friend, Laurie (Grotto Girl) called to remind me she would be a vendor! She sells vintage and antique quilts and recently purchased 2 estates of kits, fabric and so many goodies.