Vintage Quilts

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Vintage Quilts by Jeni Baker
Vintage Quilts, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
First and foremost, thank you for all of your kind words and support on yesterday's news! I was SO nervous to spill the beans! Like barely ate, barely slept, nervous. As your sweet comments, emails, and tweets came pouring in, I felt so relieved! It's so new to me, it's hard to wrap my head around just yet! :)

I have a few posts lined up to share the fruits and adventures of our vacation last week! Today I am sharing with you SIX vintage quilts that my sweet Aunt Karen (Hi!!) gave me! I love them so much! I don't know much about them, but I think they were all made by someone in our family.  So, let's take a peek!

Vintage Dresden Quilt by Jeni Baker
Vintage Dresden Quilt, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
Vintage Dresden Quilt by Jeni Baker
Vintage Dresden Quilt, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
I'm totally in love with this dresden quilt, I have a thing for dresden plates! The way the centers and the plates are done is so different than other quilts I've seen, it is so cool looking! They're all hand appliqued and it's entirely hand quilted as well! There are some seriously awesome fabrics in this one!

My Mom said this one was on her parent's or grandparent's bed (I can't remember which!), for a long time.  This one is probably my favorite. You just can't beat a vintage double wedding ring.  I'm thinking that despite my hatred of templates I will probably have to make one at some point! I am pretty sure it's hand pieced, it's definitely hand quilted.

Vintage Crazy Quilt by Jeni Baker
Vintage Crazy Quilt, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
Vintage Crazy Quilt by Jeni Baker
Vintage Crazy Quilt, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
This one feels SO modern to me! The crazy scrappiness and the back, oh boy! It's like getting two quilts in one!

Vintage Crazy Quilt Back by Jeni Baker
Vintage Crazy Quilt Back, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
Vintage Crazy Quilt Back by Jeni Baker
Vintage Crazy Quilt Back, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
How cool is the back?! Mostly solids with a few prints mixed in! It looks like it's a lot of old clothes. I love, love, love it! This has me totally inspired to make an all solids crazy quilt!

This red and white quilt is just a top.  It's actually in pretty good condition! A few stains I might attempt to get out, but I probably won't try too hard, they aren't bad! This one is also hand pieced. Will definitely have to get this one quilted!

I'm assuming this baby quilt was pieced around the same time as the first red and white one.  This one was obviously used, a lot! Very well loved! Again, hand pieced and quilted.

Vintage Daisy Quilt by Jeni Baker
Vintage Daisy Quilt, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
Vintage Daisy Quilt by Jeni Baker
Vintage Daisy Quilt, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
We knew the least about this one, but it's still lovely! I love the flowers that were quilted in the negative space, so neat!

If you'd like to see more photos of these quilts and other vintage quilts you can find them in my flickr set, here.

Happy Quilting!

41 comments :

  1. Wow! What a wonderful collection of family lovliness! I have a red and white top almost identical to yours made by my great grandmother! What a popular pattern! BTW I had fun chatting on #talknt! Congrats!

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  2. some seriously talented quilters in your family! it explains your own amazing talents!! I can't believe the Crazy Quilt is vintage! You are right-it looks so modern!

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  3. I share your joy of vintage quilts. I especially love stories about the quilts, I try to share them with my kiddos when ever possible. I have mine put away at this time but I love to get them out every once in a while and refold, and remember the stories or the memories they evoke.
    I have two identical twin quilts that are embroidered and quilted that look almost new, they covered the antique pineapple beds on my Great Grandmother's sun porch where I would take a nap when I was very young.
    When my husband's mother passed (years ago) we inherited his grandmother's collection of quilts that she had hand pieced and hand quilted. My have is the Blue and white Irish Chain done in 3/4 inch squares, it is well loved but that makes it all the more beautiful.

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  4. How beautiful!
    I'm making a Double Irish Chain quilt (same as the red and white top) but with prints instead of solids. I love the look of the red and white!

    I adore the Dresden plate! How different and lovely!

    Genevieve

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  5. These are really beautiful! Thank you for the giveaway!

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  6. Wow lucky you.. Love all of them... I'm in process quilting the same irish chain quilt you got there.. Except mine is in bkue and white...

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  7. These are beautiful, thanks so much for sharing! Explains a lot about where you got your inspiration and great "eye" from. What a treasure to have in your family.

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  8. What a feast for the eyes! Lovely to look at..thank you

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  9. Jackpot!!! I of course love the first red and white quilt! I have wanted to make myself one just like it for a long time. :) I am working on a paper piece pattern for a double wedding ring, so give me a few weeks...that will make it so much faster to piece!!

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  10. What a great gift from your Aunt! The quilts are beautiful. And wonderful that they come from your family!

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  11. What a fantastic collection! You are so lucky!! Will you use them or just keep them? Very inspiring.

    I started handpiecing a Jacob'd Ladder this year (only my second ever quilt project since I started sewing last year!!) and it is very slow going! (Especially with three under 5's!!): this has reminded me to get back on it, it would be so gratifying to finish.

    Thanks for sharing! Btw... whose knees are they? Whoever they belong to did a good job of presenting the quilts so neatly! :-) xx

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  12. Ooh I am jealous! I am the first quilter in my family, so I am hoping that my children keep my quilts and hand them on to their children, who then continue to hand them on to theirs etc. This is only a plan/hope of mine, as at the moment my children are only 15, 13 and 11! But you have to start somewhere. You are very lucky indeed.

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  13. All beautiful, but I love the daisy quilt best. You are very lucky to have them, as I'm sure you know.

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  14. Lucky you Jeni, these are gorgeous! I really love that Dresden plate and the Irish chains.

    If you do decide to do a double wedding ring you might want to consider using the Quiltsmart system. That is what I used for mine (which I am finally going to quilt next week) and I really liked it. http://www.quiltsmart.com/Pages/mo_double_wedding_ring.htm

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  15. Such lovely quilts, just goes to show that vintage quilts can look quite modern!

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  16. You are so fortunate to have these beautiful quilts, your Aunt knew you would cherish them.

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  17. You are so lucky to be given these. Love the Dresden and the wedding ring especially.

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  18. How wonderful to get vintage family quilts ~ I have a few that my Great Grandmother made and love them. I especially like the yellow one ~

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  19. What an amazing gift! That's so cool. I love the red and white one that isn't yet quilted--that's such an error-proof combination and it always looks amazing!

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  20. What beautiful quilts!! You are quite lucky to have them. Thanks for sharing them with us! The big red and white quilt is a Double Irish Chain and the small one is an Irish Chain. My mom has made a few of those, they are so classic and make lovely 2 color quilts. I started a double wedding ring quilt years ago using the quilt smart system... it is still a WIP but I am sure I will complete it some day... I just LOVE that pattern!

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  21. What a great variety of quilts in classic patterns - lucky you!

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  22. And here I thought I was coming up with a brand new idea for this Dresden quilt. http://happyquiltingmelissa.blogspot.com/2012/06/double-dresden-delight-ez-dresden.html Isn't it funny to see that no matter how new and modern with think we are quilting, chances are, it has been done before :)

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  23. Love them all. Thank you for sharing with us. I'm planning a blue and white baby quilt just like the red and white you have! What size are the blocks? What a treasure trove.

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  24. They're beautiful! I love the dresden plate and red and white top.

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  25. These are awesome! I have one vintage quilt from my family but I refuse to take it out of storage until my little ones are much, much older!

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  26. What lovely treasures! I especially like the crazy quilt.

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  27. Love vintage quilts. I have been collecting various tops from antique stores and attempting to restore the 1st one I got.

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  28. I have such a love for vintage quilts as well! The fabrics, the time, the love...all amazing! Beautiful quilts to add to your collection!

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  29. What a wonderful gift to have those beautiful quilts handed down to you. How sweet!

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  30. These are gorgeous!! I especially love the scrappy one. How special that you have them now!

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  31. The double wedding ring and Dresden quilt were probably Grandmas Grueser, Spheidel and maybe even a little of Grandma Kathryn's work. I paid to have the Dresden quilted and was not happy. You can see the remains of the pen they used. Probaby not the best stitching, either. I imagine Grandma Speidel made the crazy quilt. The 2 red quilts and daisy quilt are not family pieces but are most certainly Ohio quilts. That's about all I know. Grandma Speidel was most likely to stitch up random scraps, such as some of the wool ones she made that might have had some of Grandpa's old coats or pants incorporated into it. Very warm but often scratchy! Aunt Karen

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  32. I love old quilts. My Grandma used to make quilts out of whatever she had - old clothes, old blankets, etc. That crazy quilt reminds me of those. :)

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  33. Great "hand me downs". I know that you will used and cherish all of them. I too love the Dresden one and hope to make my own version some day.

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  34. Such lovely, classic quilts. A tresure trove, for sure!

    I'm just catching up on blogs, and want to congratulate you on becoming a fabric designer... Great for you, for the company & for us! Love your initial line & look forward to its release in 2013.

    Also, Love your new blog header, it is lovely (with the added benefit of loading much faster.)
    So, again congrats & best wishes for your new adventures!

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  35. thank you for sharing your gift of the beautiful heirloom quilts. I have three and I have been trying to date them. It's been fun and instructive. :) and also, how exciting for you to be designing for Art Gallery! I love their fabrics.

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  36. OMG Jeni -- I have a vintage Dresden Plate quilt made by a family member, too, and I swear I recognize some of the exact same fabrics in your DP quilt! I have to go dig mine out of the linen closet now and compare it to your photo. The bright centers and border on your quilt are really unusual and special, though -- mine's not like that. Your Double Wedding Ring quilt is gorgeous, too. I wonder if that dark, vivid blue fabric always popped like that, or if the other fabrics have just faded more? You are lucky to have all of these! Thanks for sharing them with us!

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