Ami's SOA Civil War Quilts: Era, Commemorative, Inspired

My Keeper is trying to make up for cluttering up your nice thread...

" Couples Quilt ", Virginia African Americans Mary Jane Bateson and Mariah Chapman, her niece, pieced this together from scraps. SO cool. Wish we knew if these were people they knew!



quilt couples.jpg
 
My Keeper is trying to make up for cluttering up your nice thread...

" Couples Quilt ", Virginia African Americans Mary Jane Bateson and Mariah Chapman, her niece, pieced this together from scraps. SO cool. Wish we knew if these were people they knew!



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Not a problem, Huson, promise. And you know it's everyone's thread, I just happened to be the one who got it going.

The Couples Quilt is very impressive, and appears to be in good condition. Can you imagine sewing all that applique?
That's one technique where I'll let the others have all the glory.

And, best of all, it's from Virginia!!! Yippee!!! Finding southern quilts from the CW era is a challenge. Kudos to you, Huson.
 
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Bumping this because QUILTS! Is anyone else here a quilter?

I lack the personal discipline to finish full-sized quilts, but I do have a dollhouse, and so I like making quilts of different eras in miniature.

My family has an old, possibly antebellum, quilt. Unfortunately one of the fabrics used was a silk, and it has shattered. It's my belief that this quilt was probably pieced about 1885 rather than antebellum, but it does contain Civil War era fabrics, and since it's a functional bed quilt rather than a pretty quilt, it's idiosyncratic and therefore hard to date. It was also tragically "restored" using synthetic fuchsia taffeta during the 70s when people didn't know any better and taste had decided to take a nice long nap. If it were sold it would be a cutter. But since my great-great-grandmother made it with her sister, I'm very fond of it. It's primarily wool in different shades of what seems to have been a non-colorfast homemade red dyed homespun, various cotton flannels, and black lightweight silk. I used to know the name of the pattern. But it's basically hourglasses.
 
Bumping this because QUILTS! Is anyone else here a quilter?

I lack the personal discipline to finish full-sized quilts, but I do have a dollhouse, and so I like making quilts of different eras in miniature.

My family has an old, possibly antebellum, quilt. Unfortunately one of the fabrics used was a silk, and it has shattered. It's my belief that this quilt was probably pieced about 1885 rather than antebellum, but it does contain Civil War era fabrics, and since it's a functional bed quilt rather than a pretty quilt, it's idiosyncratic and therefore hard to date. It was also tragically "restored" using synthetic fuchsia taffeta during the 70s when people didn't know any better and taste had decided to take a nice long nap. If it were sold it would be a cutter. But since my great-great-grandmother made it with her sister, I'm very fond of it. It's primarily wool in different shades of what seems to have been a non-colorfast homemade red dyed homespun, various cotton flannels, and black lightweight silk. I used to know the name of the pattern. But it's basically hourglasses.
We love quilts and would be delighted to have you post a photo of your family quilt. Additionally, please feel free to add any Civil War era quilts to our collection. Thanks for your post, Allie.
 
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Wild Goose Chase Quilt

Catherine Fisher
1862
Muskingum, Ohio

Embroidered or quilted in the center in white on white: "Our Father Who Art in Heaven" and "Christian A. Fisher 1862" written in quilting." Probably presented to her son on his being drafted into the Civil War.

Museum of Fine Arts Boston

http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/pieced-civil-war-quilt-567395
 
I found this one yesterday. It was made by the wives at a reunion of Confederate soldiers in Paris, Tennessee, and is a good example of something called a "signature quilt," in which the names of the creators (in the case also some of the soldiers) are written on the quilt and then embroidered over, typically in redwork. The source didn't say what the fate of this quilt was, but typically such a quilt would then be donated to the organization itself, or auctioned for charity. Some signature quilts would ask people to pay for putting a name on the quilt as a way of raising money. I think that, despite the source information, that may be the true origin of this quilt, as there are a lot of "Miss" signatures on it.

image.jpg
 
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Doll quilt
LeMoyne Star
c. 1820-1840

In this doll quilt, the fabrics with a dark blue background likely were dyed in two steps: first, with a resist paste applied to the design areas, and second, an overdye after the resist was removed. This two-step process created light blue motifs instead of the more typical white.

Jonathan Holstein Collection
International Quilt Study Center and Museum
University of Nebraska-Lincoln

http://www.quiltstudy.org/exhibitio...html/title/resist-printing-quilt-lemoyne-star
 
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Doll quilt
LeMoyne Star
c. 1820-1840

Jonathan Holstein Collection
International Quilt Study Center and Museum
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Oh I like doll quilts the best, and they're so rare! Gonna make this one I believe. I wonder if I can find or print similar fabrics in the right scale. The thing that's best about doll quilts is often they were a way for children to learn to quilt, so they tend to be simple and easy to duplicate in miniature.
 
Oh I like doll quilts the best, and they're so rare! Gonna make this one I believe. I wonder if I can find or print similar fabrics in the right scale. The thing that's best about doll quilts is often they were a way for children to learn to quilt, so they tend to be simple and easy to duplicate in miniature.
I'd bet that's made of leftover dress fabric.
I added a bit more info from the source and provided a link that I forgot to post. There should be another doll quilt in this thread. I'll scroll back to find it.
 
Great threat and great pictures. I'm enjoying looking at all of this.

I quilt a little bit. So far I've just made little decorative quilts such as wall hangings (my cats always seem to find them before I get a chance to hang them up and sleep on them) and tote bags. I have yet to make a real 'quilt'. I've thought about it but when its time to get started it just seems overwhelming.
 
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