Sewing With Nancy

Many of us have admired antique Grandmother's flower garden quilt patterns only wishing the quilter had taken time to write down the story behind the quilt. Since we don't have the history of Ida Kant's quilt that you saw in today's program I can only guess on some of the background. A person that has made it her job to be a quilt detective is with us today. Welcome, Carol Butzke. Carol is an AQS Certified Quilt Appraiser and quilt historian. She's been with us before on Sewing with Nancy. And is back again to give us some insight into our antique Grandmother's flower garden quilts. How appropriate that you're here today, Carol. Sometimes, when I think of flower garden quilts I think of 1930s and 1940s. Absolutely. Thank you, it's a pleasure to be here. This is the pattern that we probably most recognize as one of the vintage patterns that we grew up with through our mothers and grandmothers. But it has an even longer history than that. Probably going back even before we even know, but 1700s we know that there are quilts in England that were using this particular pattern. They were known as mosaics, or honeycomb patterns. Slightly different than what we utilize today in Grandmother's flower garden. But certainly, it's been around for a long time and a dearly beloved pattern. It was the first pattern that was ever publicized in a lady's book, "Godey's Lady's Book." It was in 1835. It said it was an ingenious and very pretty pattern. Oh, that it is. Still, we enjoy it today. Traditionally, the motifs are put together and you mentioned that there's sometimes a yellow center. A yellow center is the more traditional way that we would expect to see them. But as you can see this one has a variety of colors. Women certainly had a way that they could make it their very own. Followed, certainly, by a round of solids which is most often what we see and then a round of prints. What is between the blocks often is a single or in this case, a double garden pathway. It can be more likely than not either white or green is the most traditional. But I've seen them in red, black, or blue. So, a woman's creativity comes through. We say "double" because there are two offset rows of hexagons in this area, instead of just one. There you can see them, all hand-pieced. Hand-pieced. Hand quilted. Then the border was finished by following the edge of the design. This is a labor of love. Definitely, it took a tremendous amount of time. But it was something they could do on their laps in the evening, doing the hand sewing. I always say on an appraisal day that I almost always will come across a Grandmother's flower quilt or a top because oftentimes, the they weren't finished because women didn't quite know what to do with the edge. This is maybe more daunting than they wanted. A less daunting option maybe would be to work with a honeycomb or like you have right here, a bullseye quilt. The bullseye quilt is from around circa 1900. It is a charm quilt meaning every piece of fabric in that particular quilt is a different piece of fabric. So, the lady was a collector, whether she exchanged them with friends and family. But it seems to me more likely that she had a source book or a salesman's book of fabrics that she worked from because there will be as many as five of the same fabric pattern, but in different colorways. It's kind of fun to look at and explore. It is. The combination and the gradation of the reds for example, is a lovely collection. I'm thinking with you not that I know that much about antique quilts but they must have been positioned together at one time. You have taken your hand at-- I know you're a great hand quilter. But this time, you happened to piece this by machine. I did. It was probably made in the 1990s somewhere along the way. It has a variety of blossoms, that are a single round around a yellow center that's a print. It has a little garden fence around the garden. Notice the blooms. We've seen a lot of variety of Grandmother's flower garden quilts today. But your blooms, you have four of one color and then a darker shade. You've done that all the way around. I like that look, just a little extra shading effect. This is very sweet the little picket fence around the top and prairie points to finish the edge. Thank you for sharing with us, Carol the history of Grandmother's flower garden quilts charm quilts, and being with us to tell the story. Thank you for having me. If you'd like to find out more information from Carol

you can go to

wwww.NancyZieman.com You'll find links to Nancy's Corner, and Carol as well as all my other guests that you've watched on Sewing with Nancy. Plus, you'll be able to watch Sewing with Nancy programs online, read my blog and basically, you'll be directed to all things Sewing with Nancy. Thank you for being with us on this two-part series on Grandmothers' flower garden patchwork quilts as well as tumblers. Thanks for joining us. Bye for now.