My friend Laura Ramseier "Aired Her Quilts" this wkd, which means she put on her own quilt show at her house and garden. It included 2 bed turnings. She's been quilting for so long now, and her mother was a quilter, too, that she has lots to show and share -- in addition to the antique and vintage quilts she and her friend Pat Saft collect.
Seeing all those quilts is always inspiring, and it made me realize that I could start collecting quilts in some of those classic patterns that I may never get around to making my self ... and so I was browsing on ebay this wkd and found a few vintage quilts that seemed reasonably priced in particular patterns.
This one is a Double Wedding Ring Quilt, The eBay listing said it was from the 1930s, but I suspect it's more like 1990s instead. It's hand-quilted (something else I'm not likely to do myself, so if I want one, I have to buy it). I really liked that striped fabric in the rings, and the reds. It made me think of my mom and Christmas. It makes me happy!
A few years ago, I volunteered to finish a double wedding ring quiltlet that my Aunt Rosita was making for her grand-daughter's wedding, but she died before she could finish it. She already had the pieces cut out and many of the blocks constructed. All I had to do was put it together and finish it. It wasn't so bad, really -- I'm glad I did it, but I do not relish the thought of cutting out all those pieces to make one of my own -- even though I got her GoCut die cut machine to make it easier.
The Spruce offers instructions for cleaning and caring for vintage quilts.
Simple Simon & Company explain how to wash a vintage quilt.
Lesson Learned: Here's why I think it's NOT 1930s, but much younger ... so buyer beware out there in the collectible quilt market. Listings may not be accurate. I should have guessed by the price!
When it arrived, it was clean, but well-used (loved?). The fabrics felt thin and flimsy, not like the older sturdier antique fabrics I'm familiar with. They did not seem to be worn in the way that certain dyes eat away at fabrics. There were several places with rips and tears where you could peer inside and see the batting, which looked more like polyester than wool or cotton to me. So I did a burn test ...
Yes, it looks like polyester due to the black bead / melting action.
Then I googled to find out when polyester batts came into use, knowing that a true 1930's quilt would have used a flannel sheet, wool, or cotton, which needs to be quilted closer together than this one was. Turns out, they started using polyester batts in the 1950s ("Better living though chemistry ...") when the plastics industry started to take off.
It's hand quilted, but the stitches are much farther apart than I would have expected for a 1930s quilt. Again, the polyester batt would have allowed for wider spaces between quilting motifs. Someone did the hand-stitching, and I'm grateful for that!
Here's a good reference page to help discern if a quilt is older or newer:
Real or Repro: Separating Traditional from Imported Quilts
Don't get me wrong: I still like this quilt--That's why I purchased it, but knowing that it's not an authentic 1930s wedding ring quilt made with better quality or even period fabrics, I may just repair the rips and tears in a more practical way (on the machine), rather than hand-stitching everything shut.
Chalk it up to a Lesson Learned.
I DO love this pattern!
1 comment:
I know a guy who is very knowledgeable about dating quilts and often picks up great buys on e-bay because so many of the sellers don't know what they have. They are often dated wrong. I'd say just the colorway on this one really does scream 90's at least and I may have that red fabric in my stash - lol. No self-respecting 30's wedding ring quilt would be made from these colors. I couldn't remember when poly batts became available, was thinking the 60's so was a little surprised that it was actually 1950's. I think you are right about everything you suspect about this quilt and that you don't need to be extra careful about the way you mend it. Just looks like a lovely quilt you can use since making your own is not on your list of quilts to make. I understand! I bought an antique Lone Star quilt years ago because I so adore them but figured I'd never make one myself. And then I go and make one for my nephew when he got married - lol. Probably won't do that again so am still glad I bought that antique one.
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