My friend Luanne let me borrow this incredible family quilt, and I am so grateful she did! This amazing old quilt is made around or before 1842--1842!!! That is unreal and means it is at least 182 years old! Whoa.
So, how do we know this? Well, there is a NOTE with the quilt! A note! How cool is that?
Here is the content of that note, with personal information redacted to protect my friend's privacy:
Isn't it wonderful that we have so much information about this quilt?
Other than this useful information, here is more details about this quilt:
This quilt was made completely by hand (obviously, because of the age). It measures 91" x 91" and includes 16 Mariners Compass blocks. Each unit (or circular block) measures 13" in diameter and was appliquéd onto strips. The strips were then put together into rows. After that, this quilt was sandwiched together and hand quilted.
This quilt has a saw-tooth border. The edges are not not the same, which I personally love.
There is one "odd" block in this quilt that has different fabrics. It is placed in the bottom right corner of the block, or at least I think it is the bottom right corner, considering my theory on the damage to the top of this quilt (more on that in a moment).
The batting is a light-weight cotton, I believe. It probably has been compressed over the years making it seem thinner than it was initially. This is just my assessment. I do this for fun and do not have any formal training, so I am not sure.
Along with this quilt is a pillow cover! What a great surprise! It has a different background and is quite worn.
Condition of the Quilt:
There are some holes and places that could be repaired, but I am recommending this quilt is appraised before it is repaired. There are also significant holes at what I believe is the top of this quilt. It appears that this quilt was hanging because these holes are consistent with each other and are spaced in such a way that they could have supported it while being hung. Unfortunately, I am not sure if this could be repaired or not, but again, it needs to be appraised first and foremost.
For more information about this quilt, check out my video:
Video Link Coming Soon!