athenagwis

My grandmother gave me this Grandmother's Garden 10 years ago, and I can't remember if she said she started it or her mother or sister did. I am not sure what date these fabrics are from as I figured knowing that will give me a clue as to who started it. I know if has been around much longer than 10 years, possibly from the 50's or 60's or maybe even older? Your help would be greatly appreciated!

Here are a few close ups, but you can visit my flickr stream to see the rest of the pics I took: Flickr Stream









Thanks in advance for all your help!

And yes I do plan on finishing this some day, I have pics in the stream of all the unfinished pieces that she left behind! Not sure if I could get a big quilt, but I am sure I can get something!

Rachel

kathyd

I can't help with the date, but I love the fabrics. It is such a cheerful quilt. Good luck with finishing it. Post pics when and if you do.

Up North

It looks like feed sacks I have some of that fabric in some Dresden plates I received so it is probably 40's or 50's

Ninnie

more like the 40's , some of those are feed sacks for sure. They are beautiful!

janRN

Rachel: I can't help with the fabics but maybe when it was made. Are all the hexagons made individually-that is with back, batting and top sewn together, turned inside out, side closed, then each one is a hexagon and then sewn to other hexagons? (Too long of a sentence and clear as mud right?) My very first quilt was made like that and the pattern was in Better Homes and Gardens from around 1975 or so that my mom had saved. It kinda looks like they're individual--just interested if anyone else made this pattern.
How stupid was I to make 1000 hexagons for a first quilt? Some of them are pretty wonky-I got very bored but I finished it.
Good luck finding the fabric info and finishing it-it's beautiful.
Jan

athenagwis

No they are like a regular grandmother's garden with pieces of paper cut up to make the hexies and the fabric folded around that. The fabric and stuff is in a box that is for "Harvard Squares" from the James O. Welch Co. Which I guess was started in 1925 and bought out in 1963. Of course the box could have been (and probably was) added later, but unless someone held on to the box for 10 years before putting the fabric in it, it must be at least prior to 1963ish.

Okay I just did a little more hunting, the hexies have some that were made with newspaper (or magazine), so I pulled some of those out from the middle hexs and looked for clues. One was an article on farming, and the latest date I could find was 1950. It also had a date of 1948 and 1944. These dates were in the article though and of course I couldn't read much of it, but assuming that they weren't talking about future things (the 1950 one looked like an ad, so it was probably a very current date for this magazine), then it looks like the quilt was put together in 1950, which just means the fabric isn't past that, but of course could be older (how many of you have fabric older than 10 or 20 years!) But at least I know that at the very least it's 1950.

I'd love to hear more opinions, but I think 40's sounds reasonable (Anyone think possibly 30's?)

Thanks everyone!! I'll post some pics of the magazine hexies papers, they are pretty neat. :)

Rachel

mrspete

Oh I love it! A couple of these fabrics are in the pieces I recently acquired. So the dates, help me! Thanks everyone. Ruth

mrspete

ok, I went to flicker and I have a question. I am assuming that the white in the background is the base and these lovely flowers are appliqued on top, are there others on top as well, like overlapped? Or are they just laying on top? It is the most gorgeous quilt I've ever seen. What a treasure!

mrspete

.........and, do you leave the paper inside the hexagon? I am facinated

littlehud

I can't help with dating it but those are sure beautiful. A family heirloom.