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"Confederate Quilts"
Linsey nine-patch quiltDid people refer to home-woven linsey quiltsas Confederate Quilts?Regina Brant 1840This is one of the few home-woven, wool/cotton fabric quilts I've seen with a date on it. The...
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Starsin a Time Warp 7: Madder-Style Prints
Reproduction star in madder-style prints by Becky BrownVintage quilt about 1870Many madder stars set in chrome-yellow sashing. Quilt from the Holstein collection of the International Quilt Study Center...
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Rachel Littler Bodley and a Patchwork Mystery
Rachel Littler Bodley (1831-1888)This carte-de-visite (CDV) photograph of a young woman has been described as a woman wearing a Balmoral skirt.Peterson’s Magazine 1861 Balmoral skirt:a striped or plaid...
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The Poem on the Anti-Slavery Cradle Quilt
The cradle quilt attributed to Lydia Maria Child is on the cover ofMary Babson Fuhrer's recent book A Crisis of Community,a good image for a study of a New England town.Read a post about this...
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Stars in a Time Warp 8: Indigo Blue
Becky Brown reproduction blockVintage indigo print from early 19th centuryThe figure is slightly blue in this print with a background we might call navy blue.Detail of a quilt date-inscribed 1833 by...
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Symbolism in an Abolition Quilt
Detail of a British wool quilt, perhaps madeby a recovering soldier in the 1850s.How many stitches per square?Historians caution that we often read symbolism in old artifacts that was not intended by...
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Stars in a Time Warp 9: Chrome Yellow
Reproduction star block by Becky BrownReproduction star block by Becky BrownChrome yellow is lemon-colored, an intense yellow with a slight greenish cast. Vintage block, mid 19th centuryHere's a copy...
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Palmyra Mitchell's Patchwork Flag
Calico Flag by Linda Frost, 199718-1/2" x 31"Linda made this flag as a sample for my 1997 bookQuilts from the Civil War. Co-author Terry Thompson and I had found a fragileold calico flag in the Weston...
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Stars in a Time Warp 10: Green Calicoes
Vintage block about 1900Green calicoes in these small ditsy prints were dyed in the same fashion as the overdyed green solids discussed in this...
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A New Jersey "Union" Quilt
Applique Union quilt, attributed to 1858-1860I recently bid on this unusual patriotic quilt in an online auction (and lost.) I was intrigued by the pattern, a repeat of five appliqued star blocks.And...
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Catherine Fisher's 1862 Quilt
Detail of a new acquisition in the collection ofBoston's Museum of Fine Art#2013.74See the whole quilt at their website by clicking...
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Stars in a Time Warp 11: Purple
Reproduction block by Bettina HavigVintage block from the last half of the 19th-century. Mary Barton collection.Picture from the Quilt Index.Reproduction block by Becky BrownVintage quilt,...
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Becky's Spiky Set for Threads of Memory
Becky's finished top in line for hand quiltingShe says that probably is not going to happen, however. She can piece a lot more tops than she can quilt. The quilt in the frame has been there for 20...
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Quilt Causing A Crisis of Community
A Crisis of Community: Trials and Transformation of a New England Town, 1815-1848,  is based on the extensive diaries of Mary White of Boylston, Massachusetts. Author Mary Babson Fuhrer does an...
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Stars in a Time Warp 12: Foulards
Star by Becky BrownA foulard print in the center square and red points contrasted with a tossed floral.Rather than focusing on color and dyes for a while we'll look at print style. Foulard-style prints...
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Quilts at the Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair
Women at the fundraising fair in St. Louis in 1864Stereo photograph by J.A. ScholtenThe Missouri Historical Museum has a vivid set of stereocards photographed by J.A. Scholten at the 1864 Mississippi...
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Stars in a Time Warp 4: Chrome Orange or Cheddar
Becky BrownReproduction block with Chrome orange plain and chrome yellow printVintage mid-19th century appliqueChrome orange is a color familiar to every collector of antique quilts.Vintage quilt about...
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Stars in a Time Warp 13: Printed Plaids
Printed plaid reproduction block by Becky BrownPrinted plaid repro star on a woven gingham plaidby Bettina HavigVintage top from 1840-1860We don't often notice printed plaids because they are usually...
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Library of Congress Acquires CW Photo Collection: Good News & Bad
Enslaved women about 1861, detail.Photo from the Robin Stanford collection, Library of CongressThe Library of Congress has recently acquired a collection of Civil War photos from collector Robin G....
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Stars in a Time Warp: 14 Rainbow or Ombre Prints
Reproduction star by Becky Brownusing a 20-year-old ombre print by Pilgrim & Roy.Monument to Major Ringgold from a vintage Baltimore albumMany of today's quilters are familiar with rainbow, ombre...
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