CARPENTER'S WHEEL
Unknown Quilt Maker
Collected in Colorado; Origin unknown
68 x 84 inches
Circa 1880
Cottons
Simply Put: A Triumph!
This 19th century quilt maker truly understood how to use color and fabric.
Check out the floral fabric she chose for the sashing;
how many people would envision that working? But, it does!
By consistently placing the golden butterscotch print
as an inner "ring" ~ and repeating the pink and green corners,
she makes a gorgeous, coherent whole out of so many different prints.
In addition to her superb design skills, she was excellent as a piecer.
Her measuring, cutting, and sewing are exceptionally precise.
So the quilt is very square and flat,
and has either no batting or a very thin one.
In Excellent Condition.
The only apology is that there is some color migration on the back:
one of the madder dyes in the striped printed back fabric
has migrated onto the white. No seeping to the front, though!
This lovely "Carpenter's Square" is machine quilted ~
quite unusual for an early quilt.
The quilter did a great job of it with very straight double lines.
A Beauty.
Price: $1,150
(click on photos for larger images)
Labels: featured quilt 7/23/14, off 9/5/14