Newly Aquired but soon to be discarded Quilt

12/3/2008 2:00 PM

Quilt: Pieced and appliqué.

This quilt is a piece that has actually been donated and added to the discard pile recently at ISF.

Beautiful repeat pattern of suns- - I saw several other examples in the quilt data base called "Compass Stars" or "Sunburst" that were similar but in looking through New York and 19th century quilts I didn't find any that I could tell had these intricate pieced circles.

This quilt is composed of many fabrics of bright colors and complex printed fabrics. It must be later than 1856 because the color range is so bright and varied. Looks to be machine printed.

The primary fabric is cotton.

The construction of the quilt is amazing. There are seven repeated circles upon the width and eight along the length.

Initially I thought each circle may have been cut from the cloth which surrounds it with the sun and diamond rays applique on top. In looking at, it is very hard to imagine that circles were cut them the strips that surround it were affixed to match it. On closer inspection you can see that each diamond and triangle in the quilt is actually an individual but and hand sown.

There are some small oval shapes from the many different types of cloth that had been used and they reverse appliqué.

This must have been a well loved well used quilt. The cotton had at one time been white but it has yellowed almost to a light Brown. The ends where it has been hemmed with Fabric have begun to wear and expose the white underneath.

Such extensive sewing may have been shared by a group, but there is so much consistent in the sewing, the shapes and the patterns that it leads me to believe that one person must have sewn this quilt.

The circles are generally 10 inches across but some are a bit smaller in diameter.

So this whole thing is an appliqué quilt and then pieced together.

I have spent a long time on The New York Beauties Wiki looking for a similar pieced quilt. While I can’t really find a matching pattern, I do see that is impressive as this one is it pails to some others!