Hearing voices from the past, part II

Here's the second part of the quilt exhibit that I had the good fortune to see recently.... it's almost like listening to them talk as they are stitching, when you admire these lovely quilts.

Two gorgeous examples of Bethlehem stars.....and just look at those flying geese! That quilt was completed in 1830! With no specialty rulers, either!

More hexies!  I loved the fact that some of these quilts were faded and worn....I'd call them well-loved!

A truly massive Irish chain from 1850....all those two inch squares!

I love the scrappiness of the quilt below. Some of the stars have less contrast with their background pieces, but some of them really pop. That's using your stash!

This album quilt is dated 1852....wonder if the lady who received it from her friends was starting across the country in a wagon train? She may have covered up each night in her Conestoga, tracing the signatures of her friends as she drifted off to sleep.

You might think this one is a modern quilt at first, but it was completed in 1880. Its creator used black velvet for the central squares and colorful silks for the "logs."

Just a fragment survives from this Tumbling Blocks quilt made in the late 1800's. The family who loaned it to the exhibit says one of the squares of gold damask was from Martha Washington's wedding dress!

And the contents of this glass case made my jaw drop. Because, you see, I'm a history nerd. (Grin) Hear me out....not only are these adorable, tiny hexies....not only are they awesome examples of fussy cutting and placement of fabric.....but they still have the papers attached!!! Papers that I could read from before the War Between the States!
See that diamond shaped template? That's cut from a lady's visiting card....you know, you dropped them into the silver salver and the butler took it into the resident to see if they wanted to let you know they were at home? (Grin)
And that metal one above the white diamond? A silversmith made it for his wife to use in her quilting! 

This was so much fun to see....I hope you have enjoyed looking over my shoulder and imagining the quilting bees and stitching groups that crafted these beautiful pieces of history!

Love,