British Quilt Study Group - Gallery

Embroidered Flowers in Checkerboard

53" X 53" (136cm X 136cm)

Private Collection

April?s quilt is a checkerboard of flowers embroidered on cream fabric alternating with pale green fabric. There are 25 different flowers competently embroidered on 7.5? cream squares. The flowers and leaves are created in block colours using a long and short stitch as well as satin stitch creating fine petals and leaves. A pale green fabric enhances the floral theme. Each floral block is hand quilted with diagonal lines approximately ½? apart. The 24 green blocks are hand quilted with the same motif, four circular flowers with petals and leaves. No other information is available about this quilt, other than it is from the USA. Was this a monthly subscription from transfer patterns of the flowers?

What is more curious is that this quilt has been at some point in its life much larger. The tiny striped outer edge, alternating green and white fabric with a blue in the corners, is not a binding. The quilt has been cut, through all three layers, as it reveals a border has been removed. A machine stitch is visible around this ?border? to secure the hand quilting. Who cut it, when did they cut it and why? Answers, if we knew, would add to the story of the quilt. Maybe the outer border was damaged, and it was cut to preserve the embroidery.

Cutting up antique quilts is a hot topic now, with fashion designers as well as today?s quilters cutting up older quilts to create coats, skirts, and other accessories as seen on the catwalk and attendees of quilt shows. Should a quilt that may be destined for the charity shop be repurposed and given a new life? The debate will continue.

Any more information about the embroidery patterns would be appreciated - please contact

UPDATE

Thanks to a quilter is the US, this pattern has been identified as a Ruby Short McKim pattern. Ruby was a top quilt designer in the USA during the 1920's and 1930's.

The Flower Garden Quilt pattern was published in 1929-1930. It is designed with a picket fence for the border. This may be what has been cut off.

More information about Ruby and her quilting can be found here.

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Dorothy Hill

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