Thursday, January 2, 2014

Does Anyone Know the Name of this Applique Quilt?

As family historian, I have taken on the task of properly labeling the antique quilts in my husband's family.  This one was made by his great great grandmother, Anna Alice Hite Dunn, 1862-1921.  I'm guessing it was made around 1900, but I have no idea what the pattern is called.  I would really like to find out the name of the pattern, if one exists, so I could add it to the label I'm making for the quilt.


The red and yellow motifs are appliqued on the muslin; however, the red border and the nine-patch corners are pieced.


The red eight-pointed star appliques are made from a single piece of red fabric, as are all the other appliqued pieces.  All applique was sewn with white thread, with tiny, but visible, stitches.


The muslin on the back matches the muslin on the front, and it is heavily quilted in white thread, which is probably why it is in such good shape for a quilt that obviously got used.   I would say Great Great Grandma Dunn was an excellent quilter; her stitches are tiny - there are no "toe-catchers" on this quilt.


If anyone knows the name of this quilt pattern, please either email me or leave a comment.  Thanks for all your help!

4 comments:

ConnieB/CA said...

I would hazard that the yellow was originally green. I looked through "Red and Green" by Jeana Kimball and couldn't find anything exactly like this one. The smaller bits look like rosebuds, the larger, if green, could be leaves, looks somewhat like an oak reel quilt block with rose buds.

margaret said...

sorry I cannot help Susan but I can admire the quilt and how well it has lasted. It must be lovely to have so many quilts from long ago

Anonymous said...

I looked through my copy of Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Applique and the closest I found would have been a Oakleaf and Acorn design. Her color choices of red and I would also guess the yellow used to be green, are more in keeping with a leaf and rosebud applique. There isn't a lot of difference between rosebuds and acorns! I noticed that most of the applique designs in Barbara's book are unnamed, so you should feel very comfortable naming it yourself. You know who made it, and it seems kind of unique. I would name it Grandmother Dunn's Leaf and Bud quilt. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Barb said...

What a lovely quilt.... I wish I could help you