Quilt Archaeology

This post comes to you thanks to my friend The Amazing Alice who is not only crafty, but organized! Last January, I finally got around to doing a big studio clean-up. At the end of all of my hard work, I discovered that I'd accidentally thrown out a bag of vintage linens. I was especially sad to lose the cutter quilt, that I'd used as the background for Heartfelt, and the rest of the feed sack that I'd used for Seed Sower. I told my sad story to Sister Alice, and a few weeks later, she gifted me with this gorgeous cutter quilt. (Alice actually gets rid of things on purpose!)

You can see how delicate the old fabric was. In some areas it was practically falling apart in my hands. When I looked inside the openings in the fabric, I could see that there was another quilt layered under the first one. I gently removed the green floral border, and then began the process of removing the knots so that I could peel off the top of the quilt to see what was underneath.

This is the quilt that I found underneath. The first quilt top fit a double bed. The quilt underneath was the size of a single bed. I'd like to think that a young bride extended the size of the quilt when she got married.


Guess what was used to extend the quilt? Feed sacks! I was so thrilled.

After I removed the feed sacks, I got to see the original twin-sized quilt. I folded over the back so you can see the black and white floral print  fabric that was on the other side.

I can't wait to use it in a future project. In the meantime, I folded each of the pieces very neatly and put them in a clear plastic bag, so that there is no possibility that this treasure will get discarded.