1930 Improv Quilt

Check out this antique quilt I saw in a vendor's booth at the AQS show in Paducah:

1930 Improv Quilt

The seller is not a quilter but deals in antiques. She described this as a child's quilt, about 4 by 6 feet, and well used. She acquired it as part of a collection from Illinois, but she has no idea where it originated or who made it.

1930 Improv Quilt

The fabrics in it date from the 1890s, including indigos, calicos, plaids & checks, and feed sack prints. Because the "newest" fabric in it is from 1929, the dealer dates this quilt at 1930. She says there are no 1930's fabrics in it.

1930 Improv Quilt, detail

It appears to be constructed in improv blocks and rows, starting from the center. The edges are finished with unmatched borders.

Center of 1930 Improv Quilt

 

The photos don't do it justice - it looked much more Modern in person than in these photos.  

Block Detail

 

Block Detail

 

If you look again at the top photo, you can see that the top and bottom fourths seem to have been created later than the center. There are fabrics used in these sections and in the borders that don't appear in the center, and the overall colors are darker and include more greens and yellows. I wish I knew the story behind that!

 

This quilt was priced at $3500.00. Wa-a-ay out of my reach! If I could afford it, I would buy it, pattern it, and publish it.  Wouldn't this make a great modern improv block of the month!

There are so many fabric lines available now to recreate this look, including some of Denise Schmidt's prints, 30's Playtime from Moda, Nana's Pantry by Connecting Threads, and ABC 123 by American Jane.  

 

 Linking up today with Really Random Thursday over at Live a Colorful Life.