Old and New Comparison

A friend sold me this antique crib quilt many years ago and I tried to recreate it Long Before we had what we know as Reproduction Fabrics today!  There definitely were "fabrics that looked old" to me so I used them.....it was before Jan 1994 that I made this quilt.  The c.1830 quilt is a "cutdown" but not obvious at first. The chintz binding is on 3 sides and the top edge is folded and stitched down which is a combination we've seen many times in antique quilts we've documented here in Maine.  The first "cutdown" clue was that the chevron quilting lines in the center of the quilt did not always line up correctly.  Second clue was the very finely stitched center seam down the back of the quilt that was so well done, it was not noticed for a while!  I love to wonder why this was done.........was the quilt damaged along one side and the crib quilt salvaged from it?  The Cutdown was done a very long time ago.  It was a wonderful quilt when it was whole with its chintz border.....I've been told that the original color of the chintz print was in shades of rose. The handquilting is wonderful. I wonder if all the Flying Geese were of different prints as are the ones in these two strips.

 The following photos are from my copy of the quilt, using a few early Jinny Beyer prints and I see some from Judie Rothermel and I think from Jeff Gutcheon.  I used muslin for the background because probably a tan muslin was not yet known to me.  Maybe I ought to overdye with Rit tan to age it....we'll see.  I remember ordering the border fabric prior to Jan 1994 while my shop was still at my mother's house about 7 miles up the road.  I used the front 2 rooms of her cape for 3 years and then she told me I had to build a building as I was beginning to encroach on her living space!  I was so excited as it was the first fabric that I had found that looked, to me, like an antique chintz.  Sure am glad that situation has changed over the years!! The colors in the "chintz" closeup photo are pretty true to the original.  I enjoy making copies of old quilts.........my friend has another quilt that I copied........a late 19th century center medallion that we have hung together in shows.......that will be for another day!