New Quilts from Old

Doll quilts from the past were often plain and simple, constructed from easy blocks. Don't you love seeing photos of antique doll quilts? Sometimes I get to see real ones up close. Because they're so simple they're not too difficult to reproduce. A few of the quilts in my book  Small & Scrappy  were inspired by antique doll quilts.

This Flying Geese doll quilt, for example.

A few years ago I taught a workshop and met Chris L. who brought a few of her doll quilts to share with me. I took a photo of one and saved it, knowing I was going to reproduce it one day. Chris came upon my new book recently and e-mailed me so I asked her to send some photos of the original doll quilt that inspired me a few years ago -

Like the cute conversation print label I "slapped" on the back of my little Flying Geese quilt? I say slapped because it was difficult enough to finish all of the quilts on a short deadline, much less sew intricate labels on all of them. Sometimes, when I'm in a hurry,  I just press a piece of fabric that's been backed with fusible web onto the back of a quilt and sign it. I always tell myself someday I'll do better  : ) 

Here's another quilt from the book that was based on an antique doll quilt I purchased (bottom) - 

Actually, I bought it thinking it was a real antique doll quilt but it appears to be a block from a larger cutter quilt  that was made into a doll quilt. Oh well, still cute. And inspirational enough that I knew I wanted to reproduce it with new fabrics. 

My Honeybee quilt was inspired by yet another antique doll quilt. 

I changed the colors and gave mine a little more of a scrappy feel with many different reproduction prints.

Once, years ago, at a different workshop, I met Tricia whose passion was making quilts from leftover vintage or antique quilt blocks. No reason you can't make simple doll quilts from these blocks. Another great idea.

I have a stack of old hand-pieced blocks with plans to become a simple doll quilt one day.

Still in the UFO pile after five years . . . . Too many other things to work on.

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Get ready, Quilters! The next clue for my Welcome Home Mystery quilt will be posted in the Files section of my Facebook and Yahoo  groups on Saturday, April 1. No foolin'. Hope you're keeping up.