The quilt I’m pulling from the quilt top cupboard today is one of my favorites. It’s a Railroad Crossing top. It’s not a common pattern. It dates to 1860-1880. This top contains shirting, reds, madder prints, mourning prints, pale aqua, and one of my favorites..cheddar. The quilt top is hand pieced with nice tight stitches. The fabrics in this top are crisp and unwashed. It does have a couple of small spots, which I think will wash out? They don’t concern me and I display it as is.
As usual..the wind was picking up as I was trying to take pics. The top is flat and square I promise! The dark border you see at the outer edge has mitered corners and I think the maker intended this to be the binding?
The block is pieced with the cheddar running across it forming an X. The blocks were then sashed with the cheddar as well. The blocks are 9.5″ finished.
The outer corners of each block has a shirting print and the same print is used as corner stones. This use of the same fabric throughout forms a small churn dash where the blocks meet.
Here you can see where the tiniest of pieces were sewn together to form a piece of fabric big enough to cut the piece needed for the patchwork. This was a common practice and is affectionately known as a “poverty patch.” I always like to point them out, because I just love them!
Here is another example of a poverty patch. As you can see, a small 1/4″ strip was sewn to the edges of the block to make it the right size. This is the only block like this and makes me wonder if the maker cut a few pieces too small..and then added the red..or did she only have scrap bits and this was the only way to piece this portion? Oddly enough, it is placed right at the center of the quilt rather than in a corner or edge where it wouldn’t be as noticeable.
Most of the blocks have high contrast in the piecing..but not this one. Did the maker run out of lights/shirtings? When I see an odd block like this one it always makes me wonder…”why”? On the right hand side of the quilt, four rows down and second from the edge, there’s a block that’s mostly light. If the maker had switched her fabrics a bit..these two blocks would be more like the others. A common term for a block that’s different from the rest is a “renegade block”. I always like those too!
Here you see more poverty patches in the aqua, and one of the two small spots on the top. I suppose I could put a little spot lifter on and rinse with water..I just haven’t bothered.
Here you can see a couple of the mourning prints and a gorgeous madder print. Madder dyes produced a wonderful copper brown that always looks so warm and rich.
Mourning prints got their name from the fashions of the day. Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert died in 1861. She went into a state of mourning and dressed in black, later followed by very dark prints such as black with some white, dark grays, dark purples, etc. Women at that time in history wore clothing made from those same sort of fabrics.
Here you can see how I display this top. I may quilt this beauty some day, but for now I enjoy it as is.
*Note: I have added pics of the antique fabrics to my Flickr album so anyone interested in seeing a larger pic of the fabrics can click to enlarge. There’s an extra large option there too.
Tags: cheddar, madder print, mourning print, poverty patch, Railroad Crossing quilt, shirting
Wow! Think the maker liked cheddar? A wonderful antique quilt.
Wow, Ann, this quilt looks just beautiful in your home! When you point out some of the little ‘oddities’ such as the added 1/4″ strips of red, or the low contrast blocks, don’t you wish you could go back in time and ask the maker why she did it? If there weren’t two of these low contrast blocks, you might think she did it intentionally, like the way some quilters used to turn a block the wrong direction for luck? I was so surprised to find out that ‘poverty patches’ had a name….after I made my first reproduction quilt in a simple pattern using cherished scraps I had picked up in grab bags from my quilt shop. I pieced small bits in order to make some of my blocks, too, so none of the beautiful prints would be wasted. Here I thought I was being creative, when this practice has been around for centuries!
Thanks for another wonderful quilt!
Just gorgeous! All of that cheddar!
what a beauty! Just imagine how this would light up a room in winter. Do you know where this was made?
This is just spectacular. I love all of our modern quilts peiced mostly from our excess of fabric and then I feel rather chagrined when I see a peice like this.
What a great post. Love this quilt, wish it was clickable to make the quilt larger to really study the fabrics.
Yes I love when the quilt makes me wonder, think about the quilt maker and wonder why did she do that?
so many antique quilts I have see there are pieced background pieces of the appliqué blocks or the pieced blocks just to get the size they needed an not waste any of their precious fabrics.
now we just go buy more!
Love how when they run out of a red, they just start using another red,not today, we would be searching all over the internet looking for that exact red!
Yes we LOVE these antique quilts and don’t think twice about their fabric using methods!
once again thanks for sharing another one of your antique quilts.
I look forward to your posts
Kathie
Each week I think I’ve seen my favorite of your quilts. Again this week, I think I’ve seen my favorite.
This one is spectacular with all of that cheddar!
Ann they are all so beautiful. I love cheddar too but darn its a hard colour to find. You have a beautiful collection of quilts, just blows me away. Im so glad you love them like you do and care for them. they need to be loved
the more cheddar, the more better –
thanks for sharing this great quilt.
That is a wonderful quilt! And I love the pattern. Another quilt top of yours that would be so fun to recreate (either copying the colors/fabrics of the time or updating with modern fabrics! It looks great on display!
Gaye..this quilt top came from Indiana. That’s the only info I have.
Kathie..I’ve added pics of the fabrics to my Flickr album so anyone interested in seeing the fabric better can click to enlarge. I didn’t know how to do that here. There’s a link on my front page.
I love how the older quilt makers “made do”..we are so lucky now! It did make some quilts more interesting though?
Wow — another spectacular quilt, and I agree with everyone else — that cheddar makes such a bold and graphic statement on the quilt, and it looks wonderful on your wall. I would like to try the railroad pattern. I can’t remember…does it usually have that tiny corner triangle or did she add that? I do love how it formed the tiny Churn Dash. You know, I often resort to using a pieced piece or poverty patch — when you’re sewing with vintage quilt pieces, you pretty much have to. It doesn’t bother me at all — in fact, I think it gives the quilt character. I know I have a good article somewhere about poverty patches and print substitutions — techniques that most people don’t need to use anymore.
Stunning. Color and character. Charm and Sophistication. Love it. I am now subscribed to your blog!
Another beautiful quilt! It looks so good hanging as it …. a perfect quilt for fall. I’ve done some proverty patches in my own quilts and I love them too.
I head the poverty patch referred to as “frugal piecing.”
This is STUNNING!! Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful quilt collection in this way. I only just discovered your blog and have found it fascinating