Today the top I’m pulling from the quilt top cupboard is a pink and cream Snowball. It dates to the 1930’s-1940’s. I bought this at a local garage sale for $6.
This is a two color quilt that has been machine pieced. The fabrics are polished cotton, which is just beautiful once quilted. The main body of this top was put together when I purchased this top, but there were extra pieces cut, along with yardage of the pink print. I pieced 9 blocks and added them along the left hand side, then added the border.
The maker of this top made her seams a bit wider than 1/4″, making this a challenge to piece the blocks so they matched. Maybe she used her presser foot as her sewing guide?
This top has some very light age spots in the cream fabric which I feel will soak out. I intend to hand quilt this.
The templates that came with this quilt are amazing to me. They are cut from a fairly thick sheet of brass. Someone was supportive of this quilter of yesteryear! It was very common to make templates from the cardboard of food packaging, but these templates are like the Rolls Royce of templates. I have never seen anything like them. I wonder how they were cut so smoothly..and by whom?
Tags: brass templates, pieced quilt, Snowball quilt, two color quilt
Ann these are two beautiful quilts, I love the cheddar one, just stunning and the pattern in this one is really cool. Im not a big pink person but the quilt is beautiful and I cant wait to see it finished. The brass templates are really neat, bet they were machine cut, someones DH or brother loved them dearly to take the time to make these. What a fantastic find. Where did you come across this one?
Thanks for continuing to share your quilt treasures
Thanks!
I edited my post to say I got this at a local garage sale for $6. It was a fantastic find and I was thrilled to get it.
I’m not a pink person either, but this is very pretty.
Ann, another beauty and a great find for $6.00.
Pretty quilt top! Such nice work- it makes you wonder why a talented piecer did not see it to the end! Love the templates, too. thanks for sharing a glimpse of those, too!
Wow — another great find (for an amazing price) and the templates to boot. I always wonder at the stories behind the project. Someone went to a lot of time and trouble, but never finished it. Even kept it with the extra fabric, pieces, and template. Well, it’s not like I don’t have some unfinished quilt tops in my closet….
Thank you, Ann, for sharing another wonderful quilt top. This reminds me of the Hearts & Gizzards pattern which I have always loved in pink and white. I can see how the wide seams would make it difficult to piece the extra blocks, but I guess it’s better than having really narrow seams (which I have seen a few times). Once again, the piecing in very precise which is important in these 2-color quilts. How wonderful to have the extra fabric to finish the top, and those templates — they are amazing. Six dollars?? — I am so envious!
What a lucky find for $6. Especially with those brass templates.
Wow, those templates are pretty amazing. You’re right, that’s some serious support for the quilter!
lovely pink and white (muslin).
Your blocks look as though they have always been there.
barb
Ann, I love this quilt! I ‘am’ a pink person, so I totally love the colors….but the brass templates are just amazing, aren’t they? I too, wonder why the quilt was not finished, could be a sad story behind it, or just not enough time to finish all the quilts this lady had started….we can all relate, I’m sure. You did a beautiful job of finishing this quilt top, esp w/ the unusual seam allowance you had to duplicate. Thanks for once again offering a really beautiful quilt along w/ a background story.
What an amazing quilt! The templates are pretty special too…bet they are very accurate!
What a bargain. The brass templates are the bees knees, I love them. I can appreciate the piecing on this one, particularly with the seams being so big.
What stories these quilts have to tell. I’d love to know the story behind the templates…
Ann, would love to know the size of the quilt and the blocks as well. Would make it easier for us to copy!!
Love it. I’m on a no-white/muslin diet this calendar year. Maybe next year. Or I will do pink and cheddar. Yum.
I want to “shop” with YOU!!! What an amazing cupboard FULL of inspiration you collect!!! I LOVE looking at these beauties and seeing the new breath of life you have given each one. : ) Thanks for sharing with us, Ann.
Such a pretty quilt, I am surprised the owner never finished it… she certainly put a lot of work into it…
Those templates made me smile! I too wonder about the supportive husband making these templates…..they must have made a darn good team!