Today I’m pulling a quilt from the quilt top cupboard. It’s hard to put an accurate date on it, because the fabrics are all solids. The cheddar and Turkey red, along with the weave of the cream makes me feel that this quilt dates to around 1860-1880?
I’m told that the cheddar wouldn’t have been called that back then. It may have been called sweet potato? The cheddar cheese we know today has dye added to it. Back then they didn’t add it, so cheddar would have been a creamy white.
The quilt has been tied in a very evenly spaced grid. It’s tied with two strands of Perle cotton. One green and one cream.
It has a thick cotton batting and the ties give it a tufted look?
I think this would have been difficult to quilt because of the batting..but I have considered removing a tie or two..to see if I could quilt it? I don’t know if there would be holes where the ties were..or if they would close up? I just like a quilted quilt better than tied…and think they are more durable? 
This is the pieced block.
In this pic you may be able to see that the squares in the corners of the alternate blocks have been machine stitched on top? (The two squares in the center of this strip of piecing) This was common in older Double Irish Chains. They added the square on top rather than cutting the fabrics in the alternate block to piece in the cheddar square.
The backing has been brought around to the front and stitched down to serve as binding. This was a common practice in older quilts.
I bought this quilt at an estate sale. It was the end of the sale and nobody had shown any interest in it I was told? It had an appraisal dated 1990 with it that said it was valued at $150 at that time. I happily paid the $30 they had marked it down to!
EDIT: Forgot to add that this quilt doesn’t appear to have been used? The fabrics are crisp like they are fresh from the bolt.
Thank you Joan, for calling that to my attention.
Tags: antique quilt, Cheddar and Turkey red, Double Irish Chain, pieced quilt
Wow! I don’t recall ever seeing one tied quite so densely. It really makes a nice grid. This quilt looks like it’s still in great shape and photographs beautifully!
Merry Christmas, Ann!
I also prefer quilted to tied but this is a gorgeous quilt! Funny, we think all of our white showing in our quilts today is so modern…… Thank you for rescuing these quilts!
This is a beautiful quilt! Have you found a cheddar that is close to what it used to be in today’s cottons? I wonder if it is time to make a cheddar quilt for myself : )
I have found that Kona makes a color very close to the cheddar. It’s called Papaya.
The red and cheddar look fantastic together. I have always been skeptical about the ability to rescue a tied quilt top from it’s backing. My sister had an old quilt made by her husband’s grandmother and she tried to remove it, but the big needle used to make the ties had broken some of the threads. It seems to me that this one might be a good candidate for removable because the quilter used pearl cotton (instead of a thick yarn) and the fabric has never been used.
The red and cheddar look fantastic together. I have always been skeptical about the ability to rescue a tied quilt top from it’s backing. My sister had an old quilt made by her husband’s grandmother and she tried to remove it, but the big needle used to make the ties had broken some of the threads. It seems to me that this one might be a good candidate for removal since the quilter used pearl cotton (instead of a thick yarn) and the fabric has never been used or washed.
Old timers soaked grated carrots in milk to add to butter for color. Wonder if they did the same for cheese. Thanks for the tip about Papaya. I’ve been longing to try something with that color. You could try removing a tie in the corner to see if it left a hole. Quilts with white and light colors were generally reserved for guests to sleep under. Lovely quilt. Thank you for sharing.
Wow, another winner, Ann! I don’t think I could pick a favorite from all the quilts you’ve shared from your cupboard. I also prefer quilted to tied, but somehow I find these ties to suit this quilt, and the fact that they are so meticulously spaced gives a beautiful result. I agree that quilting lasts longer, as my earlier tied quilts which have gotten regular use all need repair b/c the ties just don’t protect the stitched seams from pulling apart. You’ll have to let us know if you decide to remove the ties.
Thanks once again!
The red & cheddar quilt is a very graphic design!