Happy St. Patty’s Day!
Today I’m pulling a quilt top from the quilt top cupboard that is appropriate for the Irish celebration. It’s a Double Irish Chain pattern.
This top dates to 1930’s-1940’s. The top is hand pieced.
I think the top is a bit unusual in the way the quilter stopped the piecing at the end? Normally there is another row added so that the corners are the blocks made up of squares. I wonder if the top isn’t finished..or did the quilter stop because she had reached the size she wanted?
A Double Irish Chain is made from a block that is pieced squares alternating with a solid block that has squares at the outer corners.
In the past, the squares were added to the corners of the solid block by appliqueing it on. In this top the basting stitches that held the square in place until it could be sewn, are still in place.
Today with our more modern strip piecing the alternating square would be sewn with a square of the solid with a strip of the same color with corner pieces added. The original method leaves a block with no seaming and is easier to do a bit of nice quilting in.
This top contains “poverty patches” or fabric pieces that had to be joined in order to get the size of the piece needed for the design.
The blocks are 13″.
The blocks have been hand pieced with nice tiny stitches.
This top is in good condition and could easily be quilted and put into use. I think I would edit the top though..to make it more symmetrical? If additional size is needed..a border could be added.
I bought this one on ebay a couple of years ago.
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?
It has a thick cotton batting and the ties give it a tufted look?
