A Rose by Any Other Name...

If you have been reading our blog for a while, you will know that Teri and I (Kara) have a love for all things vintage, especially quilts. Over the past few years, our collection has grown, and while most of my quilts are still in storage, that hasn't stopped me from purchasing a few more since I have been back stateside. My most recent purchase was a quilt style that I have been hoping to add to my collection—an appliqué quilt—and the Rose of Sharon block is one of my favorites. This Rose of Sharon quilt may be the closest thing to a Baltimore Album quilt that I may ever own. The pattern, sometimes called a Whig Rose, is quite old and often used in Baltimore Album quilts. Unfortunately, my current budget does not include purchasing an album quilt should one come up for sale.

I haven't had a chance to take it to my favorite appraiser, Phyllis Hatcher, but I do know a few things about it. It most likely came from North Carolina and the auction house gave a time period of the first quarter of the 20th century. I think it might be a little older than that, but I will have to wait and see. 

It is apparent in a couple of spots that the tan areas used to be green and have degraded over the course of time. There are just a few spots that show what the green looked like before it faded

I am hopeful that the red is Turkey Red and will have that confirmed when I take it to be appraised. The fabric has a similar look to a Turkey Red Snowball quilt that I already own.

It is a summer-weight quilt, and what little batting is in it has definitely shifted a bit, as you can see when it is held up to the light.

An unexpected surprise upon receiving the quilt, was the initials that were embroidered on the bottom.

We have had an interesting time trying to interpret them, but the periods after each two initials lead us to believe that maybe it was three different makers. One thought is they were all sisters with the same initials but they all three had different ways of making those initials. Of course, that is just an assumption, and we will most likely never know the story behind this quilt.

So why purchase old quilts that have very little information attached to them and are in various states of disrepair? To me, each quilt I buy is a piece of a puzzle of what quilters of the past chose to create. Every quilt has something special that spoke to me and connected me to the original maker—whether it be the pattern, materials, or technique used. Do you have any old quilts that have spoken to you? We would love to hear about them!

Rose of Sharon

In October, Kara and I (Teri) will be teaching this lovely Rose of Sharon block at our local quilt shop, Patches Quilting and Sewing, in Mt. Airy, Maryland. The class will run for three weeks, on Thursday evenings. 

Spoken Without a Word,
30th Anniversary Revised Edition

The pattern for this block is found in the book, Spoken Without a Word, by Elly Sienkiewicz, who designed this particular rendering, stitched primarily with ribbon. When Elly stitched the block, she changed the orientation, omitted the four center buds, and inked a picture of the Maryland State House within the wreath. We chose to create the block with the buds in the center, and we loved Elly's ribbon choices, so we attempted to match her selections as closely as possible. 

Elly's Rose of Sharon

Both Kara and I love this block, and evidently, many other quilters have loved it as well. I thought it might be fun to explore some of the different antique iterations I have come across and share them with you. 

About a year and a half ago, I visited the DAR Museum's exhibit, Eye on Elegance. (To see more about that visit, click here.) There were several Baltimore Album Quilts in their collection that had variations of the Rose of Sharon block. 

I love the colorful fabric choices in this one.
Made for Betsey Hobbs Harper and William Harper; Baltimore, 1848

The fussy-cut fabric in these flowers add such charm!
Made for Betsey Hobbs Harper and William Harper; Baltimore, 1848

Note the block in the center of the top row. 
I didn't get a photo of just the block, but it is quite similar to our pattern design.
Made for Betsey Hobbs Harper and William Harper; Baltimore, 1848

While this wreath has six flowers rather than four, it still appears to be related to the Rose of Sharon.
Made by Ruth Pettit Penn; Baltimore, about 1850

The four vases in the middle of the quilt are surrounded by Rose of Sharon wreaths.
Three of them have four flowers, like our pattern. Can you find them?
Made by Ruth Pettit Penn; Baltimore, about 1850

You may remember that I noted a number of Rose of Sharon blocks in the quilts that we saw at Lovely Lane this past spring. (To see the full quilts from that visit, click here.) Note how many variations there are. Isn't it interesting that these quilts were all made in Baltimore at about the same time? I'm sure neighboring quilters shared inspiration and patterns—just as we do today!

Reverend Lipscomb Quilt, 1846-47

The following five Rose of Sharon blocks are all in the Baltimore Album Quilt made for Reverend Best in 1847-48. While similar, none are identical.

 

Shared with permission from Sharon's Antiques.

While surfing the web, I found this Rose of Sharon quilt on a vintage fabric and quilt site, Sharon's Antiques. The block is recognizable, but rather than being part of an album quilt, the entire quilt is composed of twelve of these blocks. The vine border is made up of elements of the wreath, with alternating flowers and buds. The quilt is from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and is dated mid-1800s. 

Permission was kindly granted to allow me to share this quilt with you. Please take a moment to go to their web site (click here) and take a closer look. The quilting is stunning, as is the appliqué workmanship. Who knows, you may even be tempted—as I was—to purchase this beauty!

If you turn this block a quarter-turn, there is a striking resemblance to the pattern we will be teaching.
This block is very much like the pattern in Spoken Without a Word.
Shared with permission from Sharon's Antiques.

We are excited to share this block in our upcoming class. Ribbon definitely gives this block a unique and elegant look. If you're in the area, we hope you can join us for the fun!

French wired, ombré ribbon is gathered for the blooms.

The buds are padded ribbon with ultrasuede calyxes.
Leaves are created with hand-dyed silk ribbon.

Ribbon-worked Rose of Sharon

And we'll close with a few Rose of Sharon from my garden. Happy stitching!

Lovely Lane

A couple of weeks ago, the Baltimore Appliqué Society sponsored a trip to Lovely Lane United Methodist Church in Baltimore, Maryland, to hear a lecture from Marylou McDonald about the Baltimore Album Quilts housed in their museum. What an incredible treat! To be in the presence of these amazing works of art, stitched by women nearly 170 years ago, is awe-inspiring, to say the least.

There were four Baltimore Album Quilts and one whole-cloth quilt for us to view. The Album Quilts were all dated between the years 1846-1852, all made for pastors of Baltimore churches.

In the interest of inspiration, I (Teri) am going to let the quilts and blocks tell their stories. I hope that you will be just as moved as we were to study some of these blocks. They certainly have motivated me to try a few new techniques. And there are at least a few that I have put on my "must stitch" list. Enjoy!

This quilt was made for Reverend Best of the Bethel Mission, an interdenominational church for seamen.
This quilt faded quite a bit after being submerged in a river.

Seamans Bethel (Note: It actually reads Belhel; the t was not crossed.)

Cornucopia 

This quilt, bordered with chintz, was made for Rev. Robert Lipscomb

Detail of inscribed Bible block for the Reverend

Note the Rose of Sharon block beneath the star; there are six variations of this block on the next quilt. 

The lovely inked embellishments on this vase of flowers add such detail.

There is nothing I do not love about this vase of flowers.
The quilting is unique in each album block,  appropriately known as "album quilting." 

This quilt, the largest we saw, was made for Rev. George C. Roberts.

This was the first block to draw my eyes, since it was the first block that I taught as a class. To see my version, click here.

Several blocks on these quilts were done using the broderie perse style.

Here are five of the six Rose of Sharon blocks in the Roberts quilt, similar but not identical. I thought I had photographed them all, but I missed one. The sixth is pictured in the full quilt, above, to the left of the yellow star block. 

This quilt was made for Reverend Henry Wilson

Green Street Church block

Detail: Each brick and window pane is created with white sewing thread in a chain stitch.

Another lovely vase of flowers with inked embellishment

Check out these ruched flowers! And more lovely quilting to frame the vase.

Detail of ruching

The oldest of the quilts, there is some uncertainty as to whether it dates to the 1600s or 1700s. It is a white, whole-cloth quilt with a coarser fabric on the back. The channels were then stuffed. Originally, the quilting thread was blue, but at one point, when it was cleaned, the blue faded. This view looks to the center of the quilt.

A corner of the quilt

A view of the back, where you can see the stuffing.

A perfect ending to a perfect morning: enjoying some live spring flowers!

We hope you have enjoyed visiting these quilts with us. I have a few more photos of several additional blocks, but they may have to be a Part Two. There is no more photo-wrestling energy left in me today!