Originally Posted by frauhahn
Hi Bev!
Near as I can tell (I'm fairly new to quilting) it is hand-pieced and hand quilted, but machine stitched. The tabs are sewn into the binding and have machine stitching at the edges. The guy didn't know anything about it-said that the machine had been from his sister's husband's family. The house belonged to his sister, but he had to meet me there, so I'm wondering if the sister may have died-the house had a kind-of not-lived-in look to it.
Guess I'm confused. Are you saying it IS hand-pieced and hand-quilted. What is machine stitched? The binding and the tabs into the binding?
Keep in mind, some of us have UFOs and it could be that while the quilt itself is old, the person who received the sewing machine may have finished it by putting on the binding and tabs. My great grandmother left behind 6 hand-pieced tops and my mother inherited them, had them quilted and gave one to each of us great grandchildren. Years later someone who had bought a box at GGMs estate sale returned the items to DM. There were more blocks GGM had pieced together, so DM made a quilt for herself (her DM is now gone too).
It sounds to me like you may have a quilt which is multi-generational. BUT, I am no expert and I would check with Historical Society, Antique Shops, maybe even LQS and Quilt Guilds might be more helpful/knowledgeable.