Originally Posted by
JustAbitCrazy
Hey, Jan, how 'bout us? I'd surely love to see it!
I know! Unfortunately I have no photos on the computer which I can send. And the printed photos could be scanned, but not by me at this time --- printer probs.
The quilt is NOT pretty by today's standards. There is a small amount of Broderie Perse applique using what was very expensive chintz containing deep rose and aqua (yes, really!) in the the floral print. That part is so attractive, but there is so little of it due to the huge cost of this fabric at the time the quilt was made. (ca. 1780) This information was via a family note with provenance, attached to the quilt when my family received in the the 1950s. The majority of the other prints are browns, which have 'rusted' and totally fallen apart.
The linen background (from flax grown, spun, and woven on the plantation in VA) is 'age-stained', and the quilting stitches are so beautifully tiny, done in a brown thread. As far as I can tell this quilt has never been washed, so the quilting patterns do not stand out well.
It now resides in the textile museum at Colonial Williamsburg, VA.
Jan in VA