Your feedsack quilts are really beautiful! Are they what the 30's repro fabrics are designed from? Since the fabric is 50 years old do you have to be careful how its cared for? How can a person tell if its a feed sack when you see a quilt with fabrics like that? Sorry about all the questions but it is fascinating and how wonderful that you have a large collection.

When I first starting collecting the feedsacks I would gently wash them, because I was afarid they would fall apart. The last ones I got were so dirty and stained that I ended up washing them with bleach in hot water. The colors came out so vivid. Remember these sacks are at least 50 years old.

My mother used to make all my dresses from feed sacks back in the late 40's and early 50's. She could not afford to buy fabric but several of the farmers in the area would save them for her. At the time, I was embarassed to wear them because everyone in my small town in Minnesota thought that you were poor if you wore feedsack dresses. Now I wish I had some of them. Mom is long gone but the memories remain.

Love your quilts, they really are precious.

Your quilts are just fabulous. I grew up on a farm but am not able to access a feed sack fabric memory from my brain, so tell me, please: is it easy fabric to work with? I'm thinking that it's loose weave, but maybe not??? I remember the flour sacks, but the only feed sacks I can remember were burlap.

WOuld you like to move to the bunkhouse?
I worked as a kitchen helper in Izee Oregon one year (forty years ago or so). All of the pillowcases were feed sack fabrics ... that was long before I considered doing any sewing, of course ... but, I do remember liking the fabric!

Wow does this date me!! I remember my mom making my dresses from those feedsacks! Lucky you!!

Just gorgeous!!!! Drooling with envy

The feed sacks are very easy to work with. For those that ask I'll take pictures of some of them in the next few days. FYI A feed sack would have held 50 lbs and measures about 45x36. A flour sack was much smaller and held 25 lbs. It's a little larger than a fat quarter. There are a few more sizes, such as a salt sack, which I've never seen. Darlene Zimmerman has a book on feed sacks that has a lot of history about the sacks plus patterns.

Did you know that some stores sold feed sack fabric on the bolt? I actually got some the last time we bought feed sacks.

Feed sacks are a little courser looking, but not to the touch. A tell tale sign to look for is that it would have been sewed together along the side and bottom with a very heavy thread that leaves large holes.

You've brought back good memories of my youth. I remember going to the little grocery store near the office my mother worked in (back in the early 60's) and I loved looking at the fabric on the feed and flour sacks. I remember rubbing my hand over them to see how the fabric felt.
I started sewing when I was in the sixth grade in home-ec class. I made a lot of my dresses when I was a teenager.

How fun to think of those memories.

Thanks... and your quilts are out of this world! I made my first one last year and am now getting the itch to do another one.

take care,
Debbie

Welcome aboard. I went back to read your profile. You lead a very interesting life. And it will be even more interesting now that you've got the quilting bug. :lol:

Your quilts are gorgeous!

Those are absolutly marvelous!!!
Thank you for sharing those.

I love feedsacks! I've been lucky to collect a few, but I'm afraid to chop into them! They are getting harder and harder to find. Your collection must be amazing! I adore all the quilts you've made. Wow!

A Standing Ovation...the quilts are just great. Can't wait to see more

those are really neat. I have a friend that is making a quilt out of feed sacks that her mother gave her. I saw several of the prints in yours. :D

Your quilts made from feed sacks and beautiful. Wish I had a feed sack stash like you do. I don't even have a piece of feed sack fabric. Keep making beautiful feed sack fabric quilts.

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing!

I finally took pic of the feed sack quilts. I know some are repostings, but I wanted to show the backs. I did not take pics of just feed sacks. I hope you can see enough varity in quilts without individal sacks.

feed sacks pics #2

feed sacks pics #3

feed sacks pics #4

feed sacks #5 Last one

WOW! :shock: :shock: :shock: What a feast for the eyes! I love all these feedsack quilts! I'm a huge fan of 1930s repro fabrics, so it was great seeing all of these. You do such beautiful work!

Absolutely beautiful! Love the bright, vibrant colors! :thumbup:

BrendaE

Beautiful quilts. You've made me very interested in feed sacks, and I did some reading up on it. The whole idea intrigues me, and I've decided to start looking for some myself. Luckily, my father is an antiques dealer -- he spends tons of time at auctions, estate sales, and other antique stores, just poking around, and he's offered to keep an eye out for feed sacks for me. I can't wait to see what he finds!

All i can say is i'm sooooo impressed! Your quilts are absolutely gorgeous! KUDOS to you.

They are all gorgeous but my heart did a flip flop when seeing number 5, it soooo reminds me of my grandmothers quilts. Don't know what happened to them when she died and I regret that sooo much. Thanks for sharing.

Your quilts are absolutely fabulous!!

This has really been a treat looking at your beautiful quilts.
Now I'm thinking I'll have to look for feed sack fabric at some of our antique stores. We've got a few and I'll have to check it out.
It's always fun to add to my stash anyway.

Have a great evening!

Debbie
www.bzstampr.blogspot.com

Just AWESOME! WOW! They are fabulous and so colorful, definetly heirloom quilts for your family!
Thanks for sharing!
Regards,
MaryAnna

WOW!! Now I realy want to sew the ones my aunt gave me. I probably need more for a larger variety. Your quilts are gorgeous. You did nce work on all of them...

One of my brothers and I were talking about feed sacks recently. He remembers Mother sending him to the mill with our father and a list of what kind of sacks she wanted, 3 flower print for a dress, one for a short sleeve shirt or 2 for long sleeves. She might even send a swatch of something that she would like more of. He said that the warehouse man would get mad when he had to move a large number of sacks to get one near the bottom. I wore feed sack dresses all through high school and beyond. I'd be happy to sew with those feed sacks, but they were all used up years ago. As to the flower sacks, the only ones I've ever seen were thinner, more closely woven than feed sacks, and only came in all white. They were used for underclothes and dish towels.

My DH told me the same story about his parents.

Your quilts are beautiful. And how lucky are you to have these sack fabrics! I have memories of a dress my Mom made for me when I started grade school. It was red cherries on white fabric. Still remember it quite well. Thanks for helping me to think of it again.

I love feed sacks and have purchased a few scraps on ebay, they are expensive. It is wonderful you have so many and the quilts your make are fabulous :-) . Thank you so much for sharing, I will bookmark this so I can come back and look at them again.

Thank you that is so sweet of you.

wow, scouring fabric sites, I would come across the 30's repros and such, and think, "well, interesting, but for somebody else to sew with."
Not anymore, after seeing the gorgeous quilts and table runners, etc. that you have created!
If I could put these fabrics together this well, and get that fresh, vibrant look, I would definitely make one for our bed. thanks for airing, um sharing...makes me think of clothes sunning on the line, in the fresh breeze :D
P.S. your grbaby is adorable! :D

You have a gold mind. I rember being a very well dressed flour sack girl in a one room school house with other flour sack girls. Wouldn't we fit right in today