There is directions for one on Martha Stewart.

sorry I've never done the state birds. I did the state flowers though. From start to finish..about 25+ years...but I have the quilt to prove it!!! LOL

I've seen some of these set on point with alternate solid blocks. I always thought someone could come up with a better idea.

Looking back I see that jaciqltznok has (a better idea.)

I did one of those for my oldest son. Did the state flowers for my dd. Do not have pictures. sorry

It looks like there is green in each of the blocks, maybe find a nice green that will go with the blocks and sash with that. I do think it needs sashing so it will set the blocks apart. Nice find, congratulations.

What a wonderful find! Would love to do one for my son's office. He has bird feeders hanging outside his double windows. He loves birds - we call him "The Bird Brain" - :)

Wow, such an awesome find. I would have bought it too!

I think you hit the auction jackpot. They are just beautiful. Have fun with it. :D

I bought all 50 and paid $4.44 each... They are a treasure to me. You are VERY lucky. They were a mail order embroidery from what I can understand. You ironed them on and embroidered them. The original pattern came with mine. I'll post a pic.
I am working on finding the PERFECT fabrics to finish this quilt and it will be my winter hand quilting project.

I'm going to use sashing out of a civil war green and cornerstones out of a pinkish/wine civil war type and an outer border that has a floral. I'll post about it at some point...

What a great find! My friend has a quilt top like this. I promised her would be my next hand quilting project. The Virginia state bird on the quilt is a robin. Since I lived in Virginia I knew the state bird is now a Cardinal. So I checked on line and the Cardinal became the state bird in 1950. So I know the quilt is at least 60 years old. I’m not an expert but I am guessing your pieces might be that old too.

Lucky you

WOW what a find at what a price! I have started two of these....one I am doing in redwork, the other I have googled the colors of the birds and am trying to match these. Let me tell you that is a lot of work you bought! I am on block 27 of the Redwork, and still on one on the natural! I am anxious to see your find completed and in the quilt!

They're so cute! Lucky you! :D

WOW!~I just looked at MINE and there is a Robin for VA also!~ thanks!

That's great that yours has a robin for the Virginia state bird also! I forgot to tell you that there were two tops that we found in my friends family home. Since you are looking for a color I might mention one was done with a pink color. Unfortunately that quilt was too damaged to save. The other was done in a light-medium blue. Whatever you decide I know it will look great.

How neat! I've actually seen a quilt that someone made with all 50 states. It was beautiful.

My Aunt Lulu did the state birds in the 20's when she was 10 years old. Each week one would be published in the paper. Lu used blue for all of them. It was sashed with a similar shade of blue and was beautiful. It had never been quilted so a few years ago I had the honor of hand quilting the quilt. Aunt Lu is now 98 and doing great but had to give up her apartment last year due to 2 broken hips,broke one and 6 months later broke the other. As you can tell I am very proud of her. She has had an interesting life in her 98 years.

I hand embroidered one from Aunt Martha iron-on transfer pattern over twenty years ago for my grandson who had learned all the states by memory in first grade. I was very new to quilting, so I only stitched around each block with pearl cotton so it is not really "quilted". However he used it until some of the treads began to wear thin in the embroidery and he gave it back to me for safekeeping (he is now 28 years old) and he didn't want it to get ruined. I set them in rows according to the date they entered the nation, as it was given on each block. I have other small blocks that were given to me by a friend, who's mother had started coloring them with fabric pens. I am still working on them and embroidering over the paint (no easy task) and will put them together some day..... I liked the first set much better. Enjoy the blocks, as they are pretty and you will have a lovely quilt. I would do mine much differently now than I did back then. :-)

I have a set of embroidered bird blocks that my great aunt did in the 30's and I am working on a set of state bird/flower blocks currently. The are nice and I emjoy stamped embroidery.

Thanks for sharing; that is a great find.

wish that had been me. I make and give away dolls to sick kids, with empheses (spelling?...sorry for typo) on kids with cancer (boys and girls) I'd love to make a quilt to raffle off to help raise money to fight that awful stuff. I have a brother (only sibling and age 72) who we thought was over his 3rd and worse cancer. Now we find he has incurable cancer in his sternum, spine and lymph nodes of pelvic area. I'm going to make a prayer blanket for him (crocheted) and get it in the mail for him, that and making things for 13 great grands. Guess i don't have time to make a quilt after all. Maybe next year, I'll tackle something like that. You are a lucky lady and i'm happy for you that you found such a good buy. Love to see a picture when you get it done. Congratulations.

sorry for double entry...so deleted the duplicate. Hugs to all.

Vickey Stamps

wonderful buy

Such a great find. Congrets. Thanks for sharing.

I have a quilt my mother made with silhouettes of all of the states, embroidered state birds and state flowers, and the date of admission as a state. She sashed it in red and blue. She passed away thirteen years ago so the quilt is definitely a keepsake. I don't remember the year she completed the quilt but she was always one to pick up an old pattern and work on it; could not let anything go to waste.

I saw one of these quilts done with soft blue sashing. It was gorgeous!

Great find! Great price! i love auctions!

That is neat! Glad you got it so they will be used instead of sitting in a box. ;)

My mother made some of these into a quilt for my SIL's mother, who embroidered the squares. Was in the 60's. Don't know what happened to the quilt when the lady died. It was very pretty.

Wonderful! Beautiful work and a bargain. It reminds me to pull out some old pieces I have from an uncle (yes, an uncle who embroidered) and make something from them.

Those are really neat. Thanks for sharing and have fun making something out of them!

I have the original pattern for this quilt. It was from the magazine "Work Basket" - there may have been others. It was 1954. Beautiful.

Love them!!! Great price, too!!

I have one of these my MIL set with dark green sash. 48 of
them. now I have to check the VA bird. I started hand quilting in 3/4" crosshatch. will take me another 5 yrs
to finish quilting, I am very slow at that. also found a
complete pattern at a garage sale. the embroidery on mine
is exquisite.

wish that had been me. I make and give away dolls to sick kids, with empheses (spelling?...sorry for typo) on kids with cancer (boys and girls) I'd love to make a quilt to raffle off to help raise money to fight that awful stuff. I have a brother (only sibling and age 72) who we thought was over his 3rd and worse cancer. Now we find he has incurable cancer in his sternum, spine and lymph nodes of pelvic area. I'm going to make a prayer blanket for him (crocheted) and get it in the mail for him, that and making things for 13 great grands. Guess i don't have time to make a quilt after all. Maybe next year, I'll tackle something like that. You are a lucky lady and i'm happy for you that you found such a good buy. Love to see a picture when you get it done. Congratulations.

wish that had been me. I make and give away dolls to sick kids, with empheses (spelling?...sorry for typo) on kids with cancer (boys and girls) I'd love to make a quilt to raffle off to help raise money to fight that awful stuff. I have a brother (only sibling and age 72) who we thought was over his 3rd and worse cancer. Now we find he has incurable cancer in his sternum, spine and lymph nodes of pelvic area. I'm going to make a prayer blanket for him (crocheted) and get it in the mail for him, that and making things for 13 great grands. Guess i don't have time to make a quilt after all. Maybe next year, I'll tackle something like that. You are a lucky lady and i'm happy for you that you found such a good buy. Love to see a picture when you get it done. Congratulations.

What a lucky find. Please post a pic when you decide how to complete it. Good luck.

Our local library has one hanging up in the entrance. So pretty! I'm happy for you. That's a great find.

what a wonderful find