If you can show these to a quilt appraiser, they will be able to help you date the fabrics. Sometimes there is an appraiser at quilt shows, but you may have to make an appointment. Also, when the quilt is finished, it will be "dated" by the newest fabric used, not the oldest.

Put whatever info you have on the label (where you got the blocks, what you added, your name and date of completion, etc)

Enjoy!

The fabric looks much like some in a string quilt I have made by my grandmother and great grandmother. You probably won't be able to "match" the white as I'm betting it's feed or sugar sacks or possibly other flour sacks.. you could pick which ones you wanted back then. I'm with the others, guestimating the 40's and possibly 30's. I'd use bleached muslin to finish it. sounds like it's similar to (if not totally) English paper pieced. I have made a table topper that size.. my hexagons were the size of nickles by hand. Once you get going and become proficient you'd be surprised how quickly you can zip along. Mine had pale green "garden paths" rather than white. And yes.. I do have fabrics that are 20 years old and more.

Athenagwis:

Do you date fabric often? Who pays for the meal? LOL.. :roll:

These look like fabrics from the 1940's... some look like feedsack (my grandmother use to get her feed in fabrics like these in the 40's. They are precious. :mrgreen:

I think 40's, in my humble opinion.

I too think 40's...they are beautiful fabrics and still so fresh looking. Thanks for sharing your pics. Makes me feel the need to get back to my EPP project...so many quilts...so little time!

I think they are from the 1940's or maybe some from the 1930's. They look like the 1930's reproduction print, however, they are the original. They remind me of my Grandma's aprons.

I agree, after looking at some stuff online, I think the fabric is from the 40s. Thanks everyone for your opinions!! Unfortunately there isn't enough here to really make a good size quilt, so I will most likely have to add some (especially for the whites, I know I don't have enough of that). So unless I can get lucky and find a much of 40s flour sack white it will have newer fabric in it. But I am okay with that as I want it to be loved more than I want it to be authentic. Though i think I will wash a piece with detergent in cold water (just as I will the quilt, and see if some of the grime goes away, I'd hate to use a cream color for the rest of the hexies (since that's kind of the color of the fabric) only to wash the finished quilt and the older ones come out sparkling white! :) :)

I saw a beautiful hexagon quilt that someone had posted (not sure if it was here or flickr), where her great grandmother had hand quilted just inside the shape of each hexie as a border. I think I am going to do the same. I thought it brought out the design so beautifully. I have never hand quilted before, but it just seems such a waste to hand piece the entire thing and then have the part that people actually see be machine done (trust me though I will machine piece and quilt every single other quilt I make! :))

Thanks everyone for all your help, and yes Baywatch, I do often take my fabric out on dates, it helps me to really get to know them, make sure they'll be a good fit for my lifestyle. Though sometimes I will just make them dinner at home, mainly to ensure they are proficient at washing dishes. I know a fabric is a keeper when it washes my dishes. :) :) :) :)

Cheers!
Rachel

The prints look like feed sacks. Printed Feed Sacks can be dated back to 1927 and as recent as 1942 (from Feed Sacks by Edie McGinnis) They came in a varity of sizes. There were also printed flour sacks which were of a finer weave. Some one said, some of us probably have fabric 10 -15 yo. I have feed sacks so I have fabric 50 plus years old.
The blocks are pretty. I hope you do something with them.

What a beautiful heirloom you have.