My grandmother gave me this Grandmother's Garden 10 years ago, and I can't remember if she said she started it or her mother or sister did. I am not sure what date these fabrics are from as I figured knowing that will give me a clue as to who started it. I know if has been around much longer than 10 years, possibly from the 50's or 60's or maybe even older? Your help would be greatly appreciated!

Here are a few close ups, but you can visit my flickr stream to see the rest of the pics I took: Flickr Stream

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2766/...b515bf53_o.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4063/...7ef7fd3e_o.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4009/...3f91a287_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2753/...5e886105_o.jpg

Thanks in advance for all your help!

And yes I do plan on finishing this some day, I have pics in the stream of all the unfinished pieces that she left behind! Not sure if I could get a big quilt, but I am sure I can get something!

Rachel

I can't help with the date, but I love the fabrics. It is such a cheerful quilt. Good luck with finishing it. Post pics when and if you do.

It looks like feed sacks I have some of that fabric in some Dresden plates I received so it is probably 40's or 50's

more like the 40's , some of those are feed sacks for sure. They are beautiful!

Rachel: I can't help with the fabics but maybe when it was made. Are all the hexagons made individually-that is with back, batting and top sewn together, turned inside out, side closed, then each one is a hexagon and then sewn to other hexagons? (Too long of a sentence and clear as mud right?) My very first quilt was made like that and the pattern was in Better Homes and Gardens from around 1975 or so that my mom had saved. It kinda looks like they're individual--just interested if anyone else made this pattern.
How stupid was I to make 1000 hexagons for a first quilt? Some of them are pretty wonky-I got very bored but I finished it.
Good luck finding the fabric info and finishing it-it's beautiful.
Jan

No they are like a regular grandmother's garden with pieces of paper cut up to make the hexies and the fabric folded around that. The fabric and stuff is in a box that is for "Harvard Squares" from the James O. Welch Co. Which I guess was started in 1925 and bought out in 1963. Of course the box could have been (and probably was) added later, but unless someone held on to the box for 10 years before putting the fabric in it, it must be at least prior to 1963ish.

Okay I just did a little more hunting, the hexies have some that were made with newspaper (or magazine), so I pulled some of those out from the middle hexs and looked for clues. One was an article on farming, and the latest date I could find was 1950. It also had a date of 1948 and 1944. These dates were in the article though and of course I couldn't read much of it, but assuming that they weren't talking about future things (the 1950 one looked like an ad, so it was probably a very current date for this magazine), then it looks like the quilt was put together in 1950, which just means the fabric isn't past that, but of course could be older (how many of you have fabric older than 10 or 20 years!) But at least I know that at the very least it's 1950.

I'd love to hear more opinions, but I think 40's sounds reasonable (Anyone think possibly 30's?)

Thanks everyone!! I'll post some pics of the magazine hexies papers, they are pretty neat. :)

Rachel

Oh I love it! A couple of these fabrics are in the pieces I recently acquired. So the dates, help me! Thanks everyone. Ruth

ok, I went to flicker and I have a question. I am assuming that the white in the background is the base and these lovely flowers are appliqued on top, are there others on top as well, like overlapped? Or are they just laying on top? It is the most gorgeous quilt I've ever seen. What a treasure!

.........and, do you leave the paper inside the hexagon? I am facinated

I can't help with dating it but those are sure beautiful. A family heirloom.

There is no applique in this quilt! Which is probably why it was never finished. It takes a lot of work to do this type of quilt. It's made like a traditional grandmother's garden quilt. Here's a recent tutorial that explains the style this one was made in pretty well: http://www.ehow.com/how_2339833_make...den-quilt.html So all the "flowers" are sewn directly to the white path, each and every piece is a circle of fabric folded over on the paper and then stitched on all six sides. You cannot do this in the traditional way by machine, though there are "cheats" out there to get this look and be able to do it by machine. (Google half hexagons)

The one I have is in various states of doneness. I have the one piece with the white that is a good size and put together, then I have a bunch of flowers that are done and ready to be added with white, and then I have a bunch of loose hexies that need to be made into flowers. :)

Once you have made the flowers, you can pull the paper out of the middle pieces, you want to leave it in the edges until something gets sewn to it so the fabric keeps it's shape, but eventually all the paper will come out. All my hexes were cut from a 1 inch square, so they are just smaller than an inch each.

Just let me know if you have other questions!! I'd love to see pics of the pieces you have!

Rachel

Well on the bright side, I bet it made every single quilt you tried after that easy and a joy to do!! :) :) :)

Rachel

Thanks everyone for the kind words, I am actually not usually a fan of the look of Grandmother's Garden, though I can totally appreciate seeing one in person cause you know if all the hexies are whole, it was all hand pieced. But I just never really warmed up to the look of it. But after seeing this one again, I am so smitten with it. I really hope I can get it finished as I would love to see it as a quilt or wall hanging at least!

Rachel

lovely !!!! Good luck in getting these completed. What a "memory lane" that will be....and so COLORFUL !!!!

definitely 40's, and wonderfully preserved. the colors are still so fresh looking. how many do you have?

I know I was so lucky especially since they were just stored in a cardboard box! No yellowing or anything.

There are 24 flowers sewn into the big piece, then I have about 15 flowers already sewn, but not put on the big piece, and enough small pieces to make 18 more flowers. I will need to get more white, which I hopefully can match. But altogether it will make a baby size blanket. I may get more 40s fabric on ebay and maybe sash it different to differentiate, but I'd love it to be a lap size if I could .....

Rachel

what a wonderful present for you to start the year! and a challenge!

You can say that again!! I really want to get it done though, so I am going to try my best!! :)

Rachel

I agree this is absolutely gorgeous and, I too would be interested in how they are sewn together. If the paper is left in? I love this pattern, never gotten the gumption to try one. Love it!!!!

Yes the paper is left in until the hexie is surrounded on all sides with other hexies. Once that happens you can pull th epaper out from the surrounded hexi but you have to leave it in in any hexies that are not surrounded for stabilization of hexies you'll be attaching to it. I hope that makes sense!! So on the big piece I have already put together, only the hexies on teh outside edge have their paper still any, all the interior hexies have no paper. And the great thing it, sometimes as you're sewing you have to fudge a little to get the edges to match up, but once the paper is finally out, it kind of adjust itself to compensate for your fudging and just looks beautiful! :)

I have made 2 more flowers and added 2 flowers to the big piece itself. I am going to focus on getting as much added to the big piece as I can right now, then I will finsih making the flowers themselves I think.

Cheers!
Rachel

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.