Janie67

Yesterday on The Quilt Show newest show, Ricky Tim's had. Great quilt he made from cowboy boots and a Wild West panel. Worth a look as it was quite cute. Any of the old patterns like a churn dash, barn door or stars have always been popular. Civil war type patterns would also be in the time period you are looking for. Look at Bonnie Blue or Red Crinoline is their new name and they have great patterns from Civil War era.

WMUTeach

late 1850 -1860's was the time of escaping slaves but I have also heard that quilts being used to guide escaping slaves to safety was an "urban myth". We quilters would love it to be true, but it is not.

solstice3

Civil war quilt diary. has pics of blocks and stories to go with them

Teeler

http://americanhistory.si.edu/collec...ct/nmah_556337

http://www.redcrinolinequilts.com/

KyKaren1949

Although stories claim quilts were used for the Underground Railroad, research has proven this to not be true. I taught it incorrectly for years before researching it and finding out it's a mistake. Great folk tale, but there is absolutely no proof of its existence.

Rose_P

The push westward started in earnest after gold was found in California in the mid 1800s. By that time there were fabric mills on the east coast producing a lot of cotton fabric in a wide range of colors. Since the American Civil War was in the earlier part of this era, that would allow you to use any of the reproduction fabrics and patterns from that time, and they would be quite authentic. If we are to believe old movie westerns, a lot of saloons had sleeping rooms upstairs for all the cowboys and sheriff's posses passing through, so it wouldn't be out of the question for a quilt to find its way downstairs on a chilly morning.

You can read a bit about the history of the Turkey red dyes that were available by this time here: http://hartcottagequilts.com/his3.htm , and that page also has pictures of period fabrics.

Here's a site that has pictures of quilts from the Shelbourne Museum, which might give some inspiration: http://pioneervalleygirl.wordpress.c...a-more-quilts/ There is a picture of a quilt from the 1880's to 90's that has scrappy strings, which seems as if it would be more typical of the ones that travelled westward than the less sturdy and more precious decorative quilts from the East Coast, such as the Baltimore Album patterns, since the well-established folks were less likely to pack up a wagon and leave their homes. Still, probably the decision to bring something out west with them would have been an individual choice, and a pretty quilt inherited from Grandma would not have been left behind. So you'd have a very broad range of possibilities. The last of the lower 48 states were added to the union by 1912, so really anything before that period would be possible.

Daylesewblessed

The American wild west saloon in Germany is quite a concept! One wonders what kind of myths there are in Germany about the American west in the 19th century. Probably as many as there are here. A quilt might be authentic in style of the time or not and then contribute to the mix of ideas. Or it could just be a fun item with Western design fabric prints.

Sharon Newman wrote an interesting book on how to replicate vintage quilts.

twinkie

Hope you find your answer. Sorry I couldn't help