Mennonite Wool Log Cabin Antique Quilt c. 1900

This folk art, antique wool Mennonite log cabin quilt is hand pieced and hand quilted, with a wonderful red plaid background. It measures 72" X 80" and is in very good condition, with a couple of tiny moth nibbles (hard to find), and no wear.There is quilting around the piecework and in grid and cable designs in the background, all at even 7-8 stitches to the inch.

The back of this vintage quilt is a rich wool houndstooth fabric, the hand stitched binding is rolled over from the front, and the batting is thin. The photos make the quilt look a bit washed out, when in fact, the colors are strong and rich.

The photos just don't do justice to this elegant turn of the century collector's antique quilt, it would make an excellent wall hanging!

Crazy Quilts

During the latter years of the nineteenth century the best know quilt style was the Crazy Quilt. Crazy quilts were handmade quilts made of abstract shapes that were sewn together. Usually the quilt maker then used embroidery to embellish the crazy quilt. First fancy stitches were sewn along the seams of the now considered antique quilt. Often the seamstress also added embroidered motifs on the crazy quilt that included flowers, birds, trees and figures to convey their thoughts and wishes. Sometimes part of a crazy quilt is haphazard while other parts are placed in a planned pattern. Crazy quilting was quite the fad during this period in America. Magazines encouraged women of this time to make crazies. Young women were particularly eager to make them. These quilts were seldom used as bed coverings. Instead crazy quilts were made smaller and without batting to be used as decorative throws.

Today, collectors of Folk Art anxiously seek out these truly unique crazy quilts. The intrigue comes a lot from the story the quilt is telling.