The Exact Match

Finding just the right fabrics to restore a vintage or antique quilt can be a challenge.  The chances of The Exact Match are slim.  It's almost always about finding fabrics that blend in as unobtrusively as possible.  This is true whether using vintage or modern reproductions.

Sometimes fabrics that blend perfectly into the existing set of fabrics seem to fall into my lap, but sometimes a lengthy search ends up with settling for the better of several options.  

My restoration of this Lone Star quilt (1930s) serves as an example of the fabric search stage of quilt restoration.  I found these two potential greens at Reproduction Fabrics, my favorite source.  (I have no affiliation....)  One lacked the orange accent in the original fabric, and the other had a red accent, maybe too bright.

More About Conversation Prints

The previous post is about a 1940s hexagon quilt that has opened my eyes to mid-century conversation prints.  Barbara Brackman in her book Clues in the Calico defines conversation (aka conversational) prints as prints with recognizable objects other than flowers.

There are conversation prints from the late 1800s onward.  Brackman distinguishes the 20th century prints as less detailed and having more colors than the 19th century prints.  I would add that they tend to be very whimsical.

While poking around for info on these fabrics, I discovered a book that I think is going on my wish list:  Conversational Prints: Decorative Fabrics of the 1950s by Joy Shih

Here's a look back at some other blog posts of quilts I've repaired that I now realize have some very fun conversation prints:

Capital T and Cuba

The name of this block is Capital T.  The quilt was purchased in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, about 30 years ago.

The name "Lee" appears on the quilt in several places, and it's dated 1896.  I always love a dated quilt, because it's a window into patterns and colors available in that era.  Well actually, it's a window into that era and the ones before, because quilts were so often made out of scrap baskets, many of them quite deep