The second one is called Nosegay, and the third one is a version of Grandmother's Flower Garden. What a great treasure you have gotten! The colors are great - they must have been stored away carefully!

Donna

The top one is, indeed, "Double Wedding Ring."

The middle one that looks like a spiky ice cream cone is called "Nosegay," and represents a bouquet of flowers.

The bottom one is called "Grandmother's Flower Garden." There are many ways to arrange the hexagonal tiles. This would probably be called a "diamond setting."

All of these fabrics look like they are from the late 30's. I am sure someone else who knows more than I will be able to tell us more.

Those, all three, are beatiful. I always thought I didn't like the Nosegay pattern but even that is great. They have held up very well and whoever made them did a great job. Are they machine pieced or hand pieced? Pat

Wow! Lucky you to be the present day keeper of these treasures! It does look like all three have fabrics from the 1930s, but it would be advisable to have a professional appraiser look at all three and help you to date them and have the value given. All three patterns are very desirable. And I would ask other family members if they know anything about the quilts and who made them and when.

Teresa

Thank you everyone. They are hand pieced, with about 8 stitches per inch on the seams I looked at. My mother went into a nursing home recently with alzheimers. I am sure she knew exactly who made them but sadly that information is lost now. I do know they came from her side of the family. I suspect it was my great grandmother who made them. In the early 1930's, my grandmother would have been busy raising two children and would have been fairly young herself. It makes sense to me that an older woman, like my great grandmother, made them and either got too old to finish them or passed away before she had a chance to. These quilt tops have been stored in a blanket chest in my parents bedroom for decades, waiting for someone to come along and finish them. I am going to take on that task. I will finish the nosegay first since it is already fitted with batting and a back. I think I'll join the local quilters guild and get some lessons before I take on this awesome task.

Welcome to our little group. What wonderful treasures you have there. They are beautiful. I hope you can gather all the information you can and record it for future generations. Joining the quild is a wonderful place to start. I'm sure they will be able to teach/help you finish your quilts. Please post pictures when you get them finished.

beverly

Your quilt tops are wonderful examples of work done in the 1930s, and the nile greens used were typical of the 1930s to 40s....in the next era, the greens become darker. The purples of your quilts were common then, too, and it looks like they may have been made with feed sack fabric. The practice of using sacking fell out of favor by the late 1950s. Did your folks live in a rural area?
Somebody should have gotten a metal for figuring out how to 'encourage' farmers to buy their feed, by selling them in sacks made of figured sacking. I remember hearing the story of one farmer, who had to go all the way back to the feed store with the bags he'd bought, because he didn't listen to his wife's instructions, which were to be sure to get all the sacks alike, so she could make a new dress for the daughter of the house!

Excuse me while I wipe the drool off my monitor LOL! They are wonderful! Have you chosen a quilting design? To keep them "in the period"? I have 2 1930's double wedding rings at home; will have to go see the quilting designs, and post pics for you.
The nosegay is so colorful! How will you quilt in the white spaces? Oh how excited you must be to work on these!
BlueBars

Thank you for that information! I am not sure if they were rural folks or not....but I will find that out. That would be interesting to know. I can only picture the feed store with all those brightly colored bags of corn sitting around. It must have been quite a sight!

As I completly unfolded these quilts last night so I could photograph them, I felt such a connection with my great grandmother. It's like I am taking where she left off with this task. No one has laid eyes on these quilts for many years, possibly since the day she folded them up and set them aside to be finished later. I bet she had no idea just how long "later" would be!

Bluebars, I have no clue how I will quilt them. I don't know a thing about this! I do want to keep them in the period so I think I have a lot of homework to do! I won't start until I know what I'm doing. I will do the nosegay first, since it already has the backing and batting. Can anyone recommend a book where I can learn more about choosing an appropriate quilting design?

Hi CCoombs,

Really a nice collection, they're lucky you came along to rescue & resusitate them.

As to their history, I hear what you've said abt your Mom & Alzheimers (& the sadness that likely goes w/ that). Tho' I don't have personal experience in this, I've heard/read that either sound or sometimes strong visual things (like quilts or pretty fabrics) sometimes will help jog an Alzheimer patitent's memory. Perhaps next time you go visit your Mom, take one or 2 of these quilts w/ you & they just might spark some comments in her.

The quilt/fabric world is lucky to have you! Beautiful works, they'll likely turn out lovely.

You know Pirate girl...you may be right! She might remember them if she sees them. When it was apparent she was loosing her memory, I made a huge scrapbook for her with hundreds of family pictures. It started with pictures of her and dad as children and then dating and marrying, all of her children and grandchildren, vacations we've taken, and holiday pictures. She loves looking at that book. I know she recognizes some of the people in the pictures, even though she doesn't know their names anymore. But she does know her mother's name and recognizes her. So maybe she will remember these quilts. I'll find out next time I go see her. Thanks for that suggestion!

Cindy

Second one is also known as Cornucopia,and one of my favorite patterns....ty for sharing!

Beautiful quilts. You are so fortunate to have them, and they are fortunate that you appreciate them :)

The more I look, the more I like them. Thank you for posting the pics, and happy quilting as you finish them.

Cheryl

ccoombs1,
As promised, here are closeups of two of my vintage double wedding ring quilts. The first one has a simple rose in the white space:

{{!gwi}}

The second has tons of quilting, with a beautiful feathered wreath in the big white space (with little double HEARTS in the corners! Is that sweet or what!). There is a propeller-like motif in the smaller white space. Really sweet.

{{!gwi}}

Also notice the bindings, which follow the rings (the quilt is not cut off straight); can be challenging, but well worth the extra effort.
Hope this helps!
Bluebars

those are absolutly wonderful!!! Thank you for posting them. I am not sure, but I think the edges of my quilt were made to be squared off, not scalloped. I think they have already been cut. I'll double check that though, I really love the scalloped edges.

What treasures! I love all your quilts but my fav is the nosegay. It is such a wonderful feeling to have such a wonderful gift. I have a dresden plate that my GM and GGM made in the 30's. It is not nearly as beautiful as yours but still a treasure to me. I would be careful washing them though, mine has wool batting that my GM sheared herself and I have mot even tried to clean it.

thanks you. I will probably never wash them. Since they were never used, they really are fairly clean. the backing of the nosegay is a little soiled in some areas and yellowed, but I will probably leave it as-is. I'd love to see your dresden plate...that is a beautiful pattern! And the hand-made batting is a work of art all by it's self.

Re feed sacks: My father was a mushroom grower, but also grew wonderful vegetables and kept chickens. How we loved those feed sacks! My mother and grandmother made me skirts from them and also used them for fringed tablecloths. I can still picture a few of the patterns in my mind and once in a great while, when I see some modern fabric that reminds me of them, I have to buy it! They were kind of a rough weave, though. I guess they had to be, to be tough enough to hold the feed.