I’m so happy to have finished the quilting on this lovely turn-of-the-century quilt top which I purchased from my friend Patty (Patalier on Etsy). The quilter did an amazing job hand piecing the curves and matching points, and the top was perfectly flat, clean and crisp. I wish I knew the pattern name, but Patty and I both checked our quilt reference books, and neither of us could find a source for this interesting design.
Although the individual blocks appear to have circles in the middle, the circles are actually created by the four block corners, and the center of each block is a shirting or orange square. The quilter added partial blocks around the outside edges to complete the circle design, although the top edge is slightly different from the others. The original top had straight sides, but I added a border on three sides so I could extend my circular quilting design and create scalloped edges. I left the top edge straight, because of the way it worked with my quilting pattern.
The quilting pattern was stitched with navy blue Gutermann quilting thread, and it took three months and 320 yards of thread. It’s my first time quilting an old top as is — I usually take them apart and remake them.
Antique Circle Quilt
Hand pieced by unknown quilter, early 1900s
Hand quilted by Martha Dellasega Gray, 2015
75″ x 86″
