By Diane Harris, HQ Stitch Brand Ambassador

A while back I started browsing antique quilts on eBay. For me this is the best kind of window shopping! I’m regularly gobsmacked by the ingenuity of quilt makers from centuries past.

I don’t need to own these quilts, which are often in poor condition. I can be completely inspired just by looking.

This one caught my eye. It’s made of wool pieces cut in oblong shapes and embroidered with colorful thread, probably wool, too. There are objects, numerals and symbols. Some of the objects are natural and some are manmade.

There are flowers and plants, several sets of initials and the date 1903. There are geometric shapes and symbols I don’t recognize. Maybe they held significance for the maker.

The everyday things I can identify include a cat, a bird, a basket, a bucket, a fan, a cup, a chalice, a butterfly and a wheelbarrow.

There’s also a bug, a star, an envelope, a rake and a rocking chair along with an anchor, some silverware and an umbrella. A fish and a pair of scissors top things off.

It’s kind of funny but those are still pretty much every day things, wouldn’t you say? The only thing I couldn’t put my hands on right here at home would be an anchor! And if you own a boat or live near the water, you probably could find that one.

I have to wonder if it was all done by one person or if there were many makers. An expert could probably tell but from this distance I cannot.

The back reveals that the embroideries were sewn to a foundation. The vertical stitches seem to be doing one job, and the horizontal stitches seem to be doing something else. Again, from this distance, I can’t really say what.

This piece is 25″ x 49″, so each embroidery is about 2-3/4″ wide. It’s located in Washington, D.C.

I wish it could talk. I’d ask it so many questions.

Quilt on,

Diane