Details
Ask an antique quilt lover what is the advantage to living near Baltimore, Maryland, and I suspect she would say…Baltimore album quilts. I seize the opportunity to see them every chance I get. My favorite part of seeing them “in the flesh” is taking in the fabrics, quilting designs, techniques, and stitching. Today I am sharing the wonderful details in just one block in the Reverend Wilkins quilt at the Lovely Lane Museum. Above, is an adorable blue and yellow bird. Note the blue ombre fabric and how rich and true the colors remain.
How about all the petals layered to create this flower? Barbara Burnham (Baltimore Garden Quilt blog) teaches a class on making these layered flowers and they were used in the antique album quilt she owns on which she based her book – Baltimore Garden Quilt. I guess you can say it was a Baltimore thing.
This layered flower goes a step further, incorporating two fabrics in its many layers of petals. I love that star in the center.
Isn’t the pink fabric in this flower sweet? There are more great details with the reverse applique and the fussy cutting for the flower center.
I’m guessing the variety of blue berries came from the same blue ombre fabric from which the bird was made.
Another great flower with reverse applique and another fussy cut center.
Here is our sweet pink fabric again peeking out from this dangling flower. Sorry to all you gardeners out there – I don’t know plant names.
Put all these details together and what do you get? A charming and cheerful basket of flowers!
I'm always surprised how varied the colors are in the "real" Baltimore Album Quilts. When they were first reproduced in the 80-90 most were using just the reds and greens with bits of gold….there are so many more colors in them!
Thank you for sharing the pictures. The fabric colors are still so vibrant.
Pretty end product! I love baskets and flowers with birds – and needle turn applique. Nice job
Thanks for the wonderful photos – love seeing this gorgeous quilt up close! Such charm and wonderful colours!
Made by a lady with great skills and a great love of fabrics. Beautiful.
All that in just one block? Stunning! Thanks for the close detail shots.
What a wonderful block. Thanks so much for showing it to us in detail. Someone had amazing skill.
What a wonderful block. Thanks so much for showing it to us in detail. Someone had amazing skill.
I love this! That yellow star center is fabulous too.
Love seeing your great close up photos of this endearing quilt. That little green checkered print would fit right in for today's projects – amazingly "modern"!
So many things that I thought they came from different blocks. I love the basket detail as well. Thanks for sharing
All of those beautiful details in one spectacular basket quilt block! Wow!!!