I was excited to receive this amazing quilt top at a Vintage Quilt Study Group meeting in Raleigh, NC. In pristine condition, this top was apparently stashed away and passed along for nearly 100 years.

The maker of this circa 1920-1930 quilt top is unknown, but the Dresden Plate blocks were all hand-appliqued and hand-sewn. The Dresden Plate pattern was common during the Depression Era. The uniformity of the work throughout the quilt indicates that one person (not a group of people) most likely made all of the blocks. 

The centers are unique in that they are not one color, but are divided into a dark yellow and a light yellow. Perhaps there wasn’t enough of either color to complete the quilt. If you look closely, you find that a few of the centers are slightly askew, attesting to the fact that it is difficult to applique straight when hand sewing. This gives the quilt a unique personality.

Another unusual aspect of this quilt is that each plate has 18 petals. Normally, the number of petals would be divisible by 4 and made in quarters. I don’t know if this was intentional or an accident.

I longarmed this quilt with a traditional Baptist Fan design. The backing and binding fabrics are muslin. I used bleached white batting because the top fabric is very white and I didn’t want it to look dingy from natural batting.

I wish I could return it to some descendent of the quilter who pieced it, but I have no idea who that might be. Sometimes, I wish quilts could talk, don’t you? Right now it is resting on the ladder in my living room and is bright and cheery, making me smile every time I see it.

For more information about Dresden Plate Quilts, see https://ronatheribbiter.com/dresden-block-history/

Quilt Top Maker: Unknown maker circa 1920-1930, completely hand-sewn and hand-appliqued

Size: 83” x 83”

Quilt Pattern: Traditional Dresden Plate block with some variations (see above).

Longarmed/Completed: by Faith Patterson of Quilting Cats Studio in Wendell, NC in 2024 (after 100 years)

Pantograph: Baptist Fan