vintage quilt - Patriotic Star, diamonds galore, world without end scrap quilt 1880-1910

This quilt came from Louise Harding's attic. Click here to read more about Louise's family.

This is one of my favorites. The patriotic yet cosmic arrangement leads me to imagine a starry night possibly created as a tribute to a loved one at war or possibly inspired by independence day. Perhaps the pattern simply reminded the quilter of a peaceful country evening gazing at the night sky. The quilt measures approximately 70" X 70" and is made of 256, 4" pieced blocks. The block is very simple, four diamonds connecting and radiating from the center. I have seen this block identified* by several different names: diamonds galore, world without end, black and white, bamboo quilt, and stars and stripes.

This simple yet striking quilt is a fascinating collection of deep, richly colored scrap fabrics. The quilt contains dozens of fabrics. It has a predominately red, white and blue theme but actually includes black, browns, pinks and greens. The fabrics include: cadet blue, indigo, double pinks, shirting fabrics, mourning prints, ginghams, greens, pinks and various weaves. These fabrics match those characteristic of the 1880-1910 time period ( based on information from Dating Fabrics, a Color Guide 1800-1960 by Eileen Jahnke Trestain). The blocks are arranged alternating between red/pinks and blues(sometimes blacks, grey, green). Using lighter prints and weaves for the background fabric adds subtle interest while emphasizing the brighter stars. Most of the background prints are stripes. Maybe the quilter was thinking stars and stripes when she created this quilt.

The quilting stitches are small and neat but not quite as meticulous as some of the other quilts from this collection, leading me to believe it was quilted by someone other than the quilter that quilted the very precise Rose of Sharonn quilt. The overall quilting is simple. Inside each star a straight line is stitched from inside each point to it's opposite point. Each setting triangle is outlined with stitches 1/4" from each seam. This creates a very interesting design on the back of the quilt.

A simply beautiful quilt

When sorting through sewing items found in Louise's attic we came across various pieces of old drafting paper and cardboard templates. There were also old home magazines and pattern ads clipped from newspapers but few purchase quilt patterns. Given the frugal nature of the family I believe they drafted many of their own patterns based on ideas from family, friends, newspaper and magazine advertisements.

Click here to read more about the Harding family and other quilts from this collection.

Please send your comments to - charlena@doveinthewindow.com

*reference books:

Maggie Malone, 5500 Quilt Block Designs

Barbara Brackman, Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns

To view additional quilts or stories about the women who made them click on the links at the top of this page.