Lessons From An Antique Bow Tie Quilt: What Can We Learn?

[@SewtheDistance]

To find out more about this quilt, here's a link to my blog: www.sewthedistance.com/blog/lessons-from-old-bright-bow-tie-quilt To watch other Lessons from an Old Quilt, here is a playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLjHvTLWU9QXRkfMH-Lep2cic6wgAk0P45

[@DottyKupsky]

What a great quilt! Made for function, but the care taken with directional fabrics revealed her artistry. Thank you for sharing!

[@lindaprice9242]

Oh my goodness I love that quilt! You know sometimes I get to think and we spend so much time at the fabric store saying oh does this go with this or is this color right and all these old quilts the women use what they had and they couldn't be particular about what design went with what design. And they always come out looking fantastic! I would have never thought to put all those different patterns together. I think sometimes we can just be too particular. I think I like those old Scrappy quilts better than I do some of the modern quilts of today. It just makes you want to lay down on the couch and take a good nap wrapped in it.

[@SewtheDistance]

YES! Everything you said is so true, including wrapping yourself in this quilt, which I actually did! 😀 It is so inspiring to study the designs in these beauties. They are part of our foundation as quilters and I am forever grateful. Thank you so much for watching and sharing.

[@wendyfrankle6435]

Lessons from an Old Quilt is my favorite segment you do! I was so excited to see a new video today! I LOVE that bowtie. I am a sucker for old quilts and just love looking at them so much! Thanks for sharing yours with us!

[@SewtheDistance]

YAY! My pleasure! I love making these videos, too. The makers of these quilts have taught me so much. I love sharing it with everyone. So happy you love these as much as love making them!

[@debcobb9739]

I repaired a bowtie quilt where I just covered the damaged area with new fabric. Each piece had to be hand stitched. The pieces were much smaller and very tedious. It took many months to get it done because of the fatigue in my hands. This one is a beauty and such an awesome deal.

[@SewtheDistance]

What a labor of love! Thank you for sharing. It is inspiring. If only our hands would hold up. Love to you!

[@SewMagic-FabricMagician]

Love this bow tie quilt. Yes, it does look 30-40ish. Good call on the fading.

[@SewtheDistance]

Yes! Thank you ❤️

[@deborah1555]

How interesting with all the different backgrounds

[@vonathompson4979]

I have never looked at quilts like I do now. Before they were just pretty but now I like to figure out how they were put together…some are a real challenge… thank you

[@SewtheDistance]

Oh my goodness! This makes me so happy! Thank you for sharing this!

[@karenkavanagh9372]

Greetings from Alma, Ontario, Canada 🇨🇦 My Grandmother Boles had very old quilts, in perfect condition. She claims that on Monday wash day that she would send all the beds quilts & feather pillows out FIRST on the clothesline, while the bedding was being washed.. When her wash was ready to hang out, she would take in the quilts and pillows off the line and fold the quilt and set it and the pillows upon the bed awaiting for the dry sheets to then make up the bed. Claiming quilts had never needed to be washed.. She would pick good days through the winter to hang accordingly. For storing other quilts, she would fold them with a white cotton bed sheet along with it and wrap it in light blue tissue paper,, saying that it keeps the quilt clean during storeage in her linen closet that was lined with cedar wood and watch that it doesn't touch the sides of the closet or it'll bleed yellow onto the quilts and the same way for storing quilts in her many cedar chests. Sunbonnet Suzie, Lady with the Umbrella, Buffalo Bill & The Bow Tie quilt, and of course The Double Wedding Ring were the designs of her many quilts . All her quilts were hand quilted during her Quilting Bees and sewed her quilts on her Singer Treadle Machine. Treadle On! GiGi In Vintage

[@SewtheDistance]

Thank you so much for sharing this! Wow--great information! My aunt said they "washed" their quilts by laying them on the grass in the early morning. Interestingly, the enzymes in the grass helps with staining, odors, and more. It actually did clean them! We can learn so much for those who have gone before us. Thank you so much!

[@konniebrockway3178]

Beautiful bow tie quilt. Thank you for sharing it with us.

[@SewtheDistance]

You are so welcome!

[@maryl9601]

Wow! 😮 all by hand. Beautiful. Thank you. Appreciate these old quilts and you saving them and sharing with us. I have only been machine quilting since 2010. Love doing the care quilts I make and Quilts of Valor. Fun

[@SewtheDistance]

You are so welcome! That is awesome! Quilts of Valor is such a worthy cause! Thank you for sharing. 🥰

[@villagesteader3552]

I do have a bunch of feedsacks that I inherited. Because they are very special to me, the thought of cutting them up wasn’t a consideration. However, they are packed away in a box…I don’t think that is ‘honoring’ the fabric. This quilt has given me the courage to go ahead and make use of them in a way that honors the past. I could just hug you right now, and I’m not really a hugger! ♥️👍🤓

[@SewtheDistance]

Ohhhhh my goodness! THANK YOU SO MUCH! I wish I could hug you, too, but would honor your "not a hugger" tendency and just go an air hug! So here's a virtual hug for you! 🤗 This makes me so happy! Thank you for this. Honestly, I has been a discouraging week for me and this just gave the desire again to keep making videos. Thank you so much!

[@lanapoulliot7682]

Bow tie blocks are on my bucket list. I have many 6" squares of vintage Hathaway Shirt Factory samples. Beautifully made top quality men's business shirts. I hope they're large enough to do this with.

[@SewtheDistance]

Ohhhh! That will be amazing! I hope they are large enough, too!

[@karlabergwalker3332]

Love watching Lessons from an Old Quilt! This quilt is gorgeous!!

[@SewtheDistance]

So glad you enjoy this series! I love this one, too!

[@catecoleman9852]

Using the prints vs solids give it such a cool 3D look. Very clever sewist.

[@SewtheDistance]

Isn't it great? I want to try it now! I love it, too!

[@lindalosier5989]

Love the bright solids. What a wonderful find. I have a bow tie quilt that my husbands great aunt made from around the same time. It was a quilt top I had stored away for probably 20 years, long before I took up quilting. I finished it a couple of years ago and it's one of my favorite old quilts!

[@SewtheDistance]

Oh wow! That is amazing! I love that you finished it, too!

[@gquilter36]

Thanks again CHRIS, I love these old quilts you feature and the respect you show to the makers of yesterday. Can’t wait till you show us the outcome after you’ve cleaned it up.

[@SewtheDistance]

You are so welcome! 🥰

[@nandrozdowski1955]

That is absolutely a beautiful bow tie quilt. I love all the colors and how the solid parts make the circles 💖💖Great find at a great price!!!

[@SewtheDistance]

Thank you so much! I love this one, too!

[@Sewwithdebee]

Beautiful and what a great addition to your collection

[@SewtheDistance]

I think so too! 🥰😍

[@joydicksonquilts]

Another beautiful find. Congratulations 🎉

[@SewtheDistance]

Thank you so much 😀

[@bbymks5]

This is such a cute one!! It's crazy to see just how much fabrics can fade!

[@kathyb.8769]

Oh my gosh !! You are just too cute. Thank you for your content and the education.

[@SewtheDistance]

You are so welcome! And thank you! 😋

[@sewterie]

Thank you for sharing this and for your content. I love watching you decipher what was going on when it was made. Thanks. Be well.

[@cindygehrke5249]

I love this quilt! I love the colors the feed sack fabrics and the pattern made by the blocks! Thanks for sharing!

[@SewtheDistance]

You are so welcome! 🥰

[@LauraSup]

That is a fantastic quilt and such a bargain! I wish those quilts would find me!! I have a small collection of antique quilts and I treasure every single one of them!! I absolutely love this series and have gone back and binge watched every episode!!! Thanks for sharing!❤

[@SewtheDistance]

Oh wow! Thank you SO much! I love that you love this series! 🥰 They are fun videos to make, too. These quilts always surprise me when I start studying them closely.

[@SuzanneStutzle]

Ok, this is my new favourite now too. I love the vibrancy about it. The design is interesting and the sewing is very neat. I think the colours have been purposefully place even though it's scrappy (very scrappy) there is a nice placement of all the fabrics. Would be great to see how it washes up. Also it'd be interested to see how exactly the squares were sewn together. Loved this video.

[@SewtheDistance]

Thank you so much! And YAY! It looks like your name is back! I really love that because I know who I am responding to now! 😀 This one is great, isn't it? I need more of these in my life! LOL!

[@thereseborden9842]

Oh yes, just adorable. The pink and jade green suggests 30s. And this is very nicely and carefully made! I feel the same as you about the quirks of a home made, hand stitched so-called utility quilt. This is very likely created for use in the home by a woman (probably) with plenty of other work to and possibly a bunch of kids and all the stuff that our grandmothers did in the 1930s & 1940s. Those people worked hard. And yet the maker found time to design this beauty and put in extra details to make it special. Bravo! These pieces are time machines that tell us so much about past lives. And they are so worth appreciating and preserving. Thank you, Kris, for showing us this cool old time traveler!

[@SewtheDistance]

Well said! So true! I often wonder if I would be more prolific in all of this if I just got rid of my dang TV. LOL! These quilts are so inspiring. I am blessed to be able to share them with the world, even if it just a little bit. Thank you so much for watching and for sharing! 🥰

[@LilaSterling]

What a beauty! Turning the center of the bow ties makes such a dynamic change to them. Thank you for sharing this amazing work of art.

[@SewtheDistance]

You are so welcome! I love sharing these beauties with the world. I learn so much. 🥰 Love this one and the layout, too! I want to try it.

[@deborahlunsford6983]

Have one too which has that pink bubble gum color as the background and what looks like men's shirting for the bowties. . I love it and admire th hand piecing. Thank you for the fun video.

[@SewtheDistance]

So cool! Such a treasure! You are very welcome! Thank you for watching!

[@destrygraves]

I love the fabric. Really love the fabric. I also love the quirks. I think all quilts should be quirky. Great find.

[@SewtheDistance]

I think so too! What a wonderful world that would be--full of quirky quilts!

[@paulaflaugh5022]

Beautiful

[@valeriebull8157]

What a great find. Thank you for this series, I learn such special, hard to find information about quilts from you. I love your contagious enthusiasim.

[@SewtheDistance]

Thank you so much! You are so sweet! 🥰 So happy you love this series!

[@livingweirdestherc6644]

This is a great quilt. I admire the maker. 😊

[@SewtheDistance]

It really is! The maker had an eye for design.

[@davillarhayes2841]

Very amazing, love the ideal it was hand Stitch

[@dianehuntley2493]

Nice find! Lovely specimen😊

[@SewtheDistance]

It really is!

[@TashaQuilts]

I love this quilt. The fading was wild!

[@SewtheDistance]

Isn't it? I love the way it made it look!

[@wandawalker4191]

That is beautiful!!

[@SewtheDistance]

It really is. I just love it! 🥰

[@3catmom]

Lovely!

[@janetwalker7365]

Aha!!! A kindred spirit I had to put a restriction on myself for collecting vintage quilt since I ran out of storage space So...now I try to just by the tops These beauties always inspire me. And, what I like the best are the mistakes and the imperfections Glad to have found you!! Jan Walker from Jacksonville Florida 😅 ,

[@SewtheDistance]

Hi Jan! I am glad you found me, too! I love when kindred spirits connect. 🥰 I, too, am running out of space. I totally get it! Thank you so much for sharing and following along! My Lessons from an Old Quilt videos to come. ❤️

[@leahholland6272]

Wow! That red is amazing and bright

[@SewtheDistance]

It really is!

[@sewbeitquilts]

This quilt is amazing and I just can’t believe that you got it for such a great deal!

[@SewtheDistance]

Isn't it amazing? I can't believe it either. 😀

[@klwmadeit]

I love this beautiful antique quilt and your great overview of the detail. You have such an appreciation for the older art of quilting 😊

[@SewtheDistance]

Thank you! I love these quilts and have learned so much from them. You are very sweet!

[@ShadowMoonFarms]

What a lovely find. Thanks for sharing

[@SewtheDistance]

My pleasure! I am so glad you enjoyed it! 🥰

[@bethkoch11]

I really love this one! The Bowtie is still one of my very favorite blocks; in fact the very first quilt I made was a Bowtie. I have a WIP which is a scrappy bow tie with Kona Honey as the background on all the squares. I'm laying it out in exactly the same pattern as your fantastic quilt, but with much smaller squres (4-1/2"). I'd love to see this one after you've washed it and given it new life!

[@SewtheDistance]

YAY! I love that it helped inspire you! That quilt is going to be amazing! I did wash it, but it didn't really come clean, unfortunately. I am going to try again when I can hang it in the sun some. I still love it but would also love to get some of the stains out. Thank you so much, as always, for watching and sharing!

[@virginiatippen977]

Beautiful oldie Goldie!

[@SewtheDistance]

It sure is!

[@aliciamaxwell3904]

Oh Kris, I love it! I just bought a vintage bow tie quilt top and got it quilted this summer! 😍

[@SewtheDistance]

YAY! I love that you love this one and found one, too! 🥰

[@delwyngraham4033]

Thanks love this one great scappy idea to use up mount scapmore😊can you make a block to show how’s it’s done as would love to do it like the maker has done please please

[@SewtheDistance]

Isn't it a great block? Let me see what I can do. Stay tuned!

[@nancylaventure1403]

That’s so cool! A question for you… What do you do with your find?? Do you use them! It is a pretty quilt!!

[@SewtheDistance]

Thanks! 🥰 That's the million dollar question, isn't it? 😀 I have them EVERYWHERE in my house--under beds, on beds, on ladders, on shelves, in baskets--everywhere. We will never be cold! I do use them and invite anyone who is visiting to use them. I just love these quilts! I think about selling some once in a while but which ones? I love them all so much! I currently have over 100. 😀 I will have to part with some at some point. I am running out of room. For now, I will keep stuffing them around the house!

[@nancylaventure1403]

@@SewtheDistance 😂😂😂😂

[@patriciaallen3138]

I see circles. I like this.. I really do not like the bow tie look in general. But i like it here. What helps the bow tie to look good to me are the ones where they are plaid or stripes. They look like real bow ties.

[@SewtheDistance]

I saw circles, too! It is so funny how it tricks the eye, isn't it? I feel the same way about the bow ties. 🥰

[@debbiewood7718]

I love that design with the solids and prints. I am using men's shirts to uild my stash and this would be a great pattern to use them on. How to construct the block, that is the next question.

[@SewtheDistance]

Isn't it great? It would be amazing in shirting, too. This block is constructed with Y-seams. Eeek. Not my talent, but I am working on it. Stay turned!

[@arvettadelashmit9337]

I think you have the age of that quilt correct . This quilt doesn't show it; but, there are two bow ties in each block. Yes. You are correct. That is a beautiful quilt. Try soaking it (to loosen the dirt and stains). Gas heat does that to fabric, books, papers, wall-paper, and paint over time. It's hard to get out.

[@SewtheDistance]

Yes! So true! Thank you!

[@juliedickson-ui8wm]

Did you notice that the solids match between each bow tie block

[@SewtheDistance]

Yep! Each bow tie block is made up of two fabrics. A print and a solid. Isn’t that cool?

[@tammydugas9527]

I've wondered how much you were paying for all these quilts and what you do with them all!

[@SewtheDistance]

Great questions! I always try to mention how much I pay at the beginning of the videos, but I don't think I did that in my older Lessons from an Old Quilt videos. I usually pay less than $25 for them. Some I get for as low as $2. A few I even got for free. I think the most I ever paid for an old quilt is $150, but that is rare and is always a quilt I really want in my collection. As for what I do with them all, well--I use a lot of them. I also have them EVERYWHERE in my house! 😃 They are on shelves, on ladders, folded on beds, in closets, under beds, everywhere! I can't seem to part with any of them, but I do know someday I will have to. Maybe. 😃 I currently have well over 100 in my collection and that number keeps growing. I hope I answered your questions!

[@Carol_Sews]

I have a couple drunkards path quilts made by my grandmother and, I think, my great-grandmother. They used solids, mainly blue or yellow, for the quarter circles and a variety of calico prints for the concave parts. I think the prints look like dress fabric. I’m guessing the quilts were made in the 1940s or early 1950s. Like your bow tie quilt, there was no color scheme for the prints.

[@SewtheDistance]

Love this! What a treasure. Thank you for sharing!

[@susieinthecountry4434]

the fabrics are reflective of the time, not a lot of fabric available like present day. if only it could talk!