Katy Dickinson

Old Quilts

I learned to appreciate and collect old quilts from my mother ( Eleanor Creekmore Dickinson), who was born and raised in East Tennessee. She was taught to quilt by my Great Grandmother (Ellen Bolli Van Gilder). I still have the "Grandmother's Flower Garden" pattern baby quilt my mother sewed as a child.

When my children outgrew asking for cartoon character bedding (we had dinosaurs, Little Mermaid, Pokemon, and Harry Potter sets, among others), I started putting pieced patchwork quilts on their beds. I have found eBay an excellent source for quilts but I have also purchased quilts from antique dealers and direct from the women who created them. Since I use the quilts on beds, I almost always buy quilts which are in solid condition, machine pieced, and less than 100 years old.

Quilts which are "collectible" are often unused, because much of their value is based on their being "like new". I prefer to use old quilts, enjoying the softness of the fabric after many washings. Quilt expert Shelly Zegart provides the following "Condition Listings" for the quilts she sells to banks, hospitals, airports, universities and private collectors:

• Mint: Quilt is unwashed, like new condition. No stains, holes, color fading, or wear. No restorations or repairs. All seams and stitching intact. No batting shift noted.
• Excellent: Quilt has never been washed. May have minimal fading or staining. No holes or tears. All stitching and seams are intact. May have some batting shift.
• Good: Quilt may have been washed. May have some fading, staining, or discoloration. May have some age appropriate wear to fabric or binding. May have been repaired or restored. May have some loose stitching or open seams. May have a batting shift.
• Fair: Quilt has been washed. May have fading, wear, and or staining. May have a small tear or hole. May have loose stitching or open seams. Batting may be shifted or exposed.
• Poor: Obvious wear, staining, and or fading noted. May have tears, holes, or fraying. Loose stitching and or open seams may be present.

When I look at a quilt, the basic elements I consider are:

• Color and design: overall pattern, consistency, quilting vs. piecing as parts of pattern
• Quality of work: hand vs. machine, stitches per inch, pattern execution
• Fabric and batting content: cotton, wool, synthetic fabrics and thread
• Condition: stains, holes, fraying, patches, smell, fading, fragility
• History and provenance of that particular quilt
• Price

My favorite quilt patterns are log cabin (because it can be executed so many ways) and broken star. Below are photos of some of my quilts:

Embroidered and quilted

Quilting and embroidery detail

Bear claw pattern

Bear claw quilting detail

Tagged border

Quilting detail

Flying geese pattern

Flying geese detail

Log cabin pattern

Log cabin detail

Log cabin pattern

Log cabin detail

Amish log cabin pattern

Log cabin detail

Windmill pattern

Pinwheel pattern

Wedding ring pattern

Amish broken star pattern

Broken star pattern

Sunbonnet Sue pattern

Sunbonnet Sue detail

Images Copyright 2008 by Katy Dickinson

Posted at 03:54PM Jan 16, 2008 by katysblog in News & Reviews  |  Comments[1]

Railroad Equipment on eBay

From time to time, my husband John and I go hunting through the eBay auction offerings for a missing piece of railroad equipment for WP668, our backyard caboose. There is something validating about the fact that there are 22,972 items now for sale in the "Railroadiana, Trains" eBay category: we are not alone in our interest in historic trains!

Last year, we bought a pair of original caboose marker lamps to fit into the slots at either end of WP668 (see photos below). We are lethargically searching for another pair for the other side. We paid $225 for our pair. I noticed another larger pair sold recently for $1,242.50 (eBay Item number: 320198430842) and a third pair of marker lights is now being offered for $550 starting bid (eBay Item number: 250205876513).

First, even after 9 years of regular eBay use, I am surprised that so much historical railroad paraphernalia is for sale. Second, the prices are remarkably high. Clearly, the market for obscure antiquities is both deep and rich.

Images Copyright 2007 by John Plocher

Posted at 10:58AM Jan 16, 2008 by katysblog in Caboose Project and Other Trains  |