Feedsack Frenzy

I was lucky to "inherit" 20 - 12.5" handsewn feedsack blocks by a former guild and bee member, Karen Jurotich. I think these fabrics may be from the 1950's (but who knows, maybe even earlier?).

Feedsacks have an interesting history dating back to the late 1800's. They were used for feed, of course, but also flour, sugar and grain from the late 1800's to the 1950's. They became commercial darlings and eventually were massed produced by the late 1800's, which I find fascinating. Businesses figured out that the farmer's wife could turn these cloth feedsacks into "works of art", and the competition became fierce for their hard earned dollars when purchasing the families provisions during that time period. Woman collected and traded them and were inspired by all the patterns and colors flooding the market to make beautiful items for their homes.

I have worked and reworked some of the blocks that are not quite 12.5", along with hand dying the "cheddar" cornerstones, and lastly, finding antique muslin for the inner sashings to keep this quilt "authentic". However, the quilting part is where the old met the new, and I must admit, I hand-guided my Long-Armed on the entire quilt top to bottom. Hand-quilting, though beautiful, is a thing of the past for me. I felt empowered that since the technology is available to use with a machine, and more specifically, a Long-Arm, why not put it to good use and merge these hang-sewn blocks with a traditional hand-guided pattern for posterity?

BSoleille! The bright side of a present day old timey feedsack quilt!

Terri