Searching for Old Quilt Fabric

I carry with me an envelope containing pieces of old fabric from a quilt my mom and dad received as a wedding gift in 1934.  If Mother ever told me who made it, I don’t recall now and wish I could.  I think it was someone in her family.

The quilt contained many pieces and was hand stitched.  Mother used it on the guest room bed.  In later years it must have been used for “every day” because when I found it, after Mother became ill with Alzheimer’s, the quilt was tattered, worn, and torn.  My daughter and I can salvage only portions here and there.

We’d like to find some old fabric or reproduction fabric that matches so we can add to the pieces we have.  So I carry a few pieces of the different fabrics with me as I travel around the country.  Although I haven’t found the fabric yet, I keep hoping.

In the meantime, searching for this old fabric brings me new friends in the quilting world.

  Although my quilt isn’t techincally a “puzzle quilt,” it’s a puzzle trying to find old fabrics that match the ones originally used for the quilt. 

 It’s also interesting to find that some of those fabrics aged more than others.  One fabric has practically disintegrated while another is whole but faded.