Quilt in a Day Forums

I am a newbie to this site and to quilting, tho I have sewn for 52 years, I'm trying to sew a quilt like my grandma did, (1892-1983), and I saw a bit of the quilts in the book Egg Money Quilts. If any of you are familiar with it, can you tell me what " kind" of quilts these are as they are very much like the ones I remember that my grandma made, there was always a lot of white or muslin and then equally spaced blocks or patterns. hope that helps, thanks, Wendy B in Grants Pass OR

Wendy,hi you asked about egg money quilts. The book is a 1930's sampler. I am having a error message. will try to re do this

Wendy, it went thru even with the error message--do not know why that happened! Anyhow, that boook is really good and it has a lot of extra things--aprons tote bag and a couple other things... it has templets in the book and they are a nice,useable set. It includes a dresdan plate and a hexi look easy pattern as well as wedding ring.. the sampler format lets you do 6' and /or 12" blocks and you can do them as single blocks using the extra items as starting points would be great especially since you are a long time seamstress. My g-ma was born in 1875 AND lived 102 years and did all sorts of sewing knitting, tatting,crochet etc as they had to then and passed it down. Ive done a lot of different things...I think it is in your blood so to speak if it has been part of you from early-on. Perhaps you have some of your g-mas fabric or clothing...having sewn for a long time, I'm sure you must have bits of things from your extra just in case fabric purchases. I used to buy extra when my family was young so I have a lot of old as well as new...I had a large family and it seems like yesterday that they were young. look at the free project blocks referenced in the home page and you will see some tempting trials as well as charts for the use of tools and videos free to watch. Good to meet you and have a great time sewing...what types of things do you generally make?

I have about 28 of Eleanor's books and Egg Money is my most-used, go-to book. I love it! I think I've made every block in it and most of the quilts. It's name tells you that it's focus is on the era of your grandmother - the day when women kept chickens, sold eggs, and used the egg money for special things - like fabric! You can make many projects, and many versions of each project in the book. El always is easy to follow.

I'm not sure what you mean by what 'kind' of quilt. You can make them any size you want and from any fabric you want. you can add sashing strips between your blocks - or not. Your choice. I like to back quilts with flannel, but many prefer cotton. I do not use muslin. I personally don't like it. It won't hold up over time.

If you have any questions, there is always someone on this forum who can answer it for you. Just dive in and see how it goes. One word of advice though - especially for new quilters: Don't cut ALL your fabric right away. Cut fabric for just one block, sew it, and see how it goes. Occasionally even an experienced quilter makes an error, cuts all the fabric for an entire quilt, and ends up having to buy more fabric. I always make a sample block before cutting the rest of my pieces.

Happy quilting!

Welcome! No dumb questions are e er asked!

Most of the fabrics used in the Egg Money book are 30's reproduction fabrics - copies of the feed sack those quilters used. Many quilt shops carry those fabrics, so you can achieve that look.

I too am not fond of using muslin in my quilts - a fabric line - Kona Cottons - gives you many choices in solid colors and is very nice to use.

The other to achieve that look is the batting - the quilters in that vintage used wool batts - which when washed would shrink horribly. There are many different batts now that work very well.

Jana

Well, Wendy...I seem to be an exception when it comes to muslin......I actually love it! I love the look of it and working with it. I personally have bought it by the bolt and would not and do not hesitate putting it in my quilts. I have feedsack that my Grandma gave to me many years ago and some I inherited when she passed on to be with the Lord. I would never consider using anything but muslin in the quilts I make with those. I also have some courser muslin I got overseas. I personally have never had a problem with the muslin in the quilts that we're handed down to me being worn. I have a cathedral window from my grandma that the base is exclusively muslin. Saying all that...I do not Belittle nor question the personal preference of the other three quilters that have responded. That is the beauty of making quilts!...it's what YOU like..Swaps and lottos on here do not allow you to use muslin...and that is fine. I have been in many and take no issue in that. I am happy to choose a less utilitarian fabric. Egg Money Quilts is my most favorite book by Eleanor Burns! I would pick what you like and take purrfect-lady's advice...do not cut out all your fabric at once!...Try one block first...I still on occasional do not follow this advice and I ALWAYS end up changing my block and have fabric cut I have to hope can be used in another project..Oh My!..I've really babbled on!...sorry, that's what happens when I start talking about quilting! Especially when related to grandma!...Good Luck!..Sonya.
EDITED to say FEEDSACK!...not feedback!...SHEESH!

This is probably my very favorite of El's books! I like to use white fabric when using the 30s prints, however I like to use a really good quality of muslin if I'm using darker prints. My mom made the apron from the book--It brought back memories of my grandma.

If you only buy one book, this is the one I recommend. I love it! I've used various of the blocks in table runners, and I've made a sampler quilt although not all of the blocks in the book were used. Enjoy!

I agree with chickie an awesome book to have to learn the old patterns in a great way. El is wonderful in her directions in the book. A definite buy if you can. I too love the older patterns and love this book. You can make a sampler quilt from the blocks that is stunning:)

Izzy