19th Century-Inspired Doll Quilt

In the summer of '09, Mom and I popped into a textile store in the preserved mining town of Columbia, CA, where we saw hundreds of reproduction fabrics from the 1800's.  It was so amazing to see all these beautiful calico, paisley and other vibrant prints which were exact duplicates of fabrics used to make clothes over 100 years ago.  I had to have some. I had no idea what I was going to DO with it, but I knew I had to take some of these wonderful fabrics home.

We then saw a book called "Prairie Children and Their Quilts", by Kathleen Tracy. 

Inspired by actual children’s diaries from the American frontier, this book explores the origins of doll quilts made during the era. It also had instructions for making doll-size, antique-style quilts.  Mom told me that she has a wooden doll bed up in the attic, which was never used.  It has always been a dream to put it together with her prized Madame Alexander doll from the 1940's - so we decided we would buy packages of reproduction quilting squares, and the book, and I would make (my first) quilt.

Voila!

(Click to enlarge)

This was the most rewarding project. All of the squares are made from 1800's-era reproduction fabrics, and the background and border fabric was made from vintage fabric I picked up at an estate sale.

I can't wait to give this to Mom on her birthday!