To Price a Quilt

What are these old beauties worth? Georgette at Penland's in Marshall, NC wants to know. A local man brought them in to sell. Thank heavens! Lots of folks who don't know how much work goes into a quilt will take old ones to the dump.

It's been so long since I looked at antique quilts that I haven't a good idea of what would be fair and reasonable prices for them but I'm hoping some of my  quilting friends (Pepper Cory especially) might have an idea.

I see these quilts as charming folk art. Most are too worn for daily use but would be nice hung on a wall or over the back of a chair as decoration. Some could use a bit of washing.

Here are my hurried observations on each quilt:

1. Six Chickens -- These sturdy legged chickens would brighten any room. The quilt is twin-sized, cotton and polyester, in good condition. The edges are not bound so it was probably never used.  It is hand quilted in a fan pattern.

2. Sunbonnet Sue I -- cotton, red sashing is quite worn. Hand quilted.

The little girls wear a variety  of pastel prints -- maybe some feed sack material?

3. Dinner Plate variation (I think.)

It's visually striking, despite its worn and faded condition. I think that's some more feed sack material in the multi-hud plate rims. 

Hand quilted.  Thirties? Forties? Later, using saved fabrics?

4. Pastel Eight-Pointed Star-- the prettiest of the lot, in my opinion. The soft colors are lovely.

And there's a little surprise -- one triangle cut from fabric bearing the Minnetonka Moccasins logo. I love oddities like this. Did the fabric have a special meaning for the quilter? Or had she run out of yellow and used this to fill in?

Hand quilted and  in good  (if slightly soiled) condition except for a badly frayed binding that could be easily replaced.

5. The Grandmother's Flower Garden Diamond Variation is cotton with some wear and straight line hand quilting.

I've never attempted hexagons and can only imagine how much work this would be.

6. Sunbonnet Sue II -- the bold one.

The sashing is a coral-ish red and the little girls' outfits are bright.

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Hand quilted in straight lines. Good condition

7. Appliqued Tulips -- poly and cotton. Hand quilted around flowers. Good condition. This too would be a cheerful wall hanger.

7. Red, White, and Blue (and Green) -- A machine pieced top of poly/cotton. I  don't know the name of this pattern but it's another bold visual statement. And I adore the lone green square at the top. Again, I try to imagine the quilter's reasoning . . . 

If anyone has thoughts on appropriate pricing, I love to hear them.

And should you be interested in purchasing one, you can get in touch with Georgette Shelton, the store owner, at 828.649.2811 or triagegps@ad.com...