Caravan Quilt's Substack

What’s it Like to Spend 5 Days at a Quilt Study Seminar?

Caravan Quilts — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 17:58:52 GMT

Niche interests are funny. They’re hyper specific but also tend to have a HUGE following. It seems that the more specific your interest or hobby is, the greater the chances are that there are thousands of people in the world who are just as passionate about it as you are. When passionate people find other passionate people, they like to get together!

What does it look like when hundreds of people from all walks of life, who are all interested in quilt study, get together for a week?

AQSG Seminar attendees come together over the quilt frame for a lesson in hand quilting in the lobby of the hotel, Portland, ME 2025 Seminar.

A Lucky Quilt Find

Caravan Quilts — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 18:21:53 GMT

When you’re a “quilt person”, if you’re really lucky, your friends see great quilts and they call you…text you…snag them on your behalf.

A Quilt Top from Dreamland

Caravan Quilts — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 14:34:24 GMT

A friend was at a market recently and sent me a photo of some quilts, but it was something in the background that caught my eye instead. “What’s that hanging over the rack in the background??” I quickly texted back. Photos of a quilt top followed and I was hooked.

What Ken Burns Said

Caravan Quilts — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:42:54 GMT

"Putting the quilts up permits other people to have their own associations. Like free electrons, they'll bounce off each other, and something will happen.” 1

If you search Ken Burns and his noteworthy quilt collection of nearly 100 quilts, ranging in age from the mid-1800s to about 1940, all of them, he claims, made by women, most search results offer accolades of his extensive career as a documentary filmmaker and of his love for handmade American quilts. 2

1840 to 1940

Caravan Quilts — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 20:01:56 GMT

Lapis Style printing, developed in the early 1800s, is recognizable by dye processes that involved indigo and madder which resulted in bright prints like those seen in the Pinwheel quilt above. Lapis style was widely popular for dresses and garments. When a cloth is popular for garments it is subsequently popular in quilts!

This green and white pinwheel…

There's Nothing "Small" About Antique Crib Quilts

Caravan Quilts — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 15:53:56 GMT

Hand Tied Comforter (Not a quilt due to the absence of quilting, but a stunning example of crib sized patchwork.) Image: Touching Stars Comforter -Caravanquilts.com

Crib quilts may be smaller in size but in the antique quilt world they often pack the biggest punch.

I remember when I first started buying and collecting quilts and I came across my first little crib quilt. It was a 19th century applique, the perfect little size, and I was stunned to flip the price tag and see a three digit number. As I began buying and collecting in earnest I quickly came to understand how highly sought after and collectible crib quilts truly are, especially now.

What qualifies as a crib quilt?

Top 5 Most Common Antique Quilt Patterns

Caravan Quilts — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 19:42:56 GMT

Since the birth of Caravan Quilts, I’ve had thousands of antique and vintage quilts come through my studio and my website. The passing of quilts through my hands has been a whole half of the education I’ve received on the history and study of antique quilts and when you’re handling that many quilts a year, you’re bound to start noticing some trends.

I’ve put together a list of the 5 most common antique quilts for you, what time period they were popular, and how you can begin to recognize them too…

Basting for 130 Years

Caravan Quilts — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 18:45:33 GMT

The quilt arrived from Andes, New York. I was surprised. I had been there not two weeks ago visiting a friend. I wondered if she knew the seller in that small Catskills town.

The colors were perfect, I was thrilled with it despite the signs of use and wear in a few missing patches and worn binding.

Hole in the Barn Door, the pattern a familiar one. I to…

Antique Quilts That Don't Fit The Bed

Caravan Quilts — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 15:12:07 GMT

It's true, antique and vintage quilts on average aren't that big. Earlier quilts, up to the mid-1800s, were often larger and may drape a typical contemporary bed, but as we get into the late 19th and early 20th centuries the sizes of quilts decrease.

The most popular question from clients is “Will this quilt work on my bed?”. My answer is always the sam…

Q is for Quilt, R is for Red

Caravan Quilts — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 19:05:26 GMT

It’s almost July, and how fitting that all sorts of reds have been popping up in all of the quilts that have found their way into my studio this month as I prepare the next group of quilts for my shop.

Coincidence? Perhaps, or maybe it’s my vision, clouded with strawberries spilling from the garden and the hands of the children this month, that has give…

The New York Man

Caravan Quilts — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 20:36:00 GMT

In 2024 I bought a civil war era quilt that would lead me on what I have fondly (or not so fondly) referred to as a wild goose chase. I purchased the quilt for my business, thinking of many clients who collect mid-19th century quilts, particularly the kind with inscriptions like this one. Except I never listed it.

It wasn’t long before the quilt totally captivated me. It showed its age in storage stains and yellowing and because of the inked inscriptions I knew I shouldn’t wet it. I spread it on clean cotton sheets outdoors to air and as I was adjusting the edge, I admired the quilting. Hand quilted in white cotton thread, it boasted little hearts, waves, and areas of tiny, dense hand stitching. Heart motifs in quilting are often attributed to New York, historically, and I had heard that they were especially popular with quiltmakers of Irish decent. But there was something else…

Something caught my eye, then. Between two red and green strips which make up some of the layers of the wide border design I noticed something different in the quilting. There were letters…and numbers.

Up Close and Personal with 10 Antique Quilts

Caravan Quilts — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 18:30:13 GMT

Oh, my goodness, this collection of 10 antique quilts was thrilling to put together! I worked hard on the perfect group of quilts for my clients for the month of June and it was such a pleasure. I gravitated toward these particular quilts for the same reasons I’m drawn to any of the quilts I sell. They catch my eye due to pattern, color and workmanship, they have some story to tell in the fabrics and stitching.

The Eddie Quilt

Caravan Quilts — Sun, 31 May 2026 12:48:00 GMT

The awe-inspiring nature of postage stamp quilts results from a combination of characteristics. The visual appeal of the sheer quantity of pattern and color, arranged in neat rows, has a delightfully dizzying effect. For quilt and fabric lovers the reaction is similar to the “candy shop” effect.

There is also the undeniable pull of seeing an object and knowing without a doubt that it was created over many hours with slow intentional effort. Thousands of one-inch squares do not just join themselves, after all, nor do they collect themselves over any number of short hours. These quilts, like all quilts, speak loudly of the labor involved.

Lest we forget texture, it is a grand thing to hold a quilt comprised of thousands of tiny one-inch squares of fabric all held together with careful hand stitching. There is a lovely sensory appeal.

Two thousand two hundred and two patches. That is the number of patches in the Eddie Quilt. Yet among all of those little dazzling squares there is one square with a little secret…

A Garden of Quilts

Caravan Quilts — Wed, 20 May 2026 01:35:09 GMT

May is a favorite month as the weather in New York begins to warm and the gardens awaken revealing Iris, sweet Flox, Wood Anemone and Bleeding Heart. Tall pink Columbine wave from shady corners and Lilacs fill the air with fragrance.

Cloth can set the tone for spring in the home as well, with soft color palettes and fresh floral prints and patterns. It’s a great time of year to pull out spring quilts. Themes of the natural world and verdant gardens are reflected not only in the tones and hues of a quilt but also through the block patterns and quilting motifs.

I’ve gathered a fresh collection of vintage and antique quilts for the Garden Collection. While sourcing I looked for key design elements that reflect the way we think about the month of May in the Hudson Valley.

Inscribed Quilts From the 1800s

Caravan Quilts — Fri, 15 May 2026 18:47:08 GMT

19th Century Block Printed Quilt with Inscription

A name on a quilt! How rare and rewarding! Details on a quilt that help us glean any information whatsoever about the quiltmaker are a rare treat, especially on older quilts like those from the 19th century. But what were they using back then to sign their quilts? And why have some inscriptions remained bold and fast while others have faded away or, worse, degraded the fabric?

The answer to why some quilt inscriptions last through the centuries and other don’t depends on factors like exposure to water, sunlight, and even wear and tear through use. But what really affects their sustainability are the ingredients that make up the ink itself. Not all inks are considered equal in terms of indelibility and longevity; in fact, some inks can actually eat away at the fabric itself leaving a ghost of what once was in the form of holes etched through the cotton.

The Sloane House Quilt, Double Irish Chain

Typically, there were three main types of ink being used by quiltmakers in the 19th century for their inscriptions:

When Make-Do Makes the Whole Quilt

Caravan Quilts — Tue, 05 May 2026 18:35:04 GMT

“Make- do” means to get along or manage with the means at hand. For quiltmakers, particularly those creating patchwork quilts, there is may be a necessity to piece together scraps of cloth to create bigger sections in order to complete a particular section of a block pattern.

Historically, many patchwork quiltmakers in America were working only with wha…

A Month of Antique Quilts

Caravan Quilts — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 18:02:08 GMT

We left at 7am, hit the highway and headed for hills. Spring is a wonderful time to source antique quilts and getting them home in this season usually means good weather for hand washing and sun drying.

Sourcing quilts in a never-ending task. While I’m launching a collection, the hunt continues and this is the way I spend most of my waking work hours. I…

Shooting Quilts for Spring in The Caravan

Caravan Quilts — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 16:33:40 GMT

5 Beautiful Old Quilts

Caravan Quilts — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 14:15:35 GMT

19th Century Star Quilt

This is a hand pieced and hand quilted star quilt out of New Jersey. Each block boasts a single hand pieced star with the two top and bottom corner stars on the left side set into more of a cross shaped block setting. The blocks are hand set into the wide red calico sashing. The binding is a machine applied in indigo blue and the backing off-white cotton. What makes this quilt unique is the execution of the corner blocks on the upper and lower righthand side. In these blocks the stars read as crosses, an effect achieved by replacing the corner patches with the same dark red as the sashing.

19th Century Red & White Patchwork Quilt

Update! 1930's Quilt Maker's Stash

Caravan Quilts — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 16:09:04 GMT

A week ago, I shared an article about getting to know a quilt maker from the 1930’s through her stash of clippings, letters and quilt block templates. If you missed it, you could catch up here. I felt like a true detective piecing bits of Mrs. Frank Card’s life in the 1930’s together using written correspondence, old envelopes and some of her quilt making materials from a box gifted to me by a friend. Unfortunately, many of my questions were unanswered, including those surrounding some letters from the Happy Day Quilt Club.

If you remember, in my first article, I talked about two handwritten letters titled Happy Day Quilt Club and they read as follows: