An antique quilt from Connecticut features this design as one “block.”
I think of “Sixteen Patch” quilts as a grown-up version of the Nine Patch, traditionally the first kind of pieced projects that many little girls attempted. This particular quilt can be seen, in its entirety, on the front page of our website, at the moment. When I laid eyes on this nineteenth century quilt, I noticed how “clean” and unblemished it looked. I liked the wide cheddar-print borders, and then I could see how nicely the quilt had been hand-quilted with diagonal lines of stitches.

Quilts do not have to be extraordinarily contrived to be pleasing to the eye. This quilt, though apparently never used, was made for comfort, and a certain home-y comfort, at that.

We buy quilts because we like them. In this case, I was drawn to all of those typical nineteenth century colors:  double pink, manganese brown, Hershey brown, and others that make my heart sing.

On that particular day, that quilt and two others just happened to “follow me home.”

Patricia Cummings

Visit the to see the whole quilt.

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