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Historical Red-and-Green Quilts

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Weeping Willow Houses

Quiltmaker: Bobbi Finley of Williamsburg, VA
Quilt size: 46" square

The inspiration for my quilt appears on page 35 of The Quilt Engagement Calendar Treasury (E.P. Dutton, Inc., New York, 1982). A pieced and appliquéd quilt called Houses and Weeping Willows, it was made c. 1880 in New York State. The original consists of 21 house blocks and 21 weeping willow blocks and measures 94x82".

My blocks are 12" which I believe is the size of the blocks in the original quilt but I made only 9 blocks and repeated the border of the original. House quilts are a favorite of mine and weeping willow trees make me smile. I have loved this quilt for a long time. I think it is bold and whimsical and I would love to have known the maker of the original. I was fascinated by the method she used for the border. Instead of laying down the vine and placing the two sides of the tie on top of the vine, she placed one tie under the vine with the other on top. I'm happy to finally have my own copy of this quilt.

After I drafted my own patterns and made my quilt I discovered a published pattern of this quilt. I thought I had done something original but apparently someone else also liked this quilt.

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