The Wiscasset Quilt - From Dee at The Farm, Railroad, Sewing Machines and Beyond

The Wiscasset Quilt

   

I was visiting with my long time friend Myrtle Bentley in Owatonna Minn in the early 1980’s and she had a book on quilts called  Patchwork Quilts by the editors of Consumer  Guide.  I looked at the book and saw some quilts that I thought I would be interested in making.

    There were two beautiful applique quilts that had been made in Wiscasset Maine in the early 1930’s and they were listed as being made by an expert and probably made by Marion Mckissick.  They said it would almost be impossible to get the right color cottons to make the quilts but I decided that I was going to make one.

    I like to do hand applique so the pattern was in the book and I searched among my stash of materials and found material that I thought would work.  The center had a 8 pointed star that was appliquéd and I made a test block using that technique.  I did not like that so I drafted an 8 pointed star and the pieces that went around it and that worked much better.

    I started the quilt in 1985 and there  were 12 big blocks and so I started to work on them.  I took a couple to Peru when I went down there in the 80’s and then I worked on and off for 3 or 4 more years.  It probably took me 40 hours to make one block.  I finished the blocks sometime in the 90’s and just let them sit for a while.

    Dale was ill and I took care of him and put my intricate stuff on hold.  One day about 2002 I decided to put the quilt together and start hand quilting it.  I quilted it in a hoop and it took me a couple of years of on and off quilting.  

I took it to the county fair in Blackwell about 2007 and I won a blue ribbon on the quilt.  It is now in my daughter’s possession and the quilt goes to my grand daughter Grace.  It was a fun quilt to make  but I do not think I will try another one that intricate.