Question 2 – What fabrics/styles were in style when you began quilting?
Lots of calico and muted colors. Pink, peach, mint green, muddy browns. I don’t remember the name brands back then but I do remember Concord Fabrics. Solids were popular and “Amish” quilts with the solids and black were often used.
I don’t remember there being brights or batiks. Surely if there were brights, I would have found them! 🙂
Carol Harper says
I can’t really say because I was living in Saudi Arabia and the fabrics there were usually factory seconds and previous year close-outs… I have way too many small, dark prints from tjose days still in my stash!
leslie sorenson says
Judy, you and I must have started quilting in the same era. Those are the colors that I recognize.
…….mid 1970’s.
Sharon Downey says
My mother in law started teaching me to piece a top in 1968. I had been sewing for several years but didn’t save my scraps because of moving so often with my army husband. So my first tops were of scraps she gave me. Some blues, pieces from Jean sewing her own dresses and aprons and sew on. Later I started using scraps left over from sewing children’s clothes. I was living in Germany then. I don’t think I started buying material just for quilts till my children were grown or at least when there was only one home. So most of my early quilts were scrap quilts. No I don’t remember the batiks, and my brights usually stayed away from the neon green and orange that were popular when my daughters were younger. Some people were making quilts from double knits but I stayed away from those also. When I bought fabric it was usually from JC Penney and Woolworth. How many remember when Penny’s sold fabric and so much more?
CindyM says
I started quilting in the early 1980s, taking a sampler class where we made 12 blocks (from our own templates), and hand quilted the quilt. We needed 3 fabrics. Mine were country blue, brown and beige — all calicos. In the class there were several that were navy, burgundy and beige — all calicos! I remember one that was pink, light green and white — all calicos! Are we seeing a trend here?
Pat says
I think I started at about the same time. It was a real find to obtain Marcus Brothers fabrics at the quilt shop (Ben Franklin!). We’ve come a long way.
Joan says
mostly polyester –very little cotton was available, the tiny calico’s came out a couple years after I started.
Jane says
Calicos and mauves were the rage and as Judy mentioned those sea greens with peaches too. Forgot about the latter two since I was drawn with the first. WHich reminds me I have a pig somewhere with mauve, teal and yellow that I wanted to make, now whereever did I store that? LOL!!!
Linda B in TX aka MI says
My first quilts were doll quilts made out of scraps when my grandmother and aunt made quilts. They used old clothing and chicken feed sacks, with old blankets for batting and muslin type fabric on the back. That was almost 70 years ago. That was my first experience at sewing.
Carolyn says
as you said! calico’s flowers, amish like solids. My first BIG quilt is that way.
Sandy says
When I started quilting in 1987 the stores all carried those ditsy calicos in dull colors. When I went to a quilt shop one day there were only two bolts of yellow. It’s a wonder I continued quilting!
At my sister’s, while looking through her QNM collection, I saw a quilt by Yvonne Porcella made with bright solids. It was an “A-ha!” moment for me! I realized I could use whatever fabrics I wanted to make my quilts, I didn’t have to follow the crowd!
Sue says
I remember those tiny prints in pinks and blues, kind of muted colors. I wasn’t really crazy about those colors — I’m a primary color bold reds and blues and bright splash prints kind of girl — so it didn’t hold my interest long and I went back to garment sewing. Now the choices are endless, but being more ‘mature’ in my tastes I can appreciate the multitude of color schemes!
Clare says
Down here in New Zealand our choices were very limited. I started in the early ’90’s and it was mainly muslin, small prints in muted colours and some homespun solids. Otherwise it was polyester. Still love some of my earlier quilts though.