Displaying Vintage Quilts in Our Knotty Pine Rooms

Handmade quilts add a cozy feeling of warmth to a room, especially when the backdrop is a knotty pine wall.  A few days ago, we were blessed to receive from my father-in-law, Richard, three vintage quilts that had been passed down in the family. He included with the gift two beautiful quilt racks that he had built.  (Thank you, Dad!!) 

Each of the quilts is about 80 years old and has been preserved lovingly all that time.

We decided to place the quilts where we would see them regularly, and so we put them in areas of the house that we use every day.  One quilt rack went into our living room and the other is placed at the top of the stairs near our bedrooms.

Before placing the quilts on the racks, I spread each one out on the bed in the master bedroom so that I could take a few photos to share.  One of the quilts was signed in embroidery by the woman who made it; its quilt blocks feature the letters of the alphabet.

Two of my favorite blocks in the alphabet quilt are the Windmill and the House.

So much time and effort went into making these quilts. It's incredible how well preserved they are.  The family has taken good care of them.

One of the other quilts has a similar color scheme to the alphabet quilt, but this one features flowers in its quilt blocks.

I love examining all the different vintage fabrics that are used for each of the flowers.  Below are close-ups of a few of the flower blocks, so you can more easily see the fabric patterns.

I wonder if the quilter used fabric from flour sacks?  Or maybe old shirts, skirts and dresses were repurposed as fabric for the quilt?

The quilt showcases not only the skill of the person who sewed it, but also the fabric patterns that were popular during that time. Although the blocks in this quilt are about 80 years old, the entire quilt itself was pieced together more recently.  We learned this from the hand-written notes that my mother-in-law had left to go with the quilts.  We were teary-eyed reading her notes, as she passed away a few years ago.

I've looked for reproduction fabrics based on vintage patterns such as those used in these flowers.  Reproduction fabrics are hard to find and can be very expensive.  

The third quilt that my father-in-law gave us has a charming red and white pattern.

I believe this is a snowflake pattern. Unfortunately, this quilt didn't have information to pass down with it, but it is a lovely treasure just the same.

Both of the quilt racks that my father-in-law built are of the same design. I appreciate how snugly the racks fit up against the wall so that they don't take up too much floor space in the room. The width of each rack allows for a good amount of quilt to be displayed, which I also noticed and appreciate.  Their simple design blends in nicely with any style.  Although the racks are tall, they are very stable.  He did an excellent job building these and we love the design.

We are truly enjoying seeing these vintage quilts displayed in our knotty pine home.  

This House with Knotty Pine

See many more photos of our house with its wood walls in our e-book, This House with Knotty Pine. Click to download your copy from the Amazon bookshelf (for reading on iOS, Android, Mac, and PC using the free Kindle app). 

In the book, which you can download and view now, you'll discover how we stumbled upon our unique home. The house was once part of a dairy farm, but it had fallen into disrepair over the years.  Despite the sad state of the house, the solid planks of knotty pine throughout were still in great shape. Included are photos of the renovation plus many more photos of each of the eight rooms decorated. Click to see the book on Amazon.

We invite you to download your copy of the book, which follows our journey as we share what we learned while renovating and decorating a house with its vintage knotty pine walls. See photos of our rooms from start to finish and throughout the seasons.