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Vintage Anne Orr Mosaic Rose Quilt Kit

Posted on April 1, 2011October 9, 2015 by Martha

Here is something I really appreciate — for over 80 years, some nice person kept together every item of this quilt in progress. Large pieces of the colored fabrics were included, as well as a tiny illustration from a Lockport leaflet and a hand-colored drawing by the quilter.

Apparently, the quilter had just that tiny clipping as her inspiration, and no instructions. She spent lots of time calculating stuff that I can’t quite make out — probably how many squares of each color she would need and how much yardage to purchase.

She got started hand piecing the little squares together, but she couldn’t seem to figure out a method that worked. There are just a few odd shaped block pieces with lots of seams unpicked. One problem I noticed right away is that she decided to switch from using her sandpaper and cardboard templates to ripping the fabric. I’m sure she got frustrated cutting all those little squares (too bad she didn’t have a rotary cutter!). Of course, her little pile of ripped squares are slightly misshapen and have fuzzy edges, which makes accurate piecing nearly impossible.

Here is a photo I found on ebay of a completed Anne Orr quilt that is very similar, except it has two rows of blue.

Of course, you can tell from the fabric and the pattern that this quilt is from the 1930s, but it’s also nice to have a real date. Isn’t it great that she just happened to use the back of this scrap of paper to make some of her notes. . .

I’m sorry she had a lot of trouble with her quilt project, but, like many of my best finds, her loss is my gain. I’m not sure how many blocks I’m going to be able to make from this fabric, and I don’t intend to try and calculate it — I’ll just start making them and see how it goes. Thank you unknown quilter (and unknown quilter’s family) for preserving this wonderful piece of history for me.

12 thoughts on “Vintage Anne Orr Mosaic Rose Quilt Kit”

  1. ImperaMagna says:
    April 1, 2011 at 5:15 pm

    How incredible that everything was together like that… and how wonderful that you will continue the long delayed process of completing the quilt top!

    Reply
  2. Karen Beigh says:
    April 1, 2011 at 5:21 pm

    No wonder the poor lady gave up on her project. And good that someone kept everything altogether and that it ended up in your hands.

    Reply
  3. Allie says:
    April 1, 2011 at 5:30 pm

    You find THE best stuff, Martha! This is truly lovely.

    Reply
  4. Barbara says:
    April 1, 2011 at 6:34 pm

    Those colors are just wonderful. I love that the fabric came with a story that you could piece together too.

    Reply
  5. LoriD says:
    April 1, 2011 at 7:06 pm

    That is so sweet!

    Reply
  6. Nicky says:
    April 2, 2011 at 12:40 am

    Where do yu find these lost little treasures?

    Reply
  7. Ann Champion says:
    April 2, 2011 at 10:46 am

    I can just imagine the frustration that quilter felt! It’s so good that everything was kept together. I know you’ll make sense of it all and will create something wonderful. 🙂

    Reply
  8. Gina Pina says:
    April 2, 2011 at 11:32 am

    It is a shame she gave up, it looks to me like it was going really well! I think it is amazing that it was all kept together and then found by an amazing quilter! What luck that fabric has.

    Reply
  9. Carol Hansen says:
    April 6, 2011 at 5:59 am

    Fabulous. I can totally relate to the story.
    I attempted to make that quilt pattern when I was a novice quilter. Never did finish it and used the pieces for something else.

    Reply
  10. Holly says:
    April 6, 2011 at 9:33 am

    How fantastic that so much of the “story” of this quilt has travelled with it. I can see that the original creator of the quilt spent a lot of time calculating and thinking about how the finished quilt would look. Wouldn’t she be thrilled to know that you are undertaking the task of making this quilt 75 years later???

    Reply
  11. Crystal says:
    July 14, 2012 at 5:32 pm

    My grandmother made a quilt for me that must be the exact pattern you mention as coming from a ‘Lockport’ pamphlet. It is the same colors as shown in your photos and has only one row of blue for the trellis or Irish Chain. I would really like to have the original pattern or a copy of instructions. Do the Lockport pamphlets still exist? Maybe I could send you a picture of my quilt, if you like. Any help in recreating this quilt would be appreciated.

    Reply
  12. Grace Norris says:
    March 28, 2014 at 6:31 pm

    Mosaic Rose
    I have the exact quilt in my stash of quilts received after my Mother In Law died. The quilt is completed and hand quilted. Colors are still vivid
    after what appears to have been many washings. There is no label on
    the quilt, but I believe it was done by my husbands family.

    Reply

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