I love the muted oxidized colors of the natural dyes, but my favorite are the French floral (shabby chic) fabric in this quilt.

Measures 71 x 92 inches with the hand quilted 6-8 per inch aprox.

My imagination takes back to that time and thinking about what the women could have been discussing while hand-stitching this quilt. 

I believe this was a summer quilt due to the very thin cotton batting used. There is very tiny remnants of what I assume to be cotton seeds. 

Unfortunately, there is a bit of damage including stains, holes, and weakened fabric in several locations including the binding.

My goal was to preserve this quilt and the condition is how I purchased it.  See photos.

With that said, this quilt still has plenty of viable vibrant intact historical fabric that has not succumb to time. 

As a textile collector, it is an excellent example of the style of fabrics from the Civil War era and would be a great teaching/learning tool.

(When I was cleaning this quilt I did not pursue any further removal of stains because I only wanted to preserve the remaining fabrics) 

I purchased this quilt in the early 1990's from a large family farm estate that had a long family history dating back to the Civil 

War in my area. I live in Maryland which had an extensive presence in Civil War battles and campaigns. 

The house was beautiful and the items in it were even more glorious.

I brought the historical quilt home, and soaked it until the water was acceptably clear. 

Amazingly, this quilt did not suffer from any overwhelming odors as older textiles do. 

I used only a very mild and diluted mixture of detergent to "clean" the quilt and hung it on my clothesline to dry in the summer sun. 

I proudly displayed it in my foyer for almost 30 years. 

Now that my husband is retired we are downsizing and making repairs in our home, I decided to let this quilt go, be admired and treasured in a new home.