How to Buy Vintage Quilt Blocks // Try it Tuesday

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Vintage Blocks

Inspired by my sister-in-law Amber, I made my first purchase of vintage quilt blocks from an antique quilt vendor at Quilt Market last October. I spent a good half hour early one morning talking to the owners about quilts--it was really wonderful.

Anyway, these hand pieced blocks spoke to me, and at a dollar each, I figured I could spend $20 and come away with something totally new and different. The x blocks are similar to the Mayflower block in Vintage Quilt Revival, but shorter and more squat. According to Jinny Beyer's  The Quilter's Album of Patchwork Patterns: 4050 Pieced Blocks for Quilters  the star block is the Arkansas Star. Loved the curved centers. (There is a really cool Arkansas Star Quilt on the Quilt Index site).

I limited myself to $20, because I could see how purchasing vintage blocks and quilts could be habit forming, not to mention expensive.

Vintage Quilts at Quilt Market

Aren't these quilts so great???

I plan to sew these blocks into some sort of quilt top/wall hanging. They are all different sizes and not exactly precise, so I'm not sure how I'm going to do that yet.   My first thought it some sort of wonky log cabin-ish border.... Any suggestions?

I'll be back in a few weeks with my results/suggestions for piecing vintage blocks, as well as sharing a beautiful quilt as part of Vintage Quilt Sunday that my sister-in-law Amber made out of dresdens she purchased on eBay.

If you are looking for a place to purchase vintage blocks and/or quilt tops and quilts, my suggestions include:

--Antique Stores/Malls--Quilt Shows--Flea Markets--Ebay--Thrift shops/consignment shops--Ask around--who knows what treasures friends or family members might have that they don't know how to/don't want to finish--Katie suggested Estate Sales--Kelly suggested Etsy--Any other great sources?