Flower of Life Quilt
This stunning 1930s ‘Flower of Life’ quilt is made of over 600 petals, cut from the most intricate array of floral fabrics and individually handstitched together. One of the prettiest quilts we’ve come across. Intriguing from a mathematical perspective, the flowers overlap everywhere, making them impossible to count! A sizable quilt at 77” x 94”, it is relatively thin but has a substantial weight (think heavy coverlet) and a lovely crisp cotton hand. It has tiny bits of cotton batting between the petals and in-between spaces. It is in excellent heirloom condition, with the only visible wear along the edges and in a couple tiny marks on the back (see photos). Though its maker history is unknown, it comes by way of Columbia, PA and is clean and ready for its new home.
Measurements: 77” x 94”
All quilts come with a muslin tag noting any known history, and an archival Micron pen for you to add yours.
10% of profits from this sale will go towards Safelight NC, a domestic violence organization that provides shelter and job training for domestic violence survivors/victims.
Note on antique/vintage quilts: Many of the quilts we sell have been loved, slept under, washed, sunshine dried, taken on picnics, slept on underneath the stars, and lived lifetimes before arriving at our doorstep. You can expect to see repairs made by later generations, fraying around the edges or in certain blocks, discoloration or yellowing, cotton/wool batting—or as we like to call them, tiny sheep—peeking through. They are imperfect, but their imperfections are charming to us and we hope you feel the same. They are reminders to us of their old age and the history to which they've been a witness. We try our best to note any imperfections, but it’s possible we might miss one here and there. Well-crafted, handmade antique quilts in their original form are becoming scarcer, and we believe it's vital that we preserve them and continue to love them, imperfections and all.
Because these quilts are one-of-a-kind and we are a tiny enterprise, we do not accept returns; please review all photos and the description carefully and ask any questions you may have prior to purchasing.
Tip their mouths open to the sky.
Turquoise, amber,
the deep green with fluted handle,
pitcher the size of two thumbs,
tiny lip and graceful waist.
Here we place the smallest flower
which could have lived invisibly
in loose soil beside the road,
sprig of succulent rosemary,
bowing mint.
They grow deeper in the center of the table.
Here we entrust the small life,
thread, fragment, breath.
And it bends. It waits all day.
As the bread cools and the children
open their gray copybooks
to shape the letter that looks like
a chimney rising out of a house.
And what do the headlines say?
Nothing of the smaller petal
perfectly arranged inside the larger petal
or the way tinted glass filters light.
Men and boys, praying when they died,
fall out of their skins.
The whole alphabet of living,
heads and tails of words,
sentences, the way they said,
“Ya’Allah!” when astonished,
or “ya’ani” for “I mean”—
a crushed glass under the feet
still shines.
But the child of Hebron sleeps
with the thud of her brothers falling
and the long sorrow of the color red.
// naomi shihab nye
This stunning 1930s ‘Flower of Life’ quilt is made of over 600 petals, cut from the most intricate array of floral fabrics and individually handstitched together. One of the prettiest quilts we’ve come across. Intriguing from a mathematical perspective, the flowers overlap everywhere, making them impossible to count! A sizable quilt at 77” x 94”, it is relatively thin but has a substantial weight (think heavy coverlet) and a lovely crisp cotton hand. It has tiny bits of cotton batting between the petals and in-between spaces. It is in excellent heirloom condition, with the only visible wear along the edges and in a couple tiny marks on the back (see photos). Though its maker history is unknown, it comes by way of Columbia, PA and is clean and ready for its new home.
Measurements: 77” x 94”
All quilts come with a muslin tag noting any known history, and an archival Micron pen for you to add yours.
10% of profits from this sale will go towards Safelight NC, a domestic violence organization that provides shelter and job training for domestic violence survivors/victims.
Note on antique/vintage quilts: Many of the quilts we sell have been loved, slept under, washed, sunshine dried, taken on picnics, slept on underneath the stars, and lived lifetimes before arriving at our doorstep. You can expect to see repairs made by later generations, fraying around the edges or in certain blocks, discoloration or yellowing, cotton/wool batting—or as we like to call them, tiny sheep—peeking through. They are imperfect, but their imperfections are charming to us and we hope you feel the same. They are reminders to us of their old age and the history to which they've been a witness. We try our best to note any imperfections, but it’s possible we might miss one here and there. Well-crafted, handmade antique quilts in their original form are becoming scarcer, and we believe it's vital that we preserve them and continue to love them, imperfections and all.
Because these quilts are one-of-a-kind and we are a tiny enterprise, we do not accept returns; please review all photos and the description carefully and ask any questions you may have prior to purchasing.
Tip their mouths open to the sky.
Turquoise, amber,
the deep green with fluted handle,
pitcher the size of two thumbs,
tiny lip and graceful waist.
Here we place the smallest flower
which could have lived invisibly
in loose soil beside the road,
sprig of succulent rosemary,
bowing mint.
They grow deeper in the center of the table.
Here we entrust the small life,
thread, fragment, breath.
And it bends. It waits all day.
As the bread cools and the children
open their gray copybooks
to shape the letter that looks like
a chimney rising out of a house.
And what do the headlines say?
Nothing of the smaller petal
perfectly arranged inside the larger petal
or the way tinted glass filters light.
Men and boys, praying when they died,
fall out of their skins.
The whole alphabet of living,
heads and tails of words,
sentences, the way they said,
“Ya’Allah!” when astonished,
or “ya’ani” for “I mean”—
a crushed glass under the feet
still shines.
But the child of Hebron sleeps
with the thud of her brothers falling
and the long sorrow of the color red.
// naomi shihab nye
This stunning 1930s ‘Flower of Life’ quilt is made of over 600 petals, cut from the most intricate array of floral fabrics and individually handstitched together. One of the prettiest quilts we’ve come across. Intriguing from a mathematical perspective, the flowers overlap everywhere, making them impossible to count! A sizable quilt at 77” x 94”, it is relatively thin but has a substantial weight (think heavy coverlet) and a lovely crisp cotton hand. It has tiny bits of cotton batting between the petals and in-between spaces. It is in excellent heirloom condition, with the only visible wear along the edges and in a couple tiny marks on the back (see photos). Though its maker history is unknown, it comes by way of Columbia, PA and is clean and ready for its new home.
Measurements: 77” x 94”
All quilts come with a muslin tag noting any known history, and an archival Micron pen for you to add yours.
10% of profits from this sale will go towards Safelight NC, a domestic violence organization that provides shelter and job training for domestic violence survivors/victims.
Note on antique/vintage quilts: Many of the quilts we sell have been loved, slept under, washed, sunshine dried, taken on picnics, slept on underneath the stars, and lived lifetimes before arriving at our doorstep. You can expect to see repairs made by later generations, fraying around the edges or in certain blocks, discoloration or yellowing, cotton/wool batting—or as we like to call them, tiny sheep—peeking through. They are imperfect, but their imperfections are charming to us and we hope you feel the same. They are reminders to us of their old age and the history to which they've been a witness. We try our best to note any imperfections, but it’s possible we might miss one here and there. Well-crafted, handmade antique quilts in their original form are becoming scarcer, and we believe it's vital that we preserve them and continue to love them, imperfections and all.
Because these quilts are one-of-a-kind and we are a tiny enterprise, we do not accept returns; please review all photos and the description carefully and ask any questions you may have prior to purchasing.
Tip their mouths open to the sky.
Turquoise, amber,
the deep green with fluted handle,
pitcher the size of two thumbs,
tiny lip and graceful waist.
Here we place the smallest flower
which could have lived invisibly
in loose soil beside the road,
sprig of succulent rosemary,
bowing mint.
They grow deeper in the center of the table.
Here we entrust the small life,
thread, fragment, breath.
And it bends. It waits all day.
As the bread cools and the children
open their gray copybooks
to shape the letter that looks like
a chimney rising out of a house.
And what do the headlines say?
Nothing of the smaller petal
perfectly arranged inside the larger petal
or the way tinted glass filters light.
Men and boys, praying when they died,
fall out of their skins.
The whole alphabet of living,
heads and tails of words,
sentences, the way they said,
“Ya’Allah!” when astonished,
or “ya’ani” for “I mean”—
a crushed glass under the feet
still shines.
But the child of Hebron sleeps
with the thud of her brothers falling
and the long sorrow of the color red.
// naomi shihab nye