Hand quilting in groups called a ‘’Quilting’’ or a ‘’Quilting Bee’’ started in the late 19th century in America. It has a romanticized history of ladies from the community gathering to help each other complete quilts. The children would play together while the sewing was being done, and there was sometimes a meal prepared to share with all the families of the ladies in the Bee that evening. In some cases, these groups could become a bit exclusive. Everyone did not have the same sewing skills. If you were quilting a particularly special quilt, like one for a new baby or a wedding, you might only invite the most skilled quilters to complete it. There was also some prestige in saying that you had quilted the piece completely by yourself.
There were in fact many quilting bees, especially with the pioneer women of the west, set up under the shades trees or on the front porches during the warmer months. Their homes were probably not big enough to set up the quilt frame inside. The quilt top was cut and pieced by the lady of the house during the colder months so it would be ready for a quilting bee when the weather warmed up. The frame could be a pair of sturdy boards that the quilt was wrapped on. It was set up on chairs to be worked on. Ladder back chairs worked especially well since it could be set up at a lower height.
Finding hand sewn quilts these days is very special. One of our neighbors near the Design Studio for Riley Blake Designs and Penny Rose Fabrics allowed us to take pictures of her mother, Norma Hopkins Collins’, hand-stitched quilt from the early 1930’s. Mrs. Collins created her quilt in a small log cabin in Wyoming. She would have quilted the full/queen sized quilt on a hoop indoors, or outside on a quilt frame in order to have enough room to spread it taunt. Some of the colors are faded a bit, but it was a colorful quilt of peaches and teals when it was made. As you can see, the tiny stitches are beautifully, and evenly, sewn.
The block she used is called Attic Windows, and it has a great 3-D look. There are lots of free tutorials of how to make this impressive but easy block. For 1930’s style fabrics to inspire your own Attic Windows project, check out Toy Chest and 30’s Minis from Penny Rose Fabrics.