Thank you for the kind comments about my Folk Art Button Quilt. It has gotten a lot of interest over the years, and I'm always happy to share its story.The quilt started as a block exchange between friends. We each chose a motif and then looked to antique quilts, hooked rugs, and folk art for inspiration and patterns. By stitching the same motif for each member of the group, we ended up with identical sets of blocks.
After the exchange, we were free to embellish the blocks and set them together any way we wanted. I added buttonhole stitching and old brown buttons to mine. The idea to offset the appliques with Nine Patches was inspired by this Calico Garden Quilt from the Shelberne Museum’s collection. (A pattern to reproduce that quilt is available from Hoopla Antique Quilt Patterns)
I pulled out all my autumn colored fabrics as well as woven plaids, cutting a 2” strip from each. Rather than sewing strips together as we tend to do in making Nine Patches, I cut the strips into 2” squares. This allowed me more flexibility with color placement. No two blocks are alike. I had enough brown buttons to add one to the center of each Nine Patch.
