The Origin of Finders Keepers Quilts
Posted by Deirdre Quirk on Feb 4th 2016
Edie McGinnis, best-selling Kansas City Star Quilts author and popular blogger, just couldn't say no to the opportunity that led to her newest book, Finders Keepers Quilts: Susan Knapp, proud owner of a new (old) house in Bloomfield, Iowa, had found a trunk of old quilts from the early twentieth century, miraculously well-preserved, and wanted Edie's help to recreate them.
Susan and her husband, Eric, bought the old farmhouse intending tear it down, but Susan couldn't resist going through it to see what might be in there first; and a good thing she did! Amidst the water-damaged structure and knee-deep debris, she and her sister-in-law, an avid quilter, found not only the chest but also several other quilts and a handful of embroidered table toppers.
Once they were brought to her, Edie took on the challenge of recreating the quilts with gusto, creating not one but two versions of each quilt: a faithful reproduction and a modern interpretation.
Above are both the original (on the love seat) and the reproduction (over the railing) braid quilts from the book. The braid quilt was found in the house under a pile of rubble and smelled so bad when it was found that Susan and her sister-in-law nearly abandoned it. But they could see the faded beauty and after seven washings and a long time sitting in the sun, they were able to clean it enough for it to be featured in the book. Below you can see the modern version, a bright and cheery wallhanging!
The stories and recreations of the other antique quilts are just as wonderful and can be found in Finders Keepers Quilts, now available on ctpub.com!
