Vintage Quilt Amazing Windmill

Vintage Quilt Amazing Windmill

This delightful 70" x 80" Amazing Windmill quilt is a wonderful example of Depression-era ingenuity and scrap quilting. Barbara Brackman identifies this block as Amazing Windmill (#2726) in Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns, though the design has appeared under numerous names throughout its history, including Autumn Leaves, Denver, Boston Pavement, Spider Web, Mystic Maze, and Merry Go Round. Such multiple names were common during the 1930s as newspapers and pattern designers republished favorite blocks under new titles. Every windmill block is pieced from a unique assortment of vintage fabrics, creating a beautiful sampler of florals, plaids, stripes, shirtings, polka dots, and feedsack prints that make this quilt a joy to study.

This quilt has a folded front-to-back binding that has been hand stitched, and the quilting throughout is also entirely hand stitched. The batting is very thin or absent, giving the quilt a soft, lightweight feel. As a true cutter quilt, it has extensive fabric loss and deterioration throughout, along with a frayed binding, making it unsuitable for restoration but ideal for repurposing projects, textile art, or as a source of authentic Depression-era fabrics. Despite its condition, the remarkable variety of fabrics and the historically significant Amazing Windmill pattern make it a wonderful piece for collectors, designers, and makers who appreciate the beauty and history preserved in vintage quilts.

This quilt has not been laundered by Janj Threads. Any cleaning decisions have been left to the next caretaker to preserve the quilt according to their preferences. 

• Condition: Cutter/Stacker Condition
• Circa: 1933–1940. The quilt's extensive use of classic Depression-era feedsack and dress fabrics, combined with the documented publication history of the Amazing Windmill pattern during the early 1930s, strongly supports dating this quilt to the mid-to-late 1930s.
• Size: 70"x 80"
• Batting: Lightweight to none
• Standout: Beautiful windmills just waiting to be repurposed!
• Shipping: (within the continental U.S.) and shipping insurance is included in the price of the item.