Wild Goose Chase

A wonderful two color vintage Wild Goose Chase Quilt.

The maker of this quilt, Elizabeth, inscribed her name on the back in ink.  Elizabeth was a resident of Skaneateles, New York in the mid 19th century.  A family descendent did not know what the "No. 19" meant below Elizabeth's signature.  I thought possibly it could be the 19th quilt in her dowry?   Or the No. 19 in the laundry rotation?

The quilting design had me wondering whether it was quilted at a later date.  Can you see the hearts in the muslin sashing? A heart motif is not one I've seen frequently on vintage quilts.  The quality of the quilting stitch was definitely from a skilled quilter using fine stitches.  Maybe the hearts do lend towards the theory of the quilt being part of a dowry.

I was fortunate enough to have this quilt this past summer to clean for a family descendant of Elizabeth.  The quilt was found in a storage area and had some red staining, possibly from a blanket or another quilt with unstable red dye. 

A contemporary reproduction of the yellow print in the antique quilt would be this print from ReproductionFabrics.com.

Is this colorway making a comeback?  The February 2013 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting has a two color quilt in a Churn Dash variation.  While Butter Churn has a contemporary feel, the antique quilt is from the early 20th century.  Since this colorway has been sporadic in popularity over time, it is nice to see some attention devoted to this happy colorway.

Personally, I'm a fan of chrome orange.  But then again, you're talking to someone with an orange front door, a living room painted in Pumpkin Spice (like living inside a pumpkin) and whose alma mater is the Orange.