Signature Quilt

Virginia was bubbling with enthusiasm when she came to us with a half-finished quilt top and a pile of unattached blocks. Her mother’s 80th birthday was fast approaching and she wanted us to complete this quilt so she could present it to her on that occasion. How exciting, to be able to not only preserve an heirloom, but to help create one at the same time.

The all hand-embroidered quilt was a signature quilt started ages ago by relatives and friends from various regions. Unfortunately, not all the signature blocks had a date. For anyone participating in the creation of a signature quilt, dating is an important part of your block. The earliest date we can trace this quilt to is 1937.

The quilt top was partially pieced, but the blocks were not finished and there was no extra fabric with which to finish this treasure. The hunt was on. Fortunately, my grandmother was a dedicated quilter and I had inherited her “scraps.”

In addition, we had just received some 1930s reproduction prints in the store. The quilting gods were smiling on us, and we did not have to look far to match fabrics well enough to finish the blocks and the quilt top.

To keep costs down for our customer, we used the other random blocks – nine patch and log cabin – that were with the original pieces to complete the backing for this gem.


Using an edge-to-edge design on our dream machine we quilted a delicate rose pattern, the recipient’s favourite flower.


Hand-stitching the binding was the final touch and voila! Another beautiful heirloom to be appreciated for generations. We love this!


Thank you Virginia, for giving us the opportunity to be part of this process.