It was back in 2000 that I found the below picture in a magazine and I immediately ripped it out to save. I wish I could remember which magazine it came from so I could give them credit for the beautiful image.
The picture I had found was of an applique quilt called Autumn Leaves. The quilt was originally designed by Anne Orr and contained 650 leaves. This quilt appeared in the 1933 Chicago’s World Fair and was entered by Mary A Hilliker of Missouri. The entry was submitted into the Sears National Quilt Contest featured at the Fair that year and was said to be sold as a kit following the 1933 Fair. Her version (pictured below) had pink borders with vines but still contained the signature 650 leaves. The picture I found in the magazine, and have included above, has yellow borders with the same vines and leaves but was quilted by Charlotte Jane Whitehill. (photo courtesy of The Quilt Index)
I was instantly drawn to the colors and prints of the leaves and so my quest to recreate this quilt began. I researched the fabrics and discovered they were closely related to something called Feedsacks. Of course, I couldn’t figure out how plain white sacks translated into these beautiful colors and prints but my curiosity led me to research these fabrics further. My research then led me to eBay and imagine my surprise when I realized the vast array of patterns these beauties actually came in. I’m not sure what the fabrics in the original quilts were – they could have been sacks or they could have just been yard goods from the same period since they were both manufactured with some of the same designs.
In my attempt at recreating the pattern, my intention was to not repeat the same material in any leaves which meant I needed 650 different pieces. Keep in mind I only needed a piece of fabric 2 ½” x 3”and at that time I was paying $9.99 for a single full-sized sack. At that rate for 650 pieces, it would have cost me $6,493.50 which was WAY outside of my budget. Plus, I loved the novelty ones and those were selling for a much higher price. This was a huge realization, and disappointment, when I sat down and figured it out.
My next step was to Google the word Feedsacks and see what comes up. One of the links I found was for “The Feedsack Lady” aka Jane Clark Stapel and she even lived in my city! Imagine my surprise and excitement at finding her page. I immediately contacted her and the rest is history. Her and I became fast friends and I explained to her about needing 650 different pieces and she introduced me to the club she ran where they traded squares. (This is where the angel music plays). I started trading with the other members and was hooked. As the packages rolled in it was like Christmas and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. For all the prints I was finding on eBay there were hundreds of different ones I was receiving in the mail. Finally, she asked to see the quilt I wanted to make. When I showed her the picture and she burst out laughing. Turns out that it was the same quilt the Feedsack Club was making.
This is the Feedsack Club Quilt. It is unfinished as well.
This is as far as I got making this quilt. Writing this and pulling out the Club quilt has motivated me to continue working on this quilt.
