1930s Ohio Valley Folk Art String Stars Quilt – Printed Feed Sack Back – Hand Quilted – 60” x 77”

This wonderful 1930s folk art quilt is an improvisational String Stars Quilt that comes from the Ohio Valley and features 20 string-pieced stars against a medium blue cotton background separated by vivid red sashing.

Each star is composed of fabric scraps of Depression-era cottons, including floral calicos, novelty prints, plaids, stripes, checks, and colorful solids in pink, yellow, red, green, navy, and cream. The stars are irregularly pieced, with no two exactly alike.

The hand quilting is exceptionally dense for an improvisational quilt, with closely spaced stitching throughout the blue backgrounds, pieced stars, and red sashing.

The backing is a bonus and historically significant. It was constructed from repurposed cotton feed and milling sacks, with much of the original blue printed lettering still visible (though generally situated so the letters are backward). Among the surviving markings is “Wheat Gray Shorts,” a milling industry term referring to a wheat-milling byproduct commonly used in livestock feed. This terminology was standard throughout the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic grain-producing regions during the 1930s through the 1950s.

The surviving commercial feedsack print demonstrates the widespread practice of repurposing agricultural sacks for household textiles during the Depression era.

Details

* Date: 1930s
* Origin: Ohio Valley, United States
* Pattern: Improvisational String Star / Crazy Star
* Style: American Folk Art, Depression Era
* Size: 60” x 77”
* Construction: Hand pieced and entirely hand quilted
* Fabrics: Assorted vintage cotton prints and solids, including calicos, florals, stripes, checks, and novelty prints
* Colors: Medium blue background, bright red sashing, multicolored stars
* Backing: Repurposed cotton feed and milling sacks retaining original commercial printing, including “Wheat Gray Shorts”
* Binding: Light-colored cotton
* Quilting: Dense hand quilting throughout

CONDITION: Very good vintage condition for a quilt approaching 90 years of age. The front displays beautifully, with vibrant colors, distinctive improvisational piecing, and intact hand-quilting. The feed sack backing has areas of old toning and discoloration, as shown in the photographs and there is one small oval repair on the back, also shown in the photos. The original printed sack markings remain visible throughout and are an important part of the quilt’s history. Please examine the photographs as they form an important part of the description.

The quilt has been soaked, freshly hand washed and line dried, giving it a light, natural, sun-dried cotton scent (not artificially fragranced).