This striking collection of vintage roses, damasks and florals is OohLaLa! When you're looking for a style that's sophisticated and elegant, these antique taupes, deep reds and blacks will surely inspire your inner "Francophile".

Inspired by her love all things French, artist Paula Scaletta created this collection to share with quilters and crafters from every part of the world.

VINTAGE SHIRTINGS, 1870-1925 by Sara Morgan

Between 1870 and 1925, quilters were fond of using white shirting fabrics for pieced quilts. The standard shirting prints were small, isolated figures on white or off-white backgrounds. During the decade of 1874-1884, Allen Printwork's line of shirtings were among the most popular. Quilters used black, muted red and medium blue on white grounds, with small geometric, floral and striped patterns.

Around 1925, plain white cottons resumed their popularity and began to replace shirting as a standard background fabric for pieced designs.

During the Seige of Vicksburg (May1863-July4, 1863), quilting never ceased...it became a past time for keeping spirits up and making the best of a bad situation.

A ridge located between the main town and the rebel defensive lines provided the diverse population with safe houses for the duration.

Over 500 caves were dug into the clay hills, which were deemed safer than any home, structurally sound or not. Women did their best to make their living spaces comfortable, bringing quilts, rugs, furniture and pictures to hang. They timed their activities with the rhythm of the cannonades. As a result of the caves, the Union soldiers gave Vicksburg the nickname of "Prairie Dog Village."

Purchased from an exclusive antique fabrics merchant, this rare estate collection from Sara Morgan features fine prints with intricate and delicate details. The Eagle print is truly majestic and will work beautifully with historical quilt reproductions from the mid 1800s.

Paper Doll Cuties In Association with the Chester County Historical Society

These adorable paper dolls come straight from the archives of the Chester County Historical Society. The dolls date back to the early 1900s and originated in Germany. You'll find the sweetest details, intricate designs, and matching accessories to cute to pass up!  The creative possibilities are endless - create a take-along play set, or a beautiful bed quilt with matching pillow shams and curtains. Or just sew a border or two around a few panels and you'll have an instant quilt or wallhanging!

Pink Fusion, c. 1930 by Sara Morgan

Often referred to as the “Renaissance of Quilting, the 1930s brought a great quilt revival, a result of the hard times of The Great Depression. All across America, activities devoted to the home arts became popular. Quilting groups, shows and newspaper gained popularity, bringing women from California to New England together around their quilting frames. Eleanor Roosevelt's campaign for American Arts and Crafts further helped propel quilting to the forefront of activity. Although times were tough for Americans, quilts of this era were usually bright and cheerful.

Lincoln Era, 1860-1865

This Rare Estate Collection comes from fabrics found in antique clothing from General Stores in New York City, Philadelphia, Charleston and Richmond.

The General Store was quite popular in rural areas around the country, especially during the mid-to-late 1800s. Folks depended on their local mercantile, not just for the necessities such as coffee, spices, baking powder, flour, sugar, eggs, milk, butter, fruits and vegetables, honey and molasses, cigars and tobacco, but also for a host of other “essential” items.  Store owners tried to anticipate the needs of their customers and often extented credit or bartered for their goods.

Wrappers were the casual dresses the women wore for everyday activities. Made to suit the season in either cotton or wool, this comfortable dress was high necked with long sleeves and a free-flowing body. Less fitted than more formal dresses, the wrapper didn’t require hoops, corsets, or bustles, was easy to make, and could easily be adjusted for maternity wear. The style was practical and enduring in popularity and suited women of all ages, including young girls.

As with any dress goods, after the garment was completed, the leftover pieces went into a scrap basket, eventually joining other scraps to make quilts for the family.

Historically, reed pens, quill pens, and dip pens were used with a nib of some sort to be dipped in the ink. The writing instrument that dominated for the longest period in history (over a thousand years) was the quill pen, introduced around 700 A.D.

The quill was a pen made from a bird feather. The strongest quills were those taken from living birds in the spring from the five outer left wing feathers. The left wing was favored because the feathers curved outward and away when used by a right-handed writer. Goose feathers were most common; swan feathers were of a premium grade being scarcer and more expensive. For making fine lines, crow feathers were the best, and then came the feathers of the eagle, owl, hawk and turkey.

Following the Puritan ban on celebrations, it took nearly 200 years for Christmas to once again become an important event. Many of the things we most love at Christmas, such as sending cards and pictures of a fat, jolly Father Christmas or Santa Claus, date back to the Victorian age. The Christmas tree became popular, as did gift shopping in big stores.