$875.00
The Mariner’s Postage Stamp Quilt is available in our shop in beautiful purple and black fabrics with a stunning compass center. This queen-size quilt with a scalloped border is hand-quilted by a local Amish or Mennonite woman with over 200 yards of thread. On a queen bed, this quilt will have 19 inches of drop per side.
Measures 97″ wide x 108″ long.
Homemade quilts combine the warmth of a bed cover with a unique story told by the quilters from Lancaster County, PA. Every homemade quilt is as unique as the family, busy mother or Amish ladies group who uses a needle and thimble to thread stitch on the quilt. Some quilts involve hundreds of hours and thousands of stitches to create a unique patchwork quilt that will last for generations.
When you peruse our HOMEMADE QUILTS you are shopping for an item that tells a story and adds meaning to your bedroom! Discover more about our unique patchwork quilts and the stories behind them…
We have a lot of quilts! Want to see a gallery of the major patterns? Checkout our Common Amish Quilt Patterns.
The Mariner’s Compass quilt pattern has been known and loved among dedicated quilters, only the best of whom could manage the intricacies of stitching the precise points of the compass or star, as it was variously known. While most early quilts were simple, the Mariner’s Compass quilt was complex, and often was reserved for special occasions.
While other patterns may suggest a star pattern, the Mariner’s Compass name specifically refers to quilts in which the star radiates from a circular center. The roots of this pattern are hard to trace. Barbara Brackman writes of the many names used for this pattern, including The Explosion, the Merry Go Round, the Rolling Pinwheel, the Slashed Star–even Chips and Whetstones. Each name suggests what quilters saw as they stitched their quilt tops!
Quilt pattern books began to use the Mariner’s Compass name, widely accepted today, around the 1960s; its first published use was in 1929. Various historians, knowing the pattern’s popularity in the American northeast, have suggested that seafaring folk saw the compass rose on nautical maps and reproduced it on their blankets. The Pennsylvania Germans picked it up, adding brighter colors and patterns.
Each and every step of the quilt-making process calls for a particular lady's expertise. Each of our women specializes in either piecing or quilting. Consequently, at least 2 ladies are entailed in making each quilt. The women who stitch the tops with each other concentrate on piecing certain quilt patterns. Given that each quilter's stitches vary, just one lady does the quilting per quilt. This system allows each woman to come to be a professional in her work.