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.

The use of oil often caused Turkey red fabric to be described by vendors as "oil boiled" - and quilters loved it. Turkey red was a luscious color, it didn't fade, and it didn't bleed; without it, the elaborate red-green applique quilts of the 1840-75 period would have been an impossibility. But it was expensive. Even after synthetic reds were introduced around 1875, Turkey red "oil boiled calico" sometimes cost ten times more.

The term “turkey red” actually refers to the actual dye process used to produce the brilliant, vivid and incredibly colorfast cool red. In the early 1800s, turkey red grounds featured chrome-yellow, green,blue and black overprints. Large scale paisley prints and small repeated motifs were also popular designs.

We’ve known Sara Morgan for her incredible reproduction fabrics, but now she wows us with this exciting contemporary collection, Swing!

Full of happy colors, whimsical paisleys, retro squares and funky florals, this collection offers lots of possibilities for fun craft, quilt and home decor projects.

Imagine a bed full of colorful pillows with matching quilt...or an exciting wall hanging...a showstopping tote bag...this versatile collection is perfect for whatever you can dream up.

Looking for beautifully elegant holiday fabrics that will last throughout the year? Holiday Heritage II is just the collection!

Sara Morgan's special holiday fabrics feature a sophisticated twist with soft gold vintage florals, sheet music motifs and a large paisley border print that you will find dozens of uses for!

Blue Hill Fabrics™ is pleased to present the first series of new fabric collections born from our alliance with the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum.  The Ohio Star collection is based on a true gem from the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum archives, from the original collection of Lydia Skinner.

Lydia Mitchell was born in Maine, somewhere around 1820, and became the second wife of William Skinner, a mariner who ferried timber harvested in Maine to New Jersey. William was prosperous at the time of their marriage and went on to become quite wealthy. The couple moved to New Jersey and had 12 children.  Lydia was an ardent abolitionist, and she was known to have made several quilts that were sold to raise money for the anti-slavery movement and later for the Union Army.

Carrie's Madders, 1860-1880

Madder is a low creeping plant that will quickly cover an area of ground without a great deal of maintanence. The plant matures at fiveyears old, bearing small yellow/green flowers and berries. The berries are dark when ripe and can be used as seed stock to multiply the crop.  The part of the plant used for the dye is the tuber type root. The plant is pulled from the ground after loosening the soil, the leaves are stripped from the plant and the roots are dried out until they can be ground up into a powder and put in a pot with some water. This mixture is heated to extract the bright red dye. If a copper dye vat is used, the color will be brighter.

Captain Phillips , c. 1860 by Carrie Quinn

"America is the greatest country on earth!” I can still hear my father saying that, always with a catch in his voice. He was born at the beginning of the Great Depression and graduated from Military School just as World War II was ending. He joined the Illinois National Guard and obtained the rank of Captain, eventually retiring just short of twenty years of service. My dad was a man of convictions, who never wavered in his devotion to God and his country. It seemed fitting that I should name this patriotic collection after him, Captain William Evertson Phillips.