Small Americana Flannel Flag Quilt

A friend is getting married this spring.  No registry anywhere.  This friend and her fiancé live in South Carolina so I thought a small quilt featuring Americana might make a nice token gift.  The quilt is made using an 8.5 in X 10.5 in flannel flag.  Flannel flags were used as tobacco premiums. [see my earlier post]  The practice of inserting advertising in tobacco products and packaging began about 1870 and continued throughout the late 19th Century into the first decades of the 20th Century.

The above premium features an American flag in the center with 48 stars.  As Arizona became the 48th state on Feb 14, 1912, this one had to be made after that date.   The other flags (from top left, close wise) are Costa Rica, Peru, Cuba, Hayti, and San Domingo.

Here is a photo to show the hand quilting

Here is the back.  I used the “fast finish triangle” method to allow easy hanging.  See the wooden skewer used as a rod.  This allows using a simple picture hanger hook to hand the quilt.

Another close view to show some of the quilting.  The back fabric is closer to the tan color to the above photo than this one.  I signed and dated  the back before mailing it.

Some Reference:s:
Textile Tobacco Inserts and Premiums used in American Quilts, and Related Household Articles; By Laurette Carroll, Quilt Maker,
Quilt Collector and Quilt Historian
"Better Choose Me: Addictions to Tobacco, Collecting, and Quilting, 1880-1920"; Ethel Ewart Abrahams and Racheal K. Pannabecker from Uncoverings 2000
America's Quilting History; Tobacco Premium Quilt History: Silks, Ribbons & Flannels -- womenfolk.com
A Flag Quilt Launches a Search into the Past; Merikay Waldvogel; Quilting Today, Issue 68, pp 26-28
Museums & Quilts; Attic Treasures for Everybody at the Bowers
Museum of Cultural Art; Carter Houck; Quilter's Newsletter Magazine, Jan/Feb 1995, No 269, pp 40-41