Antique Books

The authors of the popular books Fancy to Frugal and Link to the ’30s come by their passion for antique quilt patterns honestly. As young children, sisters Kay Connors and Karen Earlywine were already playing with fabric and learning to sew. As adults, they’ve let their love of fabric take them back in time—all the way back to the 1930s. Read our interview with Karen and Kay to discover how their love of 1930s fabrics and vintage quilts began. See a slideshow of quilts from both books at the bottom of this post.

Meet authors Kay Connors and Karen Earlywine

What can you tell us about your earliest sewing memories?

Karen: Sewing was always a part of our lives because our mother did alterations, and her mother made our clothing when we were children. Both were skilled seamstresses, although their areas of expertise were different. I don’t really think either of them did it for enjoyment as much as for necessity—one did it for income, the other for the economic value and satisfaction of a job well done.

It was natural that we would begin sewing for ourselves, since in our experience that was what women did. I was the last to teach myself because I was the youngest. From about age 11, Kay made clothes for me and Mother as well as for herself. I will always remember those matching purple gingham dresses we all had for Easter one year!

Kay: Our grandmother put me on her lap at about age 4 and let me sew seams while she pumped the treadle. I don’t ever remember a time that sewing wasn’t a priority.

When did you both first become interested in quilting?

Kay: As with many quilters, sewing clothes left me with many remnants. Because I had always loved quilts, it was natural to utilize my scraps that way. In 1973, when I decided to start quilting, it was a solitary endeavor and so I was self-taught. Quilt guilds, quilt shops, quilt books and great fabrics were scarce!

Karen: I became interested in quilting in the early 1970s when my girls began to want clothes from the store. I was actually glad that I didn’t feel I had to keep their rapidly growing bodies covered in homemade clothing, but sewing was so much a part of my life that I needed another outlet for my habit. Quilting was a challenge then because of the scarcity of information and appropriate fabrics.