The Rebuttal Quilt
Posted on September 4, 2025 by prairiemoonquilts in QuiltsI recently finished a quilt that I’m lovingly calling “The Rebuttal Quilt”.
Back in 2014, my bestie, Victoria Findlay Wolfe, and I, rented a retreat center for ourselves for 5 glorious days of non-stop sewing. If you don’t count the incident where I had to leave her all alone there one night and go rescue My Cowboy from the ER, then we had a really good time and got a lot done.
We both worked on several different projects while we were there, but Victoria also concentrated on one major project that she finished the top for, and then left it with me so I could quilt it for her. That project was her “Big Red: The Farmall Takes a Wife” quilt:
It’s one of her Double Wedding Ring variation quilts, and this was when she was first developing her Florid Blooms template set. When we were packing up to leave, Victoria was cleaning up her area, and she tossed her paper templates across the table to me, and said: “Here, take these home and do something with them.”
Well, I’m nothing if not up for an outright challenge, so I packed them home with me, and began ruminating on it.
Victoria and I have always had a fun “rivalry” going about tractors, since she grew up with red Farmall tractors, and I grew up in an orange Allis Chalmers family. One time when we got together, I told her I had a gift for her, and pulled out an AC logo coaster for her. The look on her face was priceless, and she wouldn’t even touch it! I said: “Just kidding,” and pulled out the IH coaster for her, and that set everything right.
Then she sent me a red tractor t-shirt.
Victoria’s quilt, paying complete homage to her Midwestern roots, has red, the IH logo, an appliqué cornstalk, chambray and work-shirt prints, flannel and bandana bits of fabric, and tractor tire-tread borders (because this was also around the time she was developing all of her herringbone quilt patterns and designs — she deftly combined them in this quilt, for sure!).
So I decided that I’d just make myself an Allis Chalmers quilt — in rebuttal — since she made me quilt this one for her!
So that’s what I did. Here’s my Allis Chalmers Tractor Quilt:
I ordered some AC sew-on decals for mine. I used lots of oranges from my stash, complimented with black, and threw in some chambray to symbolize the work shirts my Daddy used to always wear. I used the Missouri Star block where my arcs joined, since I grew up in Missouri (and still live here), and put the decals in the center of each one.
I also appliquéd an AC logo on mine where Victoria has her IH logo, and since she did some extra appliqué along one side of hers, I decided to put a farm scene across the bottom of mine. I think my windmill came out quite nicely! There’s a little nod to Victoria in there with some “made fabric”, 15 Minutes of Play style!
I know Victoria’s gonna get a good laugh out of this! And so the friendly rivalry continues . . . what will we think of next?
Here are all the details for my Rebuttal Quilt:
Finished size: 56″ x 68″
Pattern: My own design using the Florid Blooms acrylic template set (and foundation papers) from Victoria Findlay Wolfe HERE
Fabrics for top: All scraps from my stash, including some Moda Grunge pieces for backgrounds
Backing: 108″-wide Moda Grunge Hits the Spot in dark gray
Batting: Quilter’s Dream Wool, Double-sized
Thread: Superior OMNI #3003 Pearl White, 3026 Black, 3113 Stormy Sky, 3154 Orange Peel
Quilting: Custom quilting by me on my non-computerized INNOVA M24 longarm
Although there is no formal pattern for either of these quilts, you could totally dream up your own design using Victoria’s template set, and I highly encourage you to do it — this quilt was really fun to make.
I showed this to my cousin, and he went crazy for it, so I’m probably gonna gift it to him. He bleeds more orange than I do!
outstanding, Shelly!
This is my favorite quilt! I love Allis Chalmers tractors and even learned how to rake hay on a D-17 series 3. Awesome quilt!!
Great quilt!!!
I love everything about this quilt and its story!!
Oh fun quilts! Lovely!
wonderful up here it is John deere
Well done! We were mostly Case when we did row crop in IL. In Mo had mainly ford & then Allis. It was a privilege to meet Victoria
Love it! In Southwest Minnesota it was the competition between the red and green… My Dad’s name was John, so of course ours was green. Your piecing and quilting are fantastic!
Wow! That’s fantastic!!! I especially love your touch of appliqué to complement the theme. What a fun story and a fabulous quilt. Victoria and you are so creative and inspiring!!!
Awesome!!!!
This is amazing! Where I grew up, everybody on our farm and neighborhoods bled green. But this is a work of art!
Love it!!
Oh how wonderful. An ode to the family farm. I grew up in Wisconsin. Small dairy farms red barns and cement silos. A herd of Holsteins and a large family vegetable garden. Thanks for bringing back wonderful memories
Amazing! Just fantastic
“Jackie’s” comment was my life except replace WI with MN! As for tractors, we had both IH & AC – whatever Dad could afford & keep running.
Your quilt is a creative treasure.
Congratulations on a job well done!! I truly think that every tractor company would be at your doorsteps to design a quilt for them. I learned to drive a lot of different tractors and swathers after marrying my cowboy–never able to develop a love for one over another–I do know that I did not love the the International that made me seasick to drive and I thought that Ford blue and grey were nice colors–long days in the hay field gave us a lot of “think time!” All those memories came flooding in when you shared your Rebuttal Quilt!
Great quilt and story! Love the quilting but especially love the farm scene, it ties it all together. Great job! Looks like a very challenging quilt.
Just suburban girl here. I didn’t know there was anything but John Deere 😂😂😂
Like Debbie I am a Northeast suburban girl, so your story is so surprising to me. And then reading the comments and how so many of the women drove tractors themselves. Seems like a world from another planet to me. Love the quilt, but love the story more and getting a peak into your deep friendship with Victoria.
Love it, we had Cockshutt and Oliver tractors, so red and green. Love the farm scene, great quilt. How the million dollar dog, Tucker doing?
What a great story and fun quilt! You are so, so talented!