PINEAPPLE
THIS very lovely old quilt design X sometimes known as "Washington Pavement" is not nearly so intricate to make as you might imagine. The cutting is especially important as intakes so many even width strips, all with exact 45 degree angles at the ends. But the sewing is straight seams such as may be run on the machine. The pattern may or may not allow for seams, depending on the finished size of each block.
It is suggested for an all-over pattern. One of the most exquisite quilts we have ever seen was this pineapple cut small and done of all gorgeous bits of silk, working from very light center such as lemon yellow, shell pink or ivory through varying values of light to dark with dark green, brown, wine red and even black for the large corner triangles. These corners each boasted a bit of silken embroidery, thus using odd scraps of floss with the old neckties, velvets, brocades, etc.
This may also be a wash material quilt of scraps, each block of white and one print, or running the sequence of color values from light to dark each time.
The blocks finish about 18 inches square, four blocks wide by 4 1/2 blocks long would be good proportion, and two complete finished blocks could be cut in half if the seams were machine done.
Some women prefer to build this sort of block on a foundation of flour sack or such material, starting at the center square, of course, and covering to turn back each time. This way the center square is basted into position with raw edges left all around. The four dark triangles seam to turn back one over each side, with raw edges again to their outsides. Press, and repeat with the four shortest light blocks, etc. In quilt parlance this sort of technique was known as making a "pressed quilt."
A full sized Pineapple quilt will take about ten yards of cloth.
In quilting a design of this sort best results are obtained by stitching along the seams — say 3-8 of an inch either side of all piecing seams. Where the four triangles come together a design may be quilted, such as Thistles, Shells or Maple Leaves.
NOONDAY LILY
IN THE Noonday Lily block the three small pieced squares are made first, then joined together as shown with two plain blocks of the same size. Then a larger square, the area of four small squares or about 9-inch cuts for the remainder of the block. Onto this appliqué stems and leaves, and a corner clips off to be replaced with green. The longer straight stem pattern also is not given, but should be about 12 inches long of the darker green.
Twenty-five whole blocks set together diagonally with plain pale green squares of equal size makes a center about 83 inches square. The border of light or darker green could be enhanced by small pieced lily squares appliquéd at regular intervals. Borders may be wider at top and bottom to make the quilt longer than wide. This is an unusual color scheme for the Noonday Lily. Usually the background is white, blossom two shades of some hue such as rose pink, orchid or yellow, with green.
Material Estimate: For the plan described you should allow 6 1/2 yards of pale green, 1 1/2 yards of darker green, and 1 yard or white.
RAMBLER
THIS is the Rambler, an old-fashioned favorite which pieces a block about 12 1/2 inches square, if seams are allowed extra. It is clever either as a patchwork pillow or for a quilt top set together with alternating white blocks, the roses spotting color, and the triangle leaves rambling in formal pattern diagonally across the quilt. To piece, sew four small white triangles onto the center square of rose. Then piece the four other squares of a pink and a green and four small white triangles. Complete by making the diagonal center strip and two large corner triangles into the finished square.
Material Estimate: In making this quilt, 21 pieced blocks are set together with 21 plain white 12 1/2-inch squares. Six blocks wide by 7 blocks long, finishes about 75 by 87 inches. This quilt requires 1/4 yard rose, ½ yard pink, 1 yard green, 61/2 yards white, or 8 1/4 yards in all.
Butterflies would be exquisite on all of the plain squares between ramblers, or a 10-inch Feather Circle would be effective and considerably less work.
CROSS AND CROWN
THIS quaint old pattern with its "firm-in-the-faith" title is really a variation of the lily blocks. They have flowers resembling these "crowns “combined with appliqué stems, leaves, or perhaps a pieced basket corner as was shown at another time. "Goose Tracks" is also quite similar in pattern but of course less dignified in name! This is one of the more simple quilts to piece, the finished effect varying considerably in relation to the way it is set together.
With red lattice strips joining white squares at the corner the pattern stands out entirely different than when white strips or large squares are used, or again the background may be light with darker design. Allow seams extra; about 3-16 of an inch is right for this on all sides.
If 10-inch blocks set together with white strips 4 by 10 inches and 4-inch red squares, the quilt 6 blocks wide by 7 long will finish about 80 by 90 inches. For the 42 pieced blocks, the 71 white strips, and 30 red squares you will need 3 yards of red material, 21/2 yards white, 3 yards white strips and ¾ yard red for squares.
ORDER NO. 11
THE quilt authorities may identify this pattern as the "Hickory Leaf" and it is doubtless of the stock of that pioneer favorite. But the quilt from which we secured the pattern had such a thrilling history that it deserves its romantic special name — Order No. 11.
A dear old lady in her eighties who was a little girl in Jackson County, Missouri, back in war times, had seen her mother’s choice new quilt snatched from the bed by marauders. She carried the memory of its striking pattern in her mind and years later translated it in terms of the white and peach and creamy yellow satine into a quilt, from which we secured this pattern.
A 12-inch square is the background upon which the nine curved sections appliqué. Patterns here given are the line to crease and baste back to, so cut each unit a seam larger.
The quilt was 7 blocks wide by 8 long and finished about 81 by 92 inches. You will require 6 1/2 yards of white material, 2 yards of yellow and 1 1/4 yards of peach. This is for a design on every block, but really it would be lovely with less center and a scallop border of the "watermelon" type using an outer scallop of peach with an inner following of yellow.
OCEAN WAVE
THE Ocean Wave is a decided favorite for one who is willing to put considerable piecing into making a lovely quilt. A block is made of four six-sided units of 24 triangles, all made exactly alike, but set together so that the groupings of dark and light triangles alternate as shown in the small sketch. Four of these six-sided units set together as shown in the small diagram finish into a block 18 inches square. These may set together with alternate 18-inch white blocks quilted in matching pattern.
Or, for the really old-time "set" of an Ocean Wave, omit the 4 large white corner triangles.
Join the eight-sided blocks where the large triangles are shown in the sketch, with 6-inch white squares to fill in the center spaces between the blocks. Set the top together in such a way that all six-inch squares will set diagonally on the quilt. This plan makes an overlapping design similar to the double wedding ring. Four blocks wide, with center squares diagonally placed make a top row. An identical four make a second row, but there will appear to be three intermediate blocks with two halves at the sides between these first and second rows.
Material Estimate: In making this quilt, 4 blocks wide by 41/2 blocks long, it will finish about 72 by 81 inches. This requires 16 whole pieced blocks, without the four corner triangles and 4 half blocks set together with 6-inch squares and half squares cut diagonally. This requires 31/2 yards of print, 5 1/2 yards white. Allow seams extra on all blocks.
THE LONE STAR QUILT
LONE STAR, sometimes called "Star of the East" or "Star of Bethlehem," is one of the more ambitious projects in quilt making, and yet the result is so effective that many have completed coverlets of this design. In making any quilt, one should think of the top as a whole; in making a Lone Star it is imperative.
Using the unit diamond to finish the size here given, that is by allowing a seam extra all around, the large star will measure large enough for a very large spread, about 90 inches. Or by cutting the diamonds the pattern size and not allowing extra seams the large star is really a better size, about 68 inches across. Borders may be added in the proportion shown, widest at the bottom to make the quilt longer than wide. You must lay out your color scheme first on a checked diamond as here shown which represents 1/8 of the complete star. Any radiation of color may be planned, either extending out with all different hues or repeating to double back as in the color scheme suggested.
The diamonds are pieced together in rows, the rows then joined with careful corner matching to form the huge diamond, eight of which make the star. Background triangles have to be cut the exact number of inches that your star points finish — about 25 inches in the quilt shown.
For quilting we suggest a large Rising Sun to fill in the squares and half squares.
Material Estimate: The Lone Star quilt requires 4 inches of red, 12 inches orange, 20 inches peach, 28 inches yellow, 36 inches lettuce green, 44 inches turquoise, which is four yards for the colored diamonds; four yards for the white diamonds and 31/2 yards for setting together as shown — 11 1/2 yards in all.
WIND BLOWN SQUARE
THE Wind Blown Square is a sort of topsy-turvy pattern originally pieced of white with light and dark prints. Of course analogous colors always make lovelier quilts as lavender and violet, buff and apricot, or pink and rose which is suggested. Contrasting colors may also be used as peach and jade green, or yellow with blue-purple.
Material Estimate: In making this quilt, 36 pieced blocks are set together with 36 plain 9-inch blocks, 8 Blocks wide by 9 blocks long. This finishes about 72 inches by 81 inches, and requires 1 yard of rose, 1 yard pink, and 5 1/2 yards of white.
The Four Flowers design would quilt beautifully on the alternate plain blocks.
PIN WHEELS
PIN WHEELS with an ancestral name older yet — "Flutter Wheels" — is one of the easiest of all patchworks to make. We remember seeing this motif on "Barbara Fritchie’s" quilt in her house at Frederick, Maryland.
The only bit of wisdom to proffer on making this pattern is to cut all triangles on the true diagonal, that is with threads parallel to the two shorter sides each time, and then to not stretch the bias edges in seaming them together.
This may be an all-over pattern or the nine patch unit here shown may be used as a block and set together with lattice strips or plain squares. This is a good design for using scrap material of the children's frocks and rompers — dainty bits of print and plain to commemorate happy days. Seams may or may not be allowed extra. A clever patchwork border to use between plain strips could be composed of little pinwheel squares set diagonally between triangles, like the center band from this block.
Material Estimate: If seams are allowed extra, the blocks will finish 18 inches square — 16 blocks set together with 4-inch strips of white, will finish about 84 inches square. This requires 2 1/2 yards of yellow, 2 yards of green, and 4 yards of white, or 8 1/2 yards in all.
A Maple Leaf would be interesting quilted on each 6-inch square, with a narrow Cable on the strips between blocks.
BIRD'S NEST
A BIRD'S NEST in soft tan chambray or broadcloth is contrived along modern angles to enclose nine bright blue-green cubist eggs. The whole forms a really lovely block to use in a whole quilt or for a gay little patchwork pillow about 14 inches square. By the way, a boxed edge of the blue squares and white triangles would be a perfect finish for such a pillow. It would even be worth while to piece such a border for the quilt.
Cardboard cutting patterns are made from the 5 here given. Mark around these onto material, but cut a seam larger sewing back to the pencil line.
Material Estimate: This quilt sets together with plain white blocks and a six-inch border which makes it finish about 82 inches square. For the 13 pieced blocks and 12 plain ones and border you will need 1 1/2 yards of tan, 1/2 yard blue, and 7 yards of white.
A President's Wreath would exactly fit the plain squares and twisted cable border would space beautifully onto the 6-inch plain band.
MILKY WAY
MILKY WAY is a large block fifteen inches square, or by continuing two more rows top and side it could be made twenty-one inches square. It would make an unusual counterpane by piecing a border all around nine inches wide, which completes the dark and light star, to use with a center of solidly pieced blocks either square or oblong. This would leave a wide plain space of blue or white for quilting between the pieced center and the pieced border.
Milky Way is simple to piece and very effective as well. Seams are not allowed in the sizes here given. This design is even more attractive in very small blocks and of course the two squares and one triangle can easily be reduced in size but kept the same relation to each other.
Material Estimate: To make this quilt with 15-inch blocks as described, make a large pieced center section 30 inches wide by 39 inches long. This is made of four 15-inch blocks, two blocks wide by two blocks long, plus three rows of small 3-inch blocks to make an oblong. Add a 12-inch strip of blue all around. Finish with a pieced border 9 inches wide — 2 strips 9 inches wide by 81 inches long and 2 strips 9 inches wide by 54 inches long will be needed for the pieced border. This plan requires 2 yards blue, 3 yards gold, 4 yards of white, or 9 yards in all.
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