Eveline Foland created several series quilts for the Kansas City Star. The Horn of Plenty design with its pretty fruit appliqued blocks and cornucopia quilting was published in 1932. Kathy Delaney has published a lovely book, which includes both the original patterns and her updated designs, but she eliminated the embroidery, which is my favorite…
I am madly working on Christmas presents, and have nothing to show at the moment, so I thought I would share another vintage Lockport pattern book. Lockport Batting Company was probably similar to Mountain Mist, who also published their own quilt patterns. Lockport had a relationship with Anne Orr, but although my other Lockport book…
This booklet contains the Ferris Wheel pattern I used for this quilt top. In my experience, the templates in these books are accurate, unlike some of the vintage newspaper patterns. There’s not much in the way of instruction, but that’s part of the challenge.
Probably as a result of all the napkin stitching, I have managed to develop tendonitis in my left hand which requires a rest from any hand sewing until the thumb heals. I thought this might be a good time to post some of my vintage quilt booklets, so I have started the process of scanning…
These transfers have been cut and are missing both the envelope and the instructions, so I don’t know the date or the publisher. Although I think the alphabet designs are very cute, I was disappointed because I expected each character’s name to begin with its accompanying letter, and in most cases they don’t — or…
This is one of the series quilt patterns published in many 1930s newspapers under the pseudonym “Nancy Page” by Florence La Ganke. The fictional Nancy would meet with her quilt club on successive Tuesdays, where she would introduce the next block and make suggestions for fabrics, colors, and techniques. You can read more about Florence…
Recently, I purchased a couple of groups of 1930s Dresden Plate blocks in various stages of completion. As usual with these old blocks, the muslin fabric is discolored, but all of the print pieces are in good condition. Because I’ve made several Dresden Plate and Grandmother’s Fan type quilts, I really wanted to try something…
In a couple of posts here and here, I have talked about this pattern and shown a couple of blocks. I have finally managed to scan the entire original pattern. You will notice that my butterfly is different, having 4 D pieces in each wing, as opposed to 3 in the original pattern. It was…
Joseph’s Coat is a fairly challenging pattern, and it’s also one of my all-time favorite scrap quilts. There is no date on this pattern, and I can’t read the date on the original envelope. Alice Brooks was another name used by Needlecraft Service, Inc., the same company that published Laura Wheeler patterns, so it was…
Over the past 10 years, I have collected lots of vintage quilt patterns. I am now in the process of scanning and cleaning all of my newspaper and mail order patterns (the most fragile), both as a method of preserving them, and to share with other quilters. Because so many people sell copies of these…
Here are a few vintage quilt patterns with an Irish theme to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .…
Most quilters are probably aware of the quilt patterns published by the Kansas City Star newspaper from 1928 to 1961. Less well known are the hand quilting patterns that were occasionally part of these weekly publications. Here are a few patterns from my collection — all from the 1930s. Click images for slideshow.
This is an Aunt Martha publication which contains patterns for some of the winning quilts from the The Century of Progress quilt competition sponsored by Sears at the 1933 World’s Fair. About 25,000 quilters submitted entries, hoping to win the $1,000 grand prize. Although the theme of the competition was “A Century of Progress,” almost…
Although this block doesn’t have nearly as many pieces as some of the other indigo blocks, it was probably the most difficult to stitch. I hand pieced most of the block, but the small domed muslin pieces around the center section were hand pieced (on the sides) and appliqued (around the top). It just seemed…
This is one of two booklets I own which were published after the Sears National Quilt Contest associated with the 1933 World’s Fair held in Chicago. It is mentioned in the wonderful out-of-print book, Patchwork Souvenirs of the 1933 World’s Fair by Merikay Waldvogel and Barbara Brackman — a great story about the contest with…