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Letha’s Electric Fan Quilt – WIP

Posted on October 28, 2009August 23, 2011 by Martha

These are the little quilt pieces I just purchased from an Etsy shop — 211 small arcs with 5 pieces each — for $15. It’s not unusual to see a lot like this — probably the quilter was attempting a more difficult pattern and ran into trouble with the piecing. There are several reasons this can happen — maybe the templates were inaccurate, or the pieces were not carefully drawn or cut, or she just got discouraged.

Letha's-Electric-Fan-1

I would not have been able to guess the pattern this quilter was using just by looking at these little arcs, but fortunately she made one block. It’s pretty easy to see what happened here — she pieced the middle circle, which would be difficult for even the most accomplished quilter. You’ll notice that she stitched the blocks with arcs containing the same fabrics (although strangely, not all in the same order). She quickly gave that up, however, because I could find no two alike in the additional 211 arcs.

Letha's-Electric-Fan-3

Letha's-Electric-Fan-2

The pattern for Letha’s Electric Fan appeared in the Kansas City Star in 1938, which is probably about the age of these fabrics. I’ve always loved this pattern with it’s funny name (who was Letha?), and am so happy to have found these old pieces. The KC patterns are rather notorious for having inaccurate templates, although this one is actually pretty good. Because they rarely included instructions, you can see why a novice quilter might think the whole pattern should be pieced.

Letha's-Electric-Fan-6

After drafting a new pattern, I was able to salvage most of her arcs intact (with just a little trimming and swapping out a few inappropriate pieces). Usually I take the blocks completely apart, so this quilt will go much faster. I changed the shape of the interior white template and simply appliqued the center circle on top. To me, her yellow center suggested a flower, and I didn’t want to use blue (as indicated in the pattern) since I already made a quilt with blue circles. Finally, I selected a pretty vintage green percale from my stash. This is my first block, which will finish at 9 1/2″. I’ll redo the original block with the same arcs as a tribute to her.

Letha's-Electric-Fan-4

17 thoughts on “Letha’s Electric Fan Quilt – WIP”

  1. Ann Champion says:
    October 28, 2009 at 4:26 pm

    Oh what a wonderful pattern…and it’s so nice you don’t have to redo all of the arcs. Those fabrics are yummy! 🙂

    Reply
  2. Sue says:
    October 28, 2009 at 6:30 pm

    So beautiful! Glad you could figure it out. I have a bunch of unfinished WIPs from the same era, can’t wait to try to finish them. They are all in different stages of completion. I love your blog!

    Reply
  3. jan says:
    October 28, 2009 at 9:45 pm

    What an interesting pattern! And a good name for it!
    I read somewhere that the editors of the KC Star would sometimes just make the quilt pieces smaller or larger depending what they needed to fill a given spot on the page! It is a wonder anyone trusted the patterns!

    Reply
  4. Chris Jurd says:
    October 28, 2009 at 11:36 pm

    I bought some very similar arcs at Houston last year and am in the process of making “pickles” from them. After that I’m not sure – your pattern is very interesting. Pics on my blog if you’d like to compare.

    Reply
  5. pratima says:
    October 29, 2009 at 4:00 am

    These are the sweetest electic fans ever!
    I adore your block… So nice to see someone else’s vision and work is becoming so fruitful in your hands.

    Reply
  6. Ann says:
    October 29, 2009 at 5:31 am

    That IS a cool block! I have never seen it before – it really does suggest an old fan (but I guess it would have been new back then)!

    You are a WONDER! There are days when I can hardly stand to rip out my own mistakes. Perhaps it is different when you consider taking blocks apart to be part of the project? Are most of the blocks you dismantle hand sewn or done on a machine?

    It’s nice that you are going to redo her block – I cannot IMAGINE how disappointed she must have been after piecing ALL THOSE ARCS to discover that the instructions were misleading, or even worse, chalk it up to her own mistake!

    Your block is SO pretty and well done! It will make a BEAUTIFUL quilt!

    Reply
  7. mickie says:
    October 29, 2009 at 6:31 am

    Love this! The quilt patterns from this time period were pretty insane and its understandable why the original quilter gave up. I love your idea of applique for the center. It looks wonderful! Can’t wait to see it!

    Reply
  8. Lisa says:
    October 29, 2009 at 9:33 am

    I think it’s wonderful that someone like you “found” these pieces, you’ll make a beautiful quilt out of them 🙂

    Reply
  9. barbara says:
    October 29, 2009 at 1:21 pm

    What an excellent rescue job! That’s a fun pattern – I’ve never heard of it.

    Reply
  10. Mendi says:
    November 6, 2009 at 2:50 pm

    I have some of these same blocks, not all the fans go in the same direction so I am trying to figue out how to piece them. Any suggestions.

    Reply
  11. Bev in BC says:
    December 18, 2009 at 12:45 am

    This pattern Lethas Electric Fan, a 14-inch block, is in the SeptemberOctober 1989 issue of Stitch N Sew Quilts magazine featuring over 30 swirling patterns. The editor states this issue is devoted to designs that create a swirling and twirling look.

    Reply
  12. Amber says:
    January 25, 2011 at 11:59 am

    Are you supposed to add a seam allowance to this pattern? This is so pretty!

    Reply
  13. Judy Morrison says:
    April 17, 2011 at 2:37 pm

    Martha,
    What kind of search(es) do you do on Etsy.com to find your stashes of pre-cut or partially sewnfabric pieces? I have been looking and am not having much locating any without doing several different searches.
    Thank you.
    Judy Morrison
    Canada

    Reply
  14. Charise says:
    July 14, 2011 at 7:47 pm

    I love that you are finishing this quilt! I purchased wedding ring quilt arches on Ebay and you have inspired me to finish it.
    : )

    Reply
  15. Dawni says:
    January 31, 2013 at 7:53 pm

    Wow! I am in the middle of a parallel experience with arcs made by my mother. I know she wanted it to be a double wedding ring. She made several ill fitting blocks, and cut a pattern from a 1940 newspaper. There were also drawings cut from a newspaer. How cruel to publish such dysfunctional inticements! My mother must have spent so many hours cutting snd sewing and dreaming of what could never be. There were 7 in each arc and no way to make any kind of circle. The pattern was all wrong. No wonder they ended up in a flour sack fot 70+ years. 5 piece arcs will make a fan, but I regret not being able to finish her original idea.

    Reply
  16. Letha A. Gunter says:
    May 15, 2013 at 2:17 pm

    My name is Letha. It is a Danish Celtic name…and came to America
    with the immigrations at Ellis Island. My relatives settled in Illinois and then moved on to good farming land in Kansas. The women were all quilters and hearty farm laborers.
    Interesting that the pattern is created from a functional item in 1938.
    I wanted to make this pattern because it had my name in it. unusual to see my name anywhere.
    I acquired some small wedge-shaped prints and altered them to make this pattern. I had to draft a new pattern. Interesting that the middle is a hole. never have I ever seen that before. My block turned out ot be a 13 1/2 inch block but I think my little wedge-shaped prints are a tad bit bigger.
    The lady mentioned the Stitch and Sew Quiting magazine 1989. I have looked for it. can anyone lead me to the purchase of one?

    Reply
  17. Darla E says:
    May 20, 2016 at 5:30 pm

    Love seeing this pattern being made. This pattern was designed by my Grandmother. I have the original pattern that she drew out. It is very fragile. Maybe I will get to recreate this pattern someday.

    Reply

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