I often wonder where a particular block design came from, who thought of it, why it is named as it is, how quilts have changed throughout time, and so on.  So I have set myself the task of finding out as much as I can about the history of quilting and here is what I have so far.  If you have any further information please email me at quilty@quiltalotamus.com

Click on the link below to go to the section you are interested in reviewing:

History of Quilts

History of Blocks

Featured Blocks

History of Quilts

There is so much information available on the history of quilts that I am going to digest it all a little before I start adding anything to the site, please keep an eye on this page for quilt history information.

I would like to thank Anne from America's Quilting History web site for the valuable help and information she has provided me with.

History of Blocks

Women created their own Blocks and shared them with relatives and friends in different parts of the country.  Blocks were carefully copied onto paper and mailed.  Many Estate sales have unearthed stacks of sewn blocks, which were probably used as Block books, but made of cloth rather than paper.  The name of a Block may have been passed on with the Block or the lady receiving the Block may have just named it herself.

This appears to be where the problem started, while lady A in the city gave her Block one name, lady B may have given the same block a different name, while lady C created a totally different block and name her Block the same name as lady A gave her Block.  This means there are identical blocks with different names and different blocks with the same name.  This naming confusion continued even after blocks were published.

Barbara Brackman’s book, Encyclopaedia of Pieced Quilting Patterns, has done a wonderful job of helping to standardize the many Blocks.  There are over 4000 drawings and over 6000 names in the book.  Only those blocks that were published appearing Barbara’s book, so any blocks that were passed around but never published will not be found in the book. 

I have set myself the goal of finding out as much as I can about quilt blocks and their names and will be posting all the information I find here for you to review.  If you can help me with any information at all please email it to me quilty@quiltalotamus.com.

FEATURED BLOCKS

 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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C

Cake Stand

California Rose

Capital T

Carolina Lily

Carpenter’s Wheel

Cathedral Window

Chimney Sweep

Chips and Whetstones

Church Windows

Churn Dash

Clamshell

Clay’s Choice

Columbian Puzzle

Contrary Wife

Corn and Beans

Corner Post

Crazy Ann

Cross and Crown

Crown of Thorns

Crows Foot

Cupid’s Own

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Y

Yankee Puzzle

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Drunkard’s Path
also know as Rocky Road To Kansas

This block was used by the Women’s Temperance Movement which made the block popular during the later part of the 19^th century.  The quilts were used to raise money for the movement.

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Farmer’s Daughter
also known as Rolling Stone, Jack’s Blocks, Corner Post, Two Crosses and Flying Birds.

It is thought to have been around since 1910.  It was a pattern used in Kansas and seems to be appropriately named bearing in mind that many who moved to Kansas did so for a live of farming.

The Farmer’s Daughter and Two Crosses blocks are different because of the way the coloured pieces are set.

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Goblet
It looks as though it's earliest recorded history may have been the Augusta Maine catalogue, Hearth and Home, in the late 1800's, when this was called Tumbler.  Then, the Kansas city Star released it several times.

in 1930, as Goblet, in 1934 as Water Glass, and again in 1937, as The Old Fashioned Goblet...if set on point, with corner triangles, it was called The Wine Glass by the Oklahoma Farmer Stockman, in 1920- a periodical from Oklahoma City.

There are some blocks, like the goblet block that was made by women in favour of temperance. It was popular in the later 19th century, but we still think of The Movement when we see it made later, but it didn't necessarily signify this to the maker.

According to the research that I've found, blue and white were the organizations colours, although as some have already said, not all quilts making "silent statements" as to the makers affiliation with the group, or their opinion of temperance were only blue and white. I have a red and white Four T's quilt that I have on loan from a client for use in my "Silent Statements" lecture that I'll be giving to the Dallas Assistance League in November. Does anyone know of any other quilt patterns that were favoured by the WCTU other than the usual.....Drunkards Path, Goblet, Four T's....
#61 is pieced goblet blocks and it is unlikely that pieced picture blocks existed until after the Civil War. I also question #110, #111, and #114, all attributed to a woman "imported from the Congo in 1818" when she was 12 or 13 years old. All three appear to be early 20th century.

Its use in the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) movement as a symbol for their banners and raffle quilts. Other blocks used were the "T Block" and the Temperance Goblet block. The colours of WCTU were blue and white and so these quilts are often seen in blues and white

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Kansas
also known as Star of Many Points.

This block first appeared in Hearth and Home Magazine, Maine between 1868 and 1933.  It appears to also have been printed again during the 1920’s or early 1930’s.

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Kansas Dugout
also known as Five Cross, Lattice Block, Old Fashioned Quilt, Ozark Tile Pattern, Church Windows and Ogden Corners.

This block first appeared in the early 1930’s under Aunt Martha’s name. 

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Kansas Star
also known as Montpelier.

There appear to be two different blocks with this name, both published in the 1930’s.  They are very different in design, one is composed of a four point start within a four point star.

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Kansas Troubles
also known as Rocky Road To Kansas.

This block appeared in print in 1877, however, it is not known if this the first time it was printed.  The name Kansas Troubles was given to the block some 30 years after the block was designed.

There are two different blocks with this name as well as two nearly identical blocks with 15 different names.

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Log Cabin
The history behind the log cabin blocks.

1. Traditionally the block had a light side (happiness) and dark side
(sorrow) to represent life in a home.

2. The yellow or red centre would represent a hearth in a home (red) or a
candle left burning to guide a family member home at night (yellow). There has been some controversy to having a black centre. This is rumoured to represent a safe haven/comfort for escaping slaves during the Civil War.

3. In sewing the log cabin block, it is sewn from the centre out
representing the building of a home, one log at a time surrounding the hearth/heart in the middle.

The Log Cabin quilt became popular in the United States by the mid-nineteenth century. The Log Cabin pattern consist of strips of fabric (logs) sewn around a square fabric centre. The centre fabric square was traditional red to signify the fire on the hearth of the cabin. By careful placement of light and dark fabrics, different patterns were formed. These other patterns are known by the names of Court House Steps, Straight Furrow, and Barn Raising. Log Cabin quilts were frequently tied since it was to hard to quilt through so many seams. http://www.quilt.com/History/LogCabinQuilt.html

1810-1830 County Fairs begin to appear, offering prizes for needlework. Log Cabin patterns developed, first Barn Raising and then Courthouse Steps variations. The zigzag Streak of Lightning pattern appears. Quilting is done in flower, heart, and quatrefoil designs. http://www.reddawn.net/quilt/timeline.htm

The Log Cabin quilt pattern has been a long standing favourite over the years due to the simplicity of the design as well as its versatility. In many of the old quilts the centre square was red. This was to symbolize the hearth of the home. Though the quilt was a favourite for years because it was a wonderful pattern for using up scraps of fabric, quilters today for the most part plan their log cabin quilts with great care and purchase the fabric specifically for the quilt.

The overall effect of the log cabin quilt is achieved by the use of light and dark fabrics and how they are arranged. Below you will find several examples of how the arrangement of the blocks will affect the finished look of the quilt. We have also included a little animation of how to piece a basic log cabin block. We hope that this will inspire you to try your hand at one of our most popular pieces of quilt history. http://www.nmia.com/~mgdesign/qor/styles/logcabin/logcabin.htm

The Log Cabin quilt became popular in the United States by the mid-nineteenth century . The pattern consists of strips of fabric (logs) sewn around a square fabric centre , which was traditionally red to signify a fire on the hearth of the cabin. Variant Log Cabin designs such as Courthouse Steps, Straight Furrow and Barn Raising can be formed by careful placement of light and dark fabric strips. Log Cabin quilts were frequently tied since it was difficult to quilt through so many seams.  http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/cr_quilting_blocks/article/0,1789,HGTV_3299_1391212,00.html

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Rocky Road To Kansas
also known as Job’s Tears.

There are two different blocks with this name.  The word “Rocky” refers to the difficulty of travelling along roads during early settlement days.

The block was first published in 1889, ten years after the Santa Fe Trial was last used.

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Whig Rose
The Whig Rose has many variations. The Whig Rose often expressed support by it's maker for the Whig party and it is more commonly seen in the classic late nineteenth century red and green colour scheme.

1850 Whig Rose appliqué pattern is known.

Whig rose or Clays Choice reflect the political terms of the day.

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Windmill
also known as Windmill Star, Windmill and Outline, Amazing Windmill, Broken Windmills, Double Windmills, Flashing Windmills, Four Windmills, Lemoyne Star and Windmill, Missouri Windmills, Nebraska Windmill, Old Windmill and Radio Windmill.

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