Vintage Series V - Jacob's Ladder

Get a steaming mug of something wonderful, bring along your imagination, and take another brief moment to step back in time with me...

Today we'll be talking about a Biblical favorite: Jacob's Ladder. Womenfolk.com says we seldom find a quilt pattern with just one name. Besides Jacob's Ladder, this pattern has been known as Underground Railroad, Road to California, Off to San Francisco, Gone to Chicago, Stepping Stones and Trail of the Covered Wagon. All these names have one commonality; they all speak of going somewhere.

It's fun to imagine what might have inspired these names. It may be a trip through the garden using stepping stones.  (Certainly the 'elf house' I found photographing my quilts sparks the imagination)!  Yet again, the name for a quilt might been a long journey west in a covered wagon. Women might well have dreamed of traveling as they were sewing on this quilt.

When Marie Webster wrote the first known book on quilting in 1915 she referred to the Jacob's Ladder pattern in this way, "The bold and rather heavy design known as 'Jacobs Ladder' is a good example of a pieced quilt." She showed a black and white picture of this pattern with the caption, "One of the most striking quilts having Biblical names."  Biblical names were often used for quilts in a time when reading the Bible each day was a part of family life.

Another writer, Ruth Finley, wrote a later book on quilting in 1929. Finley mentions the Jacob's Ladder pattern as being of "shadowy pre-Revolutionary origin" but present day quilt historian, Barbara Brackman, points out that no example of a quilt in this pattern has been identified that was made before the beginning of the 20th century.  We need to be aware that during the early 20th century quilt history was often romanticized and people did not yet have the guidelines for good quilt history research that we use today.

All quilt history and authenticity aside, the 20th century Jacob's Ladder hand-pieced blocks in this quilt top were truly sleeping beauties.  Originally, they were sewn together with hideous green polyester-blend blocks to form the quilt top.

I knew I wasn't purchasing a 100% vintage quilt top, but I saw some potential for a useable, beautiful finished piece.  So, I carefully picked each green block out and replaced them with contemporary white muslin blocks.  I machine-quilted the refreshed quilt top in feathers and  TAH DAH - a sleeping beauty awakes!

I thank you again for stopping by to chat about vintage quilts.  When you're antiquing and happen upon a less-than-beautiful quilt top or blocks, take another look.  Use your imagination.  What could it look like when reworked?  Using your imagination is a part of that creativity I've spoken about many times in my blog.  It's what the pioneer women did on the road when they named the quilts we treasure and admire today.  Ignite your imagination - go somewhere with it.  Who knows?  Perhaps the project you're working on now will inspire the future. 

   Until next time!

Vintage Series IV - Dresden Plate and Snowball

Welcome back to the carriage house!  Today we're going to go inside to see how my friend has renovated a tiny room into her art studio.   While there we'll take a peek at two quilts from my vintage collection: a Dresden Plate and Snowball.

The popular name for the first quilt, Dresden Plate, reflects the romance of the Victorian Era with its love of elaborate decoration on household items and décor. 

Dresden, Germany was a center of 19th century romanticism movement in art, one that included the fine decoration of porcelain. The plates were embellished with elaborate design using flowers, fruits and foliage. The beautiful plates would surely have been admired by women of the early 20th century.

The Dresden Plate quilt pattern was one of the most popular quilts made during the 1920s and 30s. It was first published in the 20s but not always under the name Dresden Plate. Grandmother's Sunburst, Friendship Ring, Aster, Dahlia and Sunflower are all names associated with this pattern.

This quilt is made of blocks with fabric appliquéd in a series of radiating "petals" with flat sides, radiating from a central circle which is more representative of a flower than a plate.

A few Dresden Plate quilt blocks are made with a smooth outer circle. More often the ends of the "petals" are rounded or pointed. Occasionally the pointed and curved forms are combined. 

Next; the Snowball pattern, which is one of the best-known of all Amish quilt blocks.  The one featured here is an early 20th century charmer.

The Snowball pattern is one that fools the eye by creating an optical illusion. From a distance, a snowball block looks like a round circle, but it is actually an octagon, an eight-sided figure.  

Close up, you can easily see that the snowballs are easily formed by taking a square of cloth and sewing a triangle across each of the 4 corners.  

Here I've zoomed in on the backing, which shows the feathering detail I've quilted in and around each snowball.  This quilt was fuuuuun to quilt!

For those of you who are anxious to see what this studio looks like without the quilts, I've included a shot.  It's how my friend spends some of her summer days. 

It aptly illustrates that whether we create using a medium of paint, food, words, clay or fabric, all women need to connect the beauty within to the beauty without.  

So, go create!

Vintage Series III - Grandmother's Flower Garden

THE MOST POPULAR QUILT PATTERN

Welcome back to the Vintage Quilt Series!  Today we're going to explore one of my favorite vintage quilt patterns, Grandmother's Flower Garden.  

I'm not the only one enamored with its beauty. Barbara Brackman reports that the Grandmother's Flower Garden was the most popular pattern after 1925. She tells us, "...many women who never made another quilt finished a Grandmother's Flower Garden."

“Modern" quilters loved the endless color combinations and ways the blocks could be set together with this pattern. 

She relates, "Another matter of pride is the number of small hexagons in the finished quilt, often many thousands." 

Although many Grandmother's Flower Garden quilts do not contain many thousands of hexagons they still represent a great deal of labor.  

The most common way Grandmother's Flower Garden quilts were made was with a central hexagon and rows of hexagons surrounding it with an interconnecting row of white or in some cases green for grass.

The size of the hexagon used can be varied as well. Earlier quilts tended to use hexagons an inch or less across while 20th century hexagons tended to be larger.

The vintage quilt top featured here had thousands of 1" hexagons pieced by hand. Desiring to use it, I needed to quilt it up king-sized, so I added yellow borders. The hexagons were quilted in continuous curves, the flowers in a floral pattern, and the borders in luscious feathers.  Quilting by machine was an arduous task - I can't imagine quilting it by hand.

FYI:  The backdrop for this post was my friend's late 19th century home, the same that was featured in the Vintage Series I & II.  Pictured at right (and above) is the carriage house situated at the end of her back yard.  More than 100 years ago it served as the shelter for the master's carriage and horses, as well as two small rooms for the groomsman's family.  On a post is a hand-written record certifying the birth of a baby in 1896 and a solemn statement, witnessed by another man, to the father's promise to quit smoking in the same year!  No doubt the mother didn't like smoke around the newborn baby!

Layered Toffee Cake

The Layered Toffee Cake at the Grand Re-Opening was a hit!

Here's the recipe, as requested:

TOTAL TIME: Prep/Total Time: 20 min. YIELD: 12-14

Ingredients

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup caramel or butterscotch ice cream topping

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 prepared angel food cake (8 to 10 ounces)

9 Heath candy bar (1.4 ounces each), chopped

In a bowl, beat cream just until it begins to thicken. Gradually add the ice cream topping and vanilla, beating until soft peaks form. Cut cake horizontally into three layers. Place the bottom layer on a serving plate; spread with 1 cup cream mixture and sprinkle with 1/2 cup candy bar. Repeat. Place top layer on cake; frost top and sides with remaining cream mixture and sprinkle with the remaining candy bar. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 12-14 servings.

Vintage Series II - Fan...or Faux?

We're revisiting the Vintage Series this post, featuring the fan.  Some of you may just enjoy the pictures, and others will savor the history right along with me.  Either way, I invite you to stay a while.

Besides, who could resist a good book with a comfortable quilt?  So, linger and read a bit here on what makes that quilt so appealing...

Marin Hanson, in writing about Nancy Cabot and Her ‘Exotic’ Quilt Patterns, tells us "in the 1920s, ‘30s, and ‘40s, quilt designers had an affinity for exotic or oriental patterns. In the era of Charlie Chan in the movie theaters, the words “oriental” and “exotic” were often used interchangeably and quilt patterns that had an exotic flair were all the rage."

"One designer who heavily promoted this trend was Nancy Cabot, the pseudonymous quilt pattern columnist for the Chicago Tribune. Because her column was widely syndicated, quiltmakers all over the country would have been familiar with her exotic patterns, which ranged from Japanese Poppy to Chinese Gongs to Persian Poinsettia. Often, however, many of Cabot’s patterns were exotic in name only. As with other early twentieth century designers, she recycled traditional patterns and gave them new names, likely in the hopes of adding appeal for a new generation."

"Fan motifs had been around at least since the late-nineteenth century Crazy quilt craze. They were transformed into repeat block patterns and became popular in the early twentieth century, with names like Grandmother’s Fan and Imperial Fan. Cabot took variations of these and gave them exotic names". 

One of these that Cabot renamed was the Chinese Fan (c. 1943), a gorgeous predominantly pink one I've featured as the background of my blog site.  (Can't see it using your iPhone, tablet or email?  Check it out on my blog by clicking on www.ppatchworks.blogspot.com). Regardless of the origin of its name, I simply like it! The fan variation quilt in the pictures shown with this post is lovely, as well, and deserves a fan or two, no pun intended.

Grand Re-Opening Open House!

My downtown studio is now open for business!

To celebrate, my Grand Re-Opening will be held

Tuesday, October 1st

Noon to 3:00

Open house (come when you can - working

quilters come during your lunch hour)

Carpooling highly recommended

Door prizes

Light hors d'oeuvres

Bottomless fresh lemonade, because...

...that's what you make out of lemons!

RSVP ppatchworks@gmail.com

Connie Potter

Ponderosa Patchworks

A Step Back in Time - Vintage Series I

A dear friend of mine owns a late 19th century home in the center of town....

She graciously consented to a photo shoot on her property featuring my vintage quilt collection.  All quilts shown in this post were quilted by me.  The quilt above - Southern Belle, c. 1920's - was purchased as a set of 12 blocks and is the only quilt I've sewn entirely with period materials.  Using a vintage pattern, each block was set in blue sashings and framed with a snow cone border.  

Here's a bit of history on the Southern Belle, (aka Colonial Lady and Umbrella Girl), a design that was originally used in the "Quilt Code" of the Underground Railroad. According to Traditional Quiltworks, "Free women in the North wore long dresses with Sue bonnets". The earliest "Sunbonnet baby" figures are in redwork embroidery, and date to around 1905. The "Sue" appliqué block didn’t appear until 50 years after the Underground Railroad disbanded; the earliest known "sunbonnet" appliqué quilt (by Marie Webster, called Sunbonnet Lassies or Keepsake) was first published in the Ladies Home Journal in January 1911. Quilt historian Barbara Brackman notes that the Sunbonnet appliqué pattern "did not trickle down to the quilt-making public until the late 1920s".

Ahh, the Nine-Patch Variant.  This quilt top was found antiquing at a local shop.  I was intrigued with it because I own a very special one that my maternal grandmother hand-pieced and hand-quilted. More on that quilt later!  No history as yet on this design, but I hope to have a tidbit or two when I reveal my grandmother's quilt later in this Vintage Series.

Who can deny the romanticism of a Double Wedding Ring quilt? Again, the quilt top was found antiquing and I quilted it using patterns especially for Double Wedding Ring quilts.  

History of this design:  Some consider this pattern among one of the oldest, while others insist that there was no historical mention of it until the 1920s, at least in the U.S.  It’s no surprise that many Double Wedding Ring quilts have become family heirlooms – made by grandmothers and mothers for their children and grandchildren. There is a folklore belief that a newly wed couple will be protected from bad dreams and bad luck, and their marriage will be a blessed one if they sleep under a Double Wedding Ring quilt received as a wedding gift.

There is a lot of symbolism behind this pattern – some point to the “gimmal ring,” a betrothal ring popular in 15th-16th centuries. The Gimmal ring was two rings fitted together to form one; the two parts were worn separately by the engaged couple, and during the wedding ceremony the rings were interlocked to be worn by the wife. The infinity of Celtic Knot and Roman etching patterns with interlocking rings also comes to mind when we look at a Double Wedding Ring quilt, and the message of eternal love inevitably follows.

The part I loved most in the quilting of this quilt was the rings, which were done non-stop in continuous curve.  Quite the feat to attempt and accomplish.

I absolutely love vintage quilts.  I had so much pleasure taking these photos and wish to thank my good friend once again for her lovely home as backdrop.

Look for another edition to the Vintage Series in the weeks to come!  

And later this week I'll be sending you a personal invitation to my Grand Re-Opening!