Kansas Troubles quilt block

Kansas Troubles

November 9, 1933-"Kansas Troubles, as shown in this quilt pattern can't be dispiriting, it's a gay and attractive design. Do you suppose it was given its name by some patient Kansas woman who stitched it to forget her troubles?" These two sentences are the entire column written by Nancy Cabot when publishing her Kansas Troubles quilt pattern.


Wouldn't it be great if we really knew how some of these patterns got their names?









As I was making this pattern, I had a feeling maybe I made it before. I finally figured out I kind of had. The Rocky Glen quilt block from May 27, 1933 has the same parts in it, just arranged differently. Look I even used the same floral fabric!

I decided to paper piece this my 6" Kansas Troubles block but it could be made using the same cutting techniques that I used when I made my 6" Rocky Glen block. Below are the parts of my paper piecing pattern which can be downloaded here. Each quadrant of the block starts out like the section at the top of the photo below and gets sewn together like shown on the left of the photo.

Here is a link to an old Kansas Troubles pattern, by the Ladies Art Co. from 1895.

Here are several links to Kansas Troubles quilts-

red and white on point with alternate plain block

scrappy on point with alternate plain block

scrappy straight set with pinwheels

planned scrappy straight set

red, white and blue

straight set with sashing

The Kansas Troubles block can also be found in Electric Quilt's Blockbase program as #1270.

Tomorrow-Mexican Rose