Basket of Roses quilt block

Basket of Roses

December 4, 1933-Nancy Cabot introduces another applique rose design this month with her Basket of Roses quilt pattern.

She explains, "The rose, the most popular of flowers for all purposes, and particularly for quilt patterns, is the important motif of today's design." I think she may be right about that. We have certainly seen a lot of quilt patterns from Nancy using the rose motif.

As far as colors go for this design, Nancy suggested, "Soft greens and the paler rose shades are the usual colors for it."

I can not find any additional information on this quilt design.

Tomorrow-Calico Star

Triple Irish Chain quilt block

Triple Irish Chain

December 3, 1933-The Triple Irish Chain was the name of the quilt pattern published today in the Chicago Tribune by Nancy Cabot. It was being introduced "because the single and double chain motif proved so popular."

The Irish Chain quilt designs are still very popular today! Nancy Cabot published her pattern for the Single Irish Chain on July 13, 1933 and the Double Irish Chain on May 31, 1933.

Nancy felt today's design was "perhaps a bit more difficult to piece than its two predecessors, but it is considered more attractive when finished."

"Here's a chance for experts to show their skill!," she wrote of the Triple Irish Chain. This may be one of those quilts that is much easier to make with our modern quilting methods. It can easily be rotary cut and strip pieced as opposed to tracing all the pieces around templates made from a cereal box which then had to be cut with scissors and possibly pieced by hand in times past. There's a FREE pattern from McCall's Quilting here that uses our modern methods and makes the block easy to piece. You could even use a jelly roll and follow directions without having to cut your strips!

There is an interesting Mountain Mist batting wrapper from 1939 here that depicts the three Irish Chain quilts and shows some interesting quilting suggestions. Be sure to look at image #2.

I didn't make this block for my sampler because I don't think it's a good design for a 6" block and the pieces would be very tiny.

Here are some links to some antique Triple Irish Chain quilts-

very unusual scrappy version

two color

three color straight set

with black centers

Tomorrow-Basket of Roses

Iowa Rose quilt block

Iowa Rose

December 2, 1933-Today's quilt block honors my home state! The Iowa Rose design was more than a hundred years old according to Nancy Cabot when she published her pattern in the Chicago Tribune.

The Wild Rose was adopted as the state flower of Iowa in 1897 which is only thirty six years before Nancy's Iowa Rose pattern was published. I wonder if the pattern is really over a hundred years old in 1933?

Nancy said the Iowa Rose design was pieced in red with a yellow center and green leaves originally but felt "modern quilters usually prefer the soft rose shades and soft greens to the original scheme of strong colors."


The placement of the leaves and stems is very interesting in this design. It is not a typical wreath arrangement.
I haven't been able to find any patterns or quilts made from this pattern.

Tomorrow-Triple Irish Chain

Lotus Buds quilt block

Lotus Buds

December 1, 1933-Lotus Buds is the name of the pattern published by Nancy Cabot in the Chicago Tribune today.

She wrote, "It's theme, the lotus, which the Egyptians and the Chinese considered a sacred flower, and its unusual treatment give today's quilt pattern a definitely oriental quality."

The Lotus Buds design combines applique with piecing. Nancy said that "since the natural lotus comes in a variety of colors, it is possible to use your favorite color scheme with no loss of suitability." Her drawing shows two buds being dark and two buds being light as I have shown in my drawing.  Her pattern which can be seen here confirms that this is how she intended the pattern to be made.

I can not find any quilts made using the Lotus Buds block so here's my interpretation of Nancy Cabot's pattern-

Tomorrow-Iowa Rose

Wild Rose Spray quilt block

Wild Rose Spray

November 30, 1933-Wild Rose Spray Offers Delicate Quilted Design was the title of Nancy Cabot's column in the Chicago Tribune today. She was presenting her Wild Rose Spray quilt pattern and the final floral applique block for this month.

Nancy felt this design was " a charming variation of the wild rose theme" and was "made particularly attractive by the graceful curve of the stems toward the four corners of the block."

This is another block that I can not find any patterns for or quilts made from.

Tomorrow-Lotus Buds

Orchid quilt block

Orchid

November 29, 1933-Nancy Cabot designed her Orchid quilt pattern in answer to "a number of requests for a quilt pattern featuring that symbol of luxurious beauty, the orchid." It was sold for "5 cents in coin or stamps" payable to Nancy Cabot at the Chicago Tribune.

This is yet another floral applique pattern which seems to be the theme for November's patterns.

Though lavender was the popular color for the Orchid quilt, Nancy suggested taking "a hint from the horticulturists who have recently produced the flower in various other shades, notably yellow and green."

I have not been able to find any patterns for the Orchid quilt or any quilts made using the design.

Tomorrow-Wild Rose Spray

Bells in Bloom quilt block

Bells in Bloom

November 28, 1933-Bells in Bloom is another quilt block this month that is both pieced and appliqued. Decorated Baskets was the first.

Nancy had this to say about her Bells in Bloom quilt pattern, "Fashioning a quilt in this design, with its suggestion of summer and all the lovely things that season brings, should be a delightful occupation for winter afternoons and evenings."

The colors that she suggested are "the soft blue of the Canterbury bells, or two shades of delicate lavender."  Or "try experimenting with rose or yellow shades" she added.

You can see a two page pattern attributed to Nancy Cabot here. I have not been able to find any quilts made using this pattern.

Tomorrow-Orchid

Calico Bush quilt block

Calico Bush

November 27, 1933-"If you have any odds and ends of calico left over after making small daughter's dresses and your own aprons, a "Calico Bush" quilt will make good use of them." That is what Nancy Cabot wrote when introducing the pattern for her Calico Bush quilt design today.

I agree that this is a good pattern for using up your scraps. There are sixteen diamond shapes in the "bush" so ample opportunity to use many different scraps.

Here is another interesting comment that Nancy made, "Nowadays calico is used only for the frocks of children and the housewive's morning dresses, but when this unusual quilt pattern was created, 'way back in American history, calico gowns formed the basis of every woman's wardrobe."


A copy of Nancy's Calico Bush pattern can be seen here. I could only find one antique quilt using this pattern which can be seen here. Notice that it is called Cactus Basket? That was the name of the very first pattern Nancy Cabot published in the Chicago Tribune on January 23, 1933! You can read about Cactus Basket here.  The difference in the two blocks is that Cactus Basket has four diamonds and Calico Bush has those four diamonds each made from four diamonds.

I paper pieced my 6" Calico Bush block. I have a paper piecing tutorial here. These are the pieces of my pattern which can be downloaded here.

The pieces are sewn together in the following order-

My block went together easily. Here's a view of the back to give you an idea of how to press it. I pressed the seams between the diamonds open before making the "y" seams which are pressed to the diamonds.

Calico Bush can be found in Electric Quilt's Blockbase program as #736.

Tomorrow-Bells in Bloom

Cut Tulips quilt block

Cut Tulips

November 26, 1933-Another tulip design, Cut Tulips! Tulip Garden was just published yesterday. Both designs are surprisingly similar too. Both are applique patterns and have three tulips in a vase.

Though the Cut Tulips quilt block looks kind of modern to me, Nancy says it is over a hundred years old and that's in 1933.

She tells this story behind the design-"A century ago at one of the customary meetings of the sewing or quilting circles in a little town in Dutch New York, the women were lamenting the dearth of new quilt patterns. One quilter said, "I can't draw, I can only cut," and proceeded to transfer to brown wrapping paper the design inspired by the bright pot of tulips that stood in the window.  When the others commented on the lack of leaves in the design, her quite sensible reply was "I never was any good at cutting them."

As interesting as this block's history is, I have not been able to find any patterns or quilts made from this pattern.

Tomorrow-Calico Bush

Tulip Garden quilt block

Tulip Garden

November 25, 1933-Nancy Cabot introduced her Tulip Garden quilt pattern as being suitable for "modern boudoirs."

To describe this block, Nancy wrote "A quilt in this design makes a veritable garden of colorful, nodding tulips when completed."

As far as colors go, Nancy stated that the Tulip Garden quilt could be made in two colors or "along the lines of the original, which utilized a different shade or two in each block."

She went on to say,"A quilt in this design is surprisingly effective with modern furnishings."

There is an antique quilt here that is very similar to Nancy's pattern.

Tomorrow-Cut Tulips

Burgoyne's Surrender quilt block

Burgoyne's Surrender

November 24, 1933-Today's quilt block gets it's name from the history of 1777. Burgoyne's Surrender is the name of Nancy Cabot's pattern published today.

"This design, as its name implies, was created to celebrate the surrender of the English general, John Burgoyne, to Gates at Saratoga in 1777. It's quite probable that the original was made by some patriotic quilter during or just after the revolution," she wrote.

The pattern is also been called Homespun but Nancy feels the "original and correct" name is Burgoyne's Surrender. Contrary to what Nancy says, this block was and is more commonly known as Burgoyne Surrounded. 




Here are three books written about this block-

Burgoyne Surrounded: A Classic Quilt Plus Six Variations

Burgoyne Surrounded: New Quilts from an Old Favorite

Burgoyne Surrounded Quilt

You can read more about the history of this block here.

All People Quilt recently had a quilt-along based on this block. You can see a variety of ideas on color placement on Moda Lissa's blog.

Here are some links to quilts made using the Burgoyne's Surrender quilt block-

red and white made most like Nancy's pattern

blue and white

green and white

This is much too complicated a block to make a 6" block for a sampler quilt. I used the Homespun block from Electric Quilt for my drawing of the block. Nancy's drawing showed a nine patch in all four corners as opposed to my drawing that shows it only in the lower right corner.

Tomorrow-Tulip Garden

Little White House on the Hill quilt block

The Little White House on the Hill

November 23, 1933-Nancy Cabot's quilt block for today probably has the longest name I have ever seen for a quilt block. It is called The Little White House on the Hill. Nancy refers to it as an "ancient pattern" but doesn't give any information on it's origin.

She had this to say about the pattern, "This cunning design that outlines a simple little white house quite clearly an old one, and originals of it are highly prized by their fortunate owners." Did she really write her sentence like that or was it typeset wrong in the newspaper?

A copy of Nancy's pattern can be seen here. I found one quilt made like Nancy Cabot's pattern here. The picture is very blurry but it's a good representation of the pattern. There are other variations of this pattern often seen with two windows or with panes in the windows.

This is a very easy block to make. I paper pieced my 6" block. Here are the sections I used-

I eliminated some seams from Nancy's pattern and added one to make it easier to put together. You can download my pattern here. Check out my paper piecing tutorial for my method of paper piecing.

The Little White House on the Hill quilt block can be found in Electric Quilt's Blockbase program as #862.

Tomorrow-Burgoyne's Surrender

Decorated Basket quilt block

Decorated Basket

November 22, 1933-The Decorated Basket quilt block is both pieced and appliqued. Nancy Cabot introduced this pattern as being attractive to "amateur quilters."


She wrote, "Here is a design so simple to piece that even the amateur can approach it without fear of bungling; at the same time it is as attractive as many patterns much more complicated."


This is another of Nancy Cabot's patterns that I can not find any record of.


The basket part of the block is still a popular design today.


Here are some links to quilts using the basket design without any decoration-

straight set with sashing

on point with sashing and cornerstones

four baskets in one block

two color on point with sashing

Tomorrow-Little White House on the Hill

Spiced Pinks quilt block

Spiced Pinks

November 21, 1933-Virginia Offers "Spiced" Flower for Quilt Block was the title of Nancy Cabot's column in the Chicago Tribune today introducing the pattern for her Spiced Pinks applique quilt pattern.

"The delicate little pink found in every old fashioned Virginia garden inspired this quilt pattern which originated, by the way, in that southern state. It's a dainty design and makes up most effectively in combinations of plain pink and pink prints," wrote Nancy and that was her entire column on the Spiced Pinks quilt pattern.

Nancy had previously introduced her Mountain Pink quilt pattern that was also inspired by the spicy pink flower on June 3, 1933.

I can't find a copy of Nancy's Spiced Pinks pattern or any quilts made from it but I did find this pattern by The Progressive Farmer that is very similar.

Tomorrow-Decorated Basket

California Oak Leaf quilt block

California Oak Leaf

November 20, 1933-The California Oak Leaf is the quilt block of the day. Nancy Cabot called the design an "unusual interpretation of an oak leaf" and believed the design originated in California in it's early days.

Many of the first quilts made using the California Oak Leaf pattern "were pieced, probably because of a scarcity of better colors and fabric from which to choose, in red, green and muslin," Nancy wrote.

In the 1930's however, Nancy thought quilters would "prefer to create the pattern in the soft tones of the oak leaf in autumn."

I can not find a pattern for this applique block as Nancy had shown it but I found a similar quilt here.

Tomorrow-Spiced Pinks

Dogwood Beauty quilt

Dogwood Beauty

November 19, 1933-Dogwood Blooms and Cobweb Stitching Make Attractive Quilt was the title of Nancy Cabot's column in the Chicago Tribune today.

Contrary to the tradition of this column , a block for the Dogwood Beauty quilt design was not shown today. Nancy explained, "Because a quilt in this design is so stunning, we are picturing above the whole quilt instead of a single block to show the design."

Dogwood Beauty is another floral applique design that I did not make for my sampler quilt.

Pale green, pale pink or pale yellow were suggested as choices for the background fabric of the white dogwood blooms which are appliqued to the background. "There are no leaves in the design, since the real dogwood bears no leaves during its blooming period," wrote Nancy.

I haven't found a pattern for the Dogwood Beauty quilt but I did find a variation of the quilt from 1932 here.

Tomorrow-California Oak Leaf

Cake Stand quilt block

Cake Stand

November 18, 1933-Nancy Cabot published her Cake Stand quilt pattern today.  It's a pieced pattern for a change of pace from the many applique patterns that she has published this month.

Nancy wrote, " The cake stand that inevitably stood on the sideboard of every well conducted dining room years ago inspired this quilt pattern of simple design and amusing name."

Nancy suggested the Cake Stand block could be made from prints but felt it was "particularly effective in plain colors, well blended." I chose to use prints.

The Cake Stand is a very easy quilt block to make since it's main unit is the half square triangle. I chose to paper piece my 6" block however because it's a five patch block which means the size of each half square triangle is 1.2".

Below are the paper piece units I used. I eliminated a couple of the seams.

They get sewn together in the following order-

The large triangle is the last part to be added.

You can download my pattern here. An old Cake Stand pattern by The Progressive Farmer can be seen here.

Here are some links to quilts using the Cake Stand pattern-

on point zig zag setting

two color on point

with sashing

Cake Stand can be found in Electric Quilt's Blockbase program as #711.

Tomorrow-Dogwood Beauty

Canada Lily quilt block

Canada Lily

November 17, 1933-The Canada Lily is the quilt pattern of the day from Nancy Cabot. The design of course was inspired by "the exotic and beautiful Canada Lily which blooms so profusely in all North America from early June until late August," she wrote.

Concerning fabric selection for a Canada Lily quilt, Nancy suggested "soft yellows and deep rich oranges" as being the most successful.

This is another applique design that I can not find any additional information on.

Tomorrow-Cake Stand

Fairy Star quilt block

Fairy Star

November 16, 1933-Nancy Cabot published her quilt pattern using the Fairy Star quilt block today.

Nancy felt "the delicacy of its lines makes the title quite fitting" and "only the daintiest of prints and colors should be used for it. Clever combinations of pastels are the most effective."

To make my block, I used the colors from Nancy's pattern which suggested light and dark plain fabrics which is different from what Nancy was suggesting in her newspaper column.

As can be seen on Nancy's pattern here, this is a pieced block that also has some applique on it.The small quarter circle shapes are appliqued to a large triangle.


I decided to piece the quarter circle shape instead and that's actually the easiest seam in the whole block! This is not a block for a beginning quilter. Every seam needed to put the block together is a "y" seam. This is one of those blocks that I think might be easier to stitch by hand than machine but I used my machine anyway. It's not my best work but it's done and mixed in with all the other 6" blocks in the sampler it will be fine, I hope.

I used templates to cut all of the pieces for this block. You can download my templates here. These are the pieces that make up the Fairy Star quilt block-

I started by sewing the pieces together into the units shown below-

I sewed those pieces together by first sewing the two little squares together leaving the quarter inch seam allowance loose where the point of the triangle needs to be attached-

The triangle is then sewn in-

I finished sewing the pieces together as shown below-

Note- I started by sewing the four patch together before sewing the long diagonal seam.

The Fairy Star block pattern can be found in Electric Quilt's Blockbase program as #3057.

Tomorrow-Canada Lily 

New Jersey Rose quilt block

New Jersey Rose

November 15, 1933-Yet another applique pattern using the rose motif was published by Nancy Cabot today. The New Jersey Rose pattern is the fourth applique rose pattern this month!

The New Jersey Rose quilt pattern originated in New Jersey in 1830. "The original had roses and buds of red, leaves and stems green, and the tip of the buds a deep yellow," wrote Nancy describing this design.

However, in Nancy's original New Jersey Rose quilt pattern which can be seen here, she calls out pink and rose fabrics to be used to make the block.

"Modern copies are usually made in softer colors more harmonious with contemporary decorating combinations," she went on to write.

Following Nancy Cabot's pattern, a New Jersey Rose quilt might look like this-

The pattern gave the option of green or rose 2 1/2" wide sashing with a  5" wide border of any color used in the quilt. Nancy preferred a green border and wrote, "a soft green border is always prettier on flower quilts." As you can see, I used rose sashing and green border.

I can't find any quilts made using this pattern.

Tomorrow-Fairy Star

Joseph's Coat quilt block

Joseph's Coat

November 14, 1933-Joseph's Coat is the name of the quilt block used in Nancy Cabot's pattern published today in the Chicago Tribune.

"This is an early American pattern, named Joseph's Coat, for the obvious reason that almost any number of materials and colors can be used in its execution," wrote Nancy. She added that "modern quilt makers seem to prefer it made up in only two colors, a more restrained effect more to the popular taste in the present day."

I started out making my block using only two fabrics, the print fabric and solid pink but didn't have enough pink fabric so had to add other fabrics and make it more scrappy. This reminded me that it is quite common to see an antique quilt where the quilt maker has run out of a fabric she was using and substituted another fabric she had on hand.

I paper pieced this block because I thought would be the easiest and most accurate way to make a 6" block. You can download my pattern here.  The paper pieced sections look like this-

I can't find any quilts made using the Joseph's Coat pattern but I did find an old pattern by Nancy Cabot here. This is another of those patterns I believe she published at a later date or in another place because the writing on the pattern is not the same as the writing in the newspaper article published today.

The pattern calls for twenty one 12" blocks alternated with twenty one white or print squares and a 6" border. This pattern also uses only one light print fabric, a dark plain fabric and white fabric. A quilt made using this pattern might look like this-

Tomorrow-New Jersey Rose

Golden Wreath quilt block

Golden Wreath

November 13, 1933-Nancy Cabot's quilt pattern today uses an applique block known as Golden Wreath.

The flowers used in the block were known as Golden Gold by the "natives of the Tennessee hills," according to Nancy when writing about this pattern.

Nancy wrote, "The Golden Wreath pattern is particularly appropriate in the purely feminine boudoir or a young girl's room."

This design is another of Nancy's that I can not find any additional information on.

Tomorrow-Joseph's Coat

Delectable Mountains Quilt block

Delectable Mountains

November 12, 1933- The Delectable Mountains quilt won three prizes in the 1933 Sears Quilt Contest at the Chicago World's Fair.

For a change in pace, we have a pieced block!

Nancy showed her entire pattern in her Chicago Tribune column today instead of just a block. I am showing just the center of the block. The quilt is made of multiple rounds made like the first round.

According to Nancy, the quilt "design was created long ago in New Jersey by the invalid wife of a clergyman; during her long years of confinement to bed and chair she designed and made many quilts, but considered this her masterpiece." I often wonder where she got her info.!


According to the Sears Century of Progress in Quilt Making book, the Delectable Mountains quilt entered in the 1933 Sears quilt Contest won four prizes not three as Nancy said. The pattern was published in that book and can be seen here as images 18 and 19. Notice that this picture has an extra little white strip of fabric between the large and small triangles of the block. I can't tell if this is just drawn that way and not really made like that or not. Any ideas?

The name, Delectable Mountains, has remained unchanged and is still a popular design today. I did not make this design as a 6" block for my sampler because I thought the pieces would be too tiny.  The basic unit of the design is the same as the Kansas Troubles block that we saw published on November 9, 1933.

The pattern can be found in Electric Quilt's Blockbase program as #3986.

Here are some links to quilts made using the Delectable Mountains design-

red and white quilt

scrappy with fish center

blue and white

straight lines

diagonal 

red and white with border and star center

Tomorrow-Golden Wreath