QUILTS & FABRIC: PAST & PRESENT


Thursday, April 27, 2017

Before They Invented the Design Wall


They had the design floor.

Which is the way I usually work.
I found this picture on eBay.  Perhaps one person started it
and another person decided to sell the whole mess.
It seems to be pieced of squares.

Without a wall to arrange it on....selling was probably the best idea.

Bowtie Quilt from the West Virginia project & the Quilt Index

The basic of repeat pattern is you set up a rhythm and follow it.
But sometimes it's better if you don't.

I found three good examples at the West Virginia Project's section at the Quilt Index.

This was a good idea. It's the same block shaded in two
different ways---one shading is high contrast red & white;
the other low contrast 1940s prints.

The plan was probably to alternate them
but....

A fabulous red and white composition.
A maze.

Here's the basic repeat

Just two rectangles.

Just three rectangles, and yet....


Browse through the West Virginia project's files at the Quilt Index. There are 4,424 quilts up there.

5 comments:

  1. That very first photo was the exact same pattern I made for my very first quilt! It was in some ladies magazine. I still have it! I backed it with a sheet and tied it. :) No rotary cutting either.

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  2. My best friend's mother spent her adult life in and out of mental institutions. She always had some sort of needlework in her hands. Her quilts were among my favorites. Never perfect, always treasured. Thanks for sharing these quirky and delightful gems.

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  3. I have a design floor too - so handy, except I have to push furniture around if it is a big quilt. That first quilt doesn't look like it would need a design wall or floor, if you used strip piecing. These are quirky and beautiful gems.

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  4. I wonder if the redirected bow ties were intentional.They add a visual snap to the design.
    I'm a sucker for mazes and I have just spent several minutes trying to find the "right" path through the red-and-white quilt.

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  5. Before there was a design wall there was also the design bed in my household... Love to see the quilt laied out for size and line and drape and its a lot easier on the back.
    This may have set up some "conflict" when I feel a need to kick someone out of the bed so I can check a layout.

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