Linen Closet: A Quilt by Any Other Name
Linen Closet- A Quilt by Any Other Name
You'll have to excuse the quality of these pictures; I'm reaching back to 2002 for a trip to the linen closet. This quilt was created for the November wedding of some very dear friends. The fabrics are all fall foliage themed in a warm autumnal palette. Though the block design is consistent across the top, each square has a different fabric combination; it's a sampler of setting variations for one block.
I called it Autumn Friendship Leaves, because I thought the pattern was called Maple Leaf.
The leaf silhouette is composed of a square lined on two sides with triangles. You see it, right?
Well, I was a little off. The pattern is actually most commonly known as Bear's Paw. The similarity between the block in this quilt and what I thought I was making is shown below:
Placed side-by-side it is obvious that we are looking at the evolution of a block. According to The Quilter's Album of Blocks & Borders by Jinny Beyer, Bear's Foot can be traced back to 1898, whereas the Maple Leaf block appeared much later, in 1934. It is a clear example of creative editing and adaptation.
The history of quilting can be pretty interesting. Traditional quilt blocks have multiple names because, until the mass production of patterns, they were passed from quilter to quilter within a given region, so block names often reflect the area of the country where the quilt was produced.
It turns out the block I used for this quilt is also known as Hand of Friendship. Ahhh!
Ultimately, a quilt by any name expresses the love you have for its recipients.
You'll have to excuse the quality of these pictures; I'm reaching back to 2002 for a trip to the linen closet. This quilt was created for the November wedding of some very dear friends. The fabrics are all fall foliage themed in a warm autumnal palette. Though the block design is consistent across the top, each square has a different fabric combination; it's a sampler of setting variations for one block.
I called it Autumn Friendship Leaves, because I thought the pattern was called Maple Leaf.
The leaf silhouette is composed of a square lined on two sides with triangles. You see it, right?
Well, I was a little off. The pattern is actually most commonly known as Bear's Paw. The similarity between the block in this quilt and what I thought I was making is shown below:
Bear's Foot (or Paw) or Duck's Foot (right) and Autumn Leaf or Maple Leaf (left)
from The Quilter's Album of Blocks & Borders by Jinny Beyer
The history of quilting can be pretty interesting. Traditional quilt blocks have multiple names because, until the mass production of patterns, they were passed from quilter to quilter within a given region, so block names often reflect the area of the country where the quilt was produced.
It turns out the block I used for this quilt is also known as Hand of Friendship. Ahhh!
Ultimately, a quilt by any name expresses the love you have for its recipients.
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