Wade Hall Quilt Collection
About the Quilt Collection
Dr. Hall is a retired professor, now deceased, of English & the Humanities at Bellarmine College in Louisville. As an aficionado of folk art, he has collected quilts for the past 30 years, purchasing primarily in the Ohio Valley region, many within a 100 mile radius of Lexington.
More than one hundred quilts were donated to the University of Kentucky's William T. Young Library and 64 currently are hanging on the interior walls of the fifth floor. This collection is unique in that it displays quilts that have been used and loved in the course of their lifetime. Stains, tears, fading fabric and lopsided shapes are the result of this normal, everyday living and add a sentimental dimension to the collection that may not be found in a more art-oriented collection.
This collection was prepared for hanging by Helen Thompson, a Lexington quilt appraiser consultant. Beginning in February 1998 and working with a group of 25 to 30 volunteers, each quilt was lined with a separate back. Then a sleeve was applied to the top and bottom of the quilt to accommodate both a hanging rod for the top and a weighted rod at the bottom. The entire collection was collected for the dedication of the William T. Young Library on April 3, 1998.
All but a few quilts in the exhibit have cotton batting and are thus heavily quilted to keep the batting stable.
North and Core 2
(1) Lone Star Quilt
(yellow background, now faded to ivory; teal and pink)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand and machine pieced, hand quilted
69” x 73”
(circa 1950)
Maker and location unknown.
Note the diamond quilting that was added to emphasize circular design and the diamonds in the border that echo the diamond or small rhombus shapes that make up the eight-pointed star.
This is one of the more ambitious patterns in quilt-making. The giant star quilt pattern was first known as Mathematical Star; a name used in England and along the Eastern seaboard of the United States as early as 1820. Other names for the pattern are Star of Bethlehem, Star of the East, and Lone Star. It became best known as the Lone Star when one of the earliest known dated examples of this quilt was made just before the fall of the Alamo. The pattern soon became a symbol of the independence of Texas, given that it’s motto is “the Lone Star state” and later a celebration of attainment of statehood in 1845.
Instructions to make this quilt can be found here.
(2) Lone Star Quilt
(bright pink background, now faded to pastel pink; blue)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, hand quilted in horizontal lines
68 ½” x 74 ½”
(circa 1920)
Maker unknown.
Elizabethtown, Kentucky
Note the straight border echoed twice at the top and bottom to add length to quilt.
Instructions to make this quilt can be found here.
(3) Broken Star Quilt
(green and blue, faded)
Large variety of cotton fabrics and cotton batting
String pieced, hand quilted
83 1/2” x 76”
(circa 1940)
Maker unknown.
Decatur, Alabama
Broken Star quilts are more frequently pieced as seen in Quilts 13 and 14, similar to the Lone Star quilt pattern used in Quilts 1 and 2. This unusual interpretation of this pattern is made with striking parallel pieced fabric that incorporate corduroy, chintz, drapery, cotton, and other scrap fabrics. Note the diagonal printed fabric used in the center of the diamond pieces and the border. Also note that the border is pieced.
Broken Star quilts were popular in the 1880s though they were not known by that name until the mid-1920s when it was published under that name by a Kanas farm magazine, Capper’s Weekly. Other names this pattern was known as were Carpenter’s Star or Carpenter’s Wheel.
Instructions to make this quilt can be found here.
(4) Blazing Star Quilt
(purple and yellow)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, exquisite hand quilted
64” x 72”
(circa 1910)
Made by a Mrs. Edwards from Edmonson County, Kentucky. An example of a multigenerational quilt, with the star blocks pieced by one person, and the blocks assembled into a “top” that was quilted by someone from a later generation.
Instructions for making small Lone Star blocks can be found here.
(5) Blazing Star Quilt
(faded pink and gray)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, hand quilted
66” x 80 ½”
(circa 1900)
Maker unknown.
Blue Lick, Lincoln County, Kentucky
Well worn. Notice the shape of the entire quilt is more a trapezoid than a rectangle, which is the results of much use, washing, and line-drying.
Instructions for making the Blazing Star block, here called Starburst
(6) Touching Stars Quilt
(uniformly faded to pastels, mainly pink and blue)
Cotton fabrics, some flour and feed sack materials, and cotton batting
Hand pieced, hand quilted
61 ½” x 71 ½”
(circa 1950)
Maker unknown.
Made in Taylor County, Kentucky.
Some fabrics used from either feed or flour sacks. Notice the diagonal color arrangement; an attempt to create order while utilizing scrap fabrics.
(7) Eight-Pointed Star Quilt
(scrappy 1930s fabrics, uniformly faded)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, hand quilted
71” x 86”
Made by the Ursuline Nuns of Louisville. Star blocks were made circa 1930; blocks were assembled and quilted circa 1950. Note the use of the 1930s small- and medium-print fabrics used as well as the clover quilting pattern.
Eight-pointed star patterns can be tricky to sew as it is difficult to keep the points sharp in the center when assembling the block.
The star blocks used in this quilt are often called Le Moyne Stars. This design was first published in 1894, as “Star,” in Ohio Farmer. The block was named for the founder of New Orleans, Jean Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, according to Yvonne Khin's Collector's Dictionary of Quilt Names and Patterns. English-speaking settlers renamed it Lemon Star.
Instructions for making this block in various sizes can be found here.
(8) Twinkling Star Quilt
(light pink background faded to ivory; green and blue as well as green gingham; staining from heavy use)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, hand quilted
72” x 74”
(circa 1940)
Maker unknown.
Made in Ohio
Blocks are set on point, or diagonally.
Notice the fading across the bottom third of the quilt.
Pattern is very similar to the Ohio Star block, but with curved interior edges.
Instructions for making the Ohio Star block can be found here
(9) Eight-Pointed Star Quilt
(uniformly faded: red; yellow; pink, with pieced triangle border)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, hand quilted
75” x 77”
(circa 1930)
Maker unknown.
Made in Louisville, Kentucky.
(10) Eight-Pointed Star Quilt
(blue, faded to tan; green; brown)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, hand quilted
70” x 78”
(circa 1880)
Maker and specific location unknown.
Made in Indiana.
Pattern is made up of Sawtooth Star blocks mixed with plaid and polka dot setting squares.
Instructions for making the Sawtooth Star block can be found here.
(11) Star of Bethlehem Quilt
(blue; teal; pink)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, hand quilted
63” x 74”
(circa 1910)
Maker and location unknown.
Notice the pieced borders and visual changes in the pattern design when different color arrangements are used in inner stars, particularly in the bottom left block.
Quilt is made up of smaller Carpenter’s Star blocks with pink sashing.
Instructions for making a large Carpenter’s Star quilt can be found here.
(12) Lone Star Quilt
(orange and blue with orange binding)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, hand quilted
74 ½” x 77 ½”
(circa 1930)
Maker unknown.
Made in McHenry, Ohio County, Kentucky.
Note quilting pattern’s similarity to that on Quilt 1.
Instructions to make this quilt can be found here.
(13) Broken Star Quilt
(yellow; pink; orange; blue)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, exquisitely hand quilted
67 ½” x 75”
(circa 1910)
Maker and location unknown.
Pieced units; assembled and quilted circa 1970. Another example of a multigenerational quilt. Notice how the layout of the smaller yellow stars in the corners do not match the rest of the quilt. Note the rhombus pieced top and bottom border and eagle or dove design quilted in the center white squares.
This may also be referred to as a Rolling Star pattern.
Instructions for making this quilt can be found here.
(14) Broken Star Quilt
(faded yellow; pink; purple)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, exquisitely hand quilted
85“ x 86”
(circa 1950)
Maker and location unknown.
Quilted in wreath pattern with feather borders.
Likely made from a quilt kit purchased from the Aunt Martha line of patterns published by Colonial Readicut Quilt Block Company (now Colonial Patterns), Kansas City, MO
Instructions for making this quilt can be found here.
(15) Pansies & Ribbons Quilt
(Variegated blues with blue border)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand appliqued, exquisitely hand quilted with feathers and flower motifs.
83” x 99”
(circa 1930)
Made by Mrs. Mable Black of Lexington, Kentucky. Mrs. Black was one of the quilt makers that made the 1933 Sears, Roebuck & Co , and Co. Century of Progress Quilt Contest Best of Show quilt for Mrs. Margaret Rogers Caden, though this recognition came late in her life. The Best of Show quilt was presented to Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt.
Note how the varying shades of blue used in the ribbon and pansies give them dimension and movement in this very unique and beautiful quilt that is assumed to be the makers’ original pattern.
(16) 1776 Eagle Quilt
(red applique on ivory background with rounded edges)
Cotton and synthetic fabrics and cotton batting
Hand appliqued, hand quilted
74” x 80 ½”
(circa 1970)
Maker and location unknown.
Bicentennial quilts, as the name suggests, were created in the late 1970s to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the independence of the United States from Great Britain. These quilts often featured symbology of the nation, such the eagle and the olive branches as well as stars. The ten stars included in this quilt possibly represent the concept of unity. An additional backing was added to this quilt in order to make the top rounded edge square and allow for proper hanging.
One of the most successful celebrations of quilt-making during the celebration of the Bicentennial was the Great Quilt Contest sponsored by Good Housekeeping magazine, the U.S. Historical Society, and the Museum of American Folk Art. There were 9,954 entries representing all fifty states, making it more geographically wide-reaching than the contest mentioned in the previous quilt’s description, the 1933 Sears, Roebuck, and Co. Century of Progress Quilt Contest.
Instructions for sewing needle-turn applique can be found here.
East Wall and Core 3
(17) Court House Lawn Quilt
(red, now faded to brown/mauve; brown; black)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, hand quilted
Maker and location unknown.
64 ½” x 80
(circa 1900)
Note effective use of Baptist Fan quilting pattern variation.
It is unknown if the red fabric used in this quilt was dyed using the Congo red dye widely-used in the late 1800s and early 1900s, but it is an example of a fugitive color: a color that fades over time from the dye not being fixed or “mordanted” properly. Congo red was originally a bright red color, similar to the more expensive Turkey red dyed fabric, yet fabric dyed with the Turkey red dye retains its bright hue while reds dyed with Congo red frequently turn shades of salmon, mauve, or brown, such as the background of this quilt. Congo red, mainly derived from coal-tar waste products, was discovered by German chemist Paul Böttinger who sold it to the company AGFA. The name “Congo” was added at the time to a great many dyes to represent “exotic.”
Quilt 24 in this installation used red fabrics that had been dyed with both of these dyes. The red fabrics would have appeared the same at the time, but as time has passed, the fugitive Congo red dye has now faded to tan.
It is sometimes possible to determine the original colors of fabric by looking in the seams where the fabric was partially protected from light damage and/ or wear.
This pattern is a variation of the Washington Pavement quilt pattern.
Instructions for how to make one variant of this pattern can be found here.
(18) Crown of Thorns Quilt
(green; red)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, hand quilted
Maker and location unknown.
64 ½” x 80
(circa 1910)
Compare this quilt to the Crown of Thorns layout on the South Wall, Quilt 34. Note use of orange peel quilting pattern and use of red sun cornerstones and sawtooth borders that mirror the quilt’s pattern.
Also compare the color used in the background of Quilt 17 to the red quarter-circles in this quilt: Quilt 17 was likely dyed using the then-popular Congo red dye; the red fabric in this quilt has retained its bright hue, so is likely dyed with Turkey Red dye (see discussion under quilt 17 of these dyes).
When Mountain Mist published this pattern in 1931 it used the name New York Beauty, and this pattern has become best known under this name, but this is not the name that would have been used at the time this quilt was made. The original pattern was believed to have originated in the southeastern United States and has been known by many other names, such as Chinese Fan; Sunrise, or Sunrise in the Pines; Surveyor; President Polk in the White House; Rocky Mountains; or Rail Through the Mountains.
Directions to make a New York Beauty Block can be found here.
(19) Double Nine Patch Quilt
(navy blue now faded to green; red; and brown)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, hand quilted
61 ½” x 70
(circa 1900)
Maker and location unknown.
Nine-patch quilts (blocks made of nine equal squares sewn together into a large square) were made frequently as first quilts by young quilters, often for everyday use as they wasted no fabric and were relatively quick to sew. This quilt is interesting because it uses a smaller nine-patch unit as the interior for a larger nine-patch unit, in other words, a double nine-patch.
Instructions for making a Double Nine-patch block can be found here.
(20) Economy Block Quilt
(brown, now faded to tan; lilac, now faded to tan; yellows, now faded to tan; dark blue now faded to light blue; ivory setting blocks)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, hand quilted
65” x 77”
(circa 1930)
Made by Mrs. Lela Bottom from Harrodsburg, Kentucky.
This pattern is known as the Economy Block, as it produces minimal waste fabric yet is more interesting than the nine-patch quilts.
Instructions for making an Economy Block can be found here.
(21) Rose of Sharon Quilt, Tulip variation with bordered blocks
(faded reds with green, now faded to tan)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, hand quilted
76” x 83”
(circa 1890)
Maker and location unknown.
Purchased from a family from Louisville, Kentucky. Most Rose of Sharon quilts do not include a border around each block.
There are many variations of this pattern, including the Whig Rose (with eight identical buds surrounding a rose center) and Democratic Rose (with four identical flowers surrounding a rose center and four mirrored cockscombs) variations made to announce voting preferences in the highly contentious 1840 election. A few other variants are named the Rose Cross and the Odd Fellows Rose.
The Rose of Sharon pattern is one of the oldest applique quilt patterns and was sewn by many young women in the mid-1800s.
This pattern continued to be popular through to the early 1900s. Mrs. Marie Webster, the first quilting celebrity of her time and founder of the Practical Patchwork Company, used it very successfully in her business which sold quilt patterns, stamped applique quilt kits, offered quilting services, and would also make quilts to order.
In addition to the faded red likely being due to using an unstable red dye, this quilt also fell victim to another fugitive fabric dye. The fabric that is now tan was originally green but was probably dyed with an unstable vegetable dye. Many green dyes during the period 1880-1920 have proven to be fugitive, fading to a tan, grey-blue or a mousey grey, the latter referred to by quilters as a “dun” color. The usual method of obtaining green fabrics we see in antique quilts was to overdye yellow fabric with blue dye. Since indigo was the only truly reliable blue dye, and yellow dyes are frequently also unstable, the mixing of these two unstable colors yields a range of unstable green dyes, which as they fade range from tan to grey-blue to the “dun” grey color.
Instructions for making one of the many Rose of Sharon variant blocks can be found here.
(22) Friendship Quilt
(black, now faded to tan; white)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, hand quilted in Baptist fan pattern
73” x 62 ½”
(circa 1900)
Maker unknown.
From Evansville, Indiana.
Note the similarity in this pattern to Quilt 17; Quilt 22 uses the same set-on-point (diagonally placed) pattern with simpler design: white interior squares in each block with white setting diamonds while Quilt 17 uses variegated interior squares and red setting diamonds.
More recently this block has become known as a Granny Square block, given that it resembles the Granny Square blocks in crocheting.
One tutorial for making these blocks can be found here.
(23) Snail's Trail Quilt
(red and white)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, hand quilted
73” x 78”
(circa 1915)
Maker unknown.
From Owingsville, Kentucky.
Note the mistake in the orientation of two of the four-patch blocks near the bottom center of the quilt. The color-fastness of the red fabric used in this quilt is likely the result of using the Turkey red (stable) fabric dye (see commentary on Quilt 17 for more information).
This is an interesting block to construct as triangles and squares are sewn to appear as curves, though no curved piecing is used. An alternate name for the pattern is Monkey Wrench, later called Indiana Puzzle, Whirligig, or Journey to California.
Instructions for making this block can be found here.
(24) Hanging Diamonds Quilt, Hexagon variation
(dark reds, some faded to tan; blue; green)
Silk and wool fabrics and cotton batting
Hexagons English paper-pieced by hand, hand quilted
67” x 80 ½”
(circa 1880)
Maker unknown.
Note the irregular border.
Made in Shelbyville, Kentucky.
This quilt provides a good comparison of the two red dyes discussed in the commentary with Quilt 17. The bright red fabrics that have remained so were dyed with the Turkey red dye; those that are now tan in the blocks and in the border were dyed with the unstable Congo red fabric dye. Both fabrics would have appeared as the same or similar red colors at the time the quilter used them.
English Paper Piecing instructions
(25) Red Cross Quilt
(unstable red dyed fabric now faded to peach with top and bottom borders only)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, hand quilted
67 x 78 ½”
(circa 1915)
Maker and location unknown.
Note the signatures added to the blocks. These were likely used as a fund-raiser for the Red Cross, with signatories frequently paying a fee of $0.10 each to add their signature. The signatures on this quilt were made in ink, not embroidered as is also common.
The fugitive red dye that was the original color of this quilt was likely the result of using the unstable Congo red fabric dye (see commentary on Quilt 17 for more information).
(26) Drunkard’s Path Quilt
(dark navy blue now faded to lilac; white)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, hand quilted
65” x 95”
(circa 1940)
Maker unknown.
Made and purchased in Ohio.
The Drunkard’s Path pattern is a four-patch block that uses curved seams to make a pattern reminiscent of an inebriated person staggering home after a night out.
This pattern is also known as Old Maid’s Delight, Old Maid’s Dilemma, or Solomon’s Puzzle, names particularly chosen by those who do not drink or who do not support drinking, such as the Prohibitionists in the early 19th to 20th centuries who frequently made this quilt, as this one, originally made in the blue and white colors of the Temperance Movement.
Instructions for making this quilt can be found here.
(27) Circle of Hearts Quilt
(peach and blue; heavily stained from use)
Cotton fabrics, feed sack batting, and cotton batting
Hand pieced and appliqued, hand quilted
76” x 83”
(circa 1940)
Made by African-American quilter Mrs. Gable Wright in Springfield, Kentucky.
A number of large flour sacks were used as backing material, some trademarks and lettering still visible, including “Greenville, TX” stamping.
From a distance the similarities between Quilts 25 and 27 can be seen.
Instructions for making a similar quilt block can be found here.
(28) Diagonal Nine-Patch Quilt
(blue; red with red border)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, hand quilted
73” x 82”
(circa 1940)
Maker and location unknown.
Note the similarity of Quilt 28 to Quilt 17, with Quilt 17 including setting diamonds between each block.
Quilts 28 to 30 are variations of each other. This diagonal nine-patch is a smaller version of a traditional Trip Around the World quilt. Quilt 29 is the triangle variation of a Trip Around the World Quilt, and Quilt 30 is the Boston Commons variant.
Instructions for how to make one variant of this pattern can be found here.
(29) Trip Around the World Quilt, triangle variation
(uniformly faded: pink; green)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, hand quilted
77” x 70 ½”
(circa 1940)
Maker unknown.
Made in French Lick, Indiana.
Trip Around the World Quilts are typically sewn using squares (see Quilts 28 and 30). This one uses half-square triangles, or squares made up of two right-triangles pieced together at their hypotenuses.
Instructions for making a similar quilt can be found here.
(30) Trip Around the World Quilt, Boston Commons variation
(uniformly faded: red; blue gingham; plaid fabrics)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, hand quilted
73” x 80”
(circa 1940)
Maker unknown.
Made in Indiana.
Instructions for making this quilt can be found here.
(31) Pomegranate & Roses Quilt
(orange; green)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand appliqued and machine pieced, hand quilted
75” x 78”
(circa 1915)
Maker and location unknown.
Pomegranate appliqued blocks are set on point with rose appliqued setting blocks.
The binding was added in 1998 in order for this quilt to be hung as part of this exhibit.
(32) Four-Patch Quilt variation
(green; brown; peach)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, hand quilted
76 ½” x 74”
(circa 1875)
Maker and location unknown.
The four-patch block is a block made of four squares assembled into a larger square block, just as the nine-patch block is (see Quilt 17). The four patch units in the center of this quilt’s blocks are then sewn into larger square units in an economy block style (Quilt 20), with triangles added on all four sides. The block is finished with the same-colored pieced border and sashed in white for a very striking quilt.
Instructions for beginning to sew this block can be found here.
South Wall and Core 4
(33) Sunflowers Quilt
(yellow; green; tan)
Cotton, painted fabrics and cotton batting
Combination of hand and machine applique, hand quilted
78 ½” x 64”
(circa 1930)
Maker unknown.
From Louisville, Kentucky.
The advent of the sewing machine revolutionized sewing. It was considered quite a feat at the time to machine applique a quilt.
(34) Crown of Thorns Quilt
(peach; yellow)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand and machine pieced, hand quilted
78” x 80”
(circa 1920)
Made by an African-American woman, Mrs. Jones, of Louisville, Kentucky. Compare this quilt to the Crown of Thorns Quilt layout on the East Wall, Quilt 18.
Please see the description for Quilt 18 for additional information about this pattern.
Directions to make a New York Beauty Block can be found here.
(35) Nine-Patch Quilt variation
(faded: red; yellow; green)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, hand quilted
69 ½” x 75 ½”
(circa 1910)
Maker unknown.
Made in Upton, Hardin and LaRue Counties, Kentucky.
Note how using a larger inner square in this nine-patch block changes the look of the quilt, as does staggering the block placement. The repeated colors in each column of blocks make this a striking layout.
The red fabric that was used as the background fabric of this quilt was clearly dyed with the Turkey red dye that was color-fast (see commentary on Quilt 17 for more information).
A tutorial for making this quilt block can be found here.
(36) Wagon Wheels Quilt
(burgundy background now faded to tan; teal; pink)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand and machine pieced, hand quilted
66” x 76”
(circa 1930)
Maker and location unknown.
Instructions for making a similar quilt block can be found here
(37) Devil's Puzzle Quilt
(yellow background faded to ivory; brown; green)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand and machine pieced, hand quilted
69” x 83”
(circa 1950)
Maker unknown.
Made in Adair County, Kentucky.
There are quilt a few quilt patterns that use “puzzle” in their titles, including this one and the next one, but also “Old Maid’s Puzzle”; “Dutchman’s Puzzle”; “Fool’s Puzzle” and even “Monk’s Puzzle.”
Instructions for making a similar quilt block can be found here.
(38) Indiana Puzzle Quilt
(yellow; brown; green; blue)
Cotton fabrics and polyester batting
Hand and machine pieced, hand quilted
67” x 81”
(circa 1970)
Maker unknown.
Made in Hartford City, Indiana.
This pattern combines four-patch units (seen in Quilt 32) with half-square triangles (seen in Quilt 29) in a nine-patch block. The striped fabric used in this quilt makes it slightly difficult to make out the pattern.
Instructions for making this quilt block can be found here: https://www.patchworksquare.com/index.php?function=DisplaySheet&sheet=indiana-puzzle-quilt-block
(39) Improved Nine-Patch Quilt
(“cheddar” yellow; grey; reds now faded to peach)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, hand quilted
67” x 84 ½”
(circa 1930)
Maker and location unknown.
From Glasgow, Barren County, Kentucky.
This nine-patch block features curved seams on the outside edges of each block, “improving” it, and making it more difficult to piece.
The “cheddar” yellow color fabric used in this quilt was very popular in the Pennsylvania region between 1860 and 1880 and post-Civil War in the South between 1880 and 1920, with quilts using this color now known as “cheddar quilts.” Originally known as “chrome orange,” this color was produced by a dye that contained high proportions of both lead and antimony, leading this color to also be known simply as “antimony.” So much of this color was produced at this time that it became considered by quilters as a neutral color, used in many backgrounds, as seen here in Quilts 39 and 42.
Quilts that use this antimony dyed fabric that were only rarely washed remain this “cheddar” color; those that were frequently washed became pale yellow-green.
The fugitive red dye that was used on fabric in several blocks of this quilt that are now peach was likely the result of using the unstable Congo red fabric dye (see commentary on Quilt 17 for more information).
Instructions for making these blocks can be found here: https://www.allpeoplequilt.com/quilt-patterns/wall-quilts/glorified-nine-patch-wall-hanging
And here: https://www.quiltfabrication.com/2013/03/making-glorified-9-patch.html
(40) Hummingbird Quilt
(blue; pink; salmon border)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, hand quilted
72” x 87 ½”
(circa 1930)
Maker unknown.
Made in Owingsville, Bath County, Kentucky.
Pattern is also known as Periwinkle block, first seen in a 1929 issue of Wallace Farmer; Arkansas Snowflake; Kite; or Job’s Troubles.
Instructions for making this quilt can be found here.
(41) Wheel of Fortune Quilt
(teal; blue; purple)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand and machine pieced, hand quilted
72 ½” x 81 ½“
(circa 1950)
Maker and location unknown.
If you view this quilt from the rotunda you will notice how the quilter laid out the quilt to emphasize the movement in its pattern. Despite its complex look, this is a straightforward four-patch block that uses only four shapes, placed carefully.
Pattern is believed to have been developed around 1880.
Instructions for making a similar quilt can be found here.
(42) Double Pyramid Quilt
(“cheddar” yellow; green)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, hand quilted
77” x 82 ½”
(circa 1900)
Maker unknown.
Made in Madison, Indiana.
The “cheddar” yellow color fabric used in this quilt was very popular between 1880-1920, with quilts using this color known as “cheddar quilts.”
This pattern was said to have first been made in 1819 in Virginia and reproduced in 1933 by Nancy Cabot in her Chicago Tribune column, described as “patterned after a lace design" and "always pieced in pink and white and of fine cloth-the quintessence of daintiness and refinement." Ms. Cabot sold her patterns through her column for "5 cents in stamp or coin" (Chicago Tribune April 21, 1933)
Instructions to make this pattern can be found here.
(43) Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt
(faded gray; blue; pink)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
English paper pieced by hand, hand quilted
62” x 79”
(circa 1930)
Maker and location unknown.
This pattern is usually worked with an English paper piecing method (using backing paper to stabilize the fabrics as they are hand-sewn together with the paper removed prior to quilting). Made up of two concentric rows of hexagons around a hexagonal center. Pattern has many variations. In this case, the 3rd row of white hexagons added to serve as the “path” separating single flowers.
Special backing was applied in order to square off the top corners, sides & bottom, allowing the quilt to hang flat.
First published as “Hexagon” in Godey’s Lady’s Book magazine in January 1835, this was a popular pattern into the late 19th century, reaching its height of popularity in 1925 when small fabric scraps were easier to find than larger pieces during the Great Depression. Pattern is also known as Mosaic, Honeycomb, or French Bouquet.
English Paper Piecing instructions: https://www.museum.state.il.us/muslink/art/htmls/ks_tech_epp.html
Piecing by machine: https://kathykwylie.com/2016/05/grandmothers-flower-garden-hexies-by-machine/
(44) Compass Quilt
(red; yellow; green)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, hand quilted
71 ½” x 95”
(circa 1850)
Maker unknown.
Made in Bardstown, Kentucky and purchased in Mount Sterling, Kentucky. This is one of the oldest quilts in the collection.
Compass quilts frequently had 16 (like this one) or 32 points radiating from a central circle, like traditional compasses do. Originally called a windrose, later a compass rose, the first known quilt to use this design was made in 1726, in England.
The green fabric that was used to make the center circles of each compass was originally a deep green color known as “Scheele's Green” for the chemist, Carl Wilhelm Scheele, who discovered the dyeing properties of the compound. This fabric has now faded to what quilters know as “poison green” due to its use of arsenic or copper arsenate in the dye.
Instructions to make a similar block can be found here.
Foundation paper pieced block instructions are here.
(45) Tulips in Urns Quilt
(yellow; green; ivory)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand appliqued and pieced, hand quilted
77” x 77”
(circa 1860)
Maker unknown.
Made in Jefferson County, Kentucky. This is another example of a green fabric that has lost its original color. Green fabrics were frequently dyed yellow, then overdyed with blue dyes of indigo to produce green. Here the yellow dye has been lost, leaving the once-green fabric a more blueish hue due to the colorfastness of the blue dyes.
A similar tulip applique pattern can be found here.
This is a simpler version of Ms. Susan McCord’s Flowers in Urns quilt: https://www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digital-collections/artifact/3436
(46) Log Cabin Quilt
(faded scrappy fabrics)
Cotton fabrics and polyester batting
Machine pieced, hand quilted
72 ½” x 85”
(circa 1960)
Light and dark Log Cabin arrangement.
From Louisville, Ky.
Log Cabin quilts are used perhaps most often to teach beginners the basics of strip piecing though it is beloved by experienced quilters for its versatility and many variations. This design first appeared in the 1850s and 1860s, leading some quilt historians to connect it to President Abraham Lincoln, the most famous resident of a log cabin. It was beloved by Victorian seamstresses who made numerous examples in silk and velvet, bits of sturdy ribbon or worn neckties. Pattern has many variations, including Courthouse Steps (Quilt 49) and Pineapple (not the same as Quilt 50).
Traditionally log cabin quilts used a red or burgundy fabric as the center square, as this example does, to represent the heath fire.
Instructions to make a similar Log Cabin Quilt can be found here.
(47) Flower Urns Quilt
(brown; ivory)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand embroidered, machine assembled, hand quilted
76” x 95”
(circa 1955)
Maker unknown.
This quilt was made in Louisville, Kentucky using a commercially available quilt kit and featuring cross stitching and hand embroidery. An example of a medallion quilt with a central block or panel surrounded by solid, pieced, or appliqued borders, a style that was brought to the United States from Europe.
(48) Crazy Quilt
(purple faded to brown; black)
Silk, velvet, brocade, wool and cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, embroidered, appliqued and painted, hand quilted
76” x 75”
(circa 1880)
Maker unknown.
Made in Louisville, Kentucky. The center block as an “R” embroidered on in, possibly the quilter’s last initial, and the top center block a pheasant woven from silk thread. Decorative stitching throughout.
Crazy quilts are probably the oldest of quilt patterns, as it is made of any fabric scrap or remnant available, regardless of color, design, or fabric type and are often embellished as this one is with additional embroidery and ornamentation.
Additional history: https://www.allpeoplequilt.com/quilt-patterns/history-of-the-crazy-quilt
West Wall and Core 1
(49) Log Cabin Quilt, Courthouse Steps variation
(red faded to peach; blue; gray)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, hand quilted with Baptist fan pattern
89 ½” x 81 ½”
(circa 1940)
Maker and location unknown.
Note that the bottom row contains some blocks oriented in alternate directions.
The red dye used on several of the originally-red fabrics that has now faded to peach (fugitive color) was likely the result of using the unstable Congo red fabric dye (see commentary on Quilt 17 for more information).
Instead of attaching strips clockwise or counterclockwise around a center as with a Log Cabin block, in a Courthouse Steps block each set of strips are sewn on opposite sides of a center, commonly a square, to build out the block to size. Traditionally, to create the illusion of steps, one set of strips is made with dark fabrics and the opposing set made with light fabrics. These blocks were frequently foundation sewn to muslin squares.
(50) Pineapple Quilt
(pink; blue; yellow)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand appliqued, hand pieced, hand quilted
72” x 73”
(circa 1850)
Maker and specific location unknown.
Made in Kentucky or Indiana.
This is one of the oldest quilts in the collection.
This quilt provides examples of conservation methods used to help preserve the integrity of the original quilt design, while preventing any further fabric decay. Red nylon tulle or netting was placed on top of any tears in the fabric. After carefully basting around the design, the excess netting is cut away.
Quilt pattern is also known as Cock’s Comb.
This Victorian era quilt is emblematic of quilts during this period featuring a pleasing symmetrical pattern in red and green dyed fabric, often used during this time as they were dyed with the latest scientifically advanced dyes of the time. Appliqued patterns were popular throughout the era when women’s roles were to be a stabilizing force in creating a serene home during a time of industrial expansion and social unrest. They are examples of American folk art at its delightful best.
(51) Bow Ties & Bull’s Eyes Quilt
(reds faded to pink; yellow; green)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand and machine pieced, hand quilted
70 ½” x 78 ½”
(circa 1950)
Purchased from Mr. Ruben Westmorland, an African American antique dealer. Made by a Mrs. Wells, an African American quilter from Indianapolis, Indiana.
Piecing a bow tie quilt on point with repeated red and yellow fabric produced the secondary “Bull’s Eyes” pattern.
Bow Tie quilt pattern instructions can be found here.
Bull’s Eyes quilt pattern instructions can be found here
(52) Hexagon Variation Quilt
(faded: green; pink)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand and machine pieced, hand quilted
55” x 80”
(circa 1950)
Maker and location unknown.
This quilt can be made either by cutting equilateral triangles in sets of three and sewing red triangles to one the points of each of them, then sewing each of the equilateral triangles alternately with another set of three equilateral triangles; or as this quilt was, a more difficult method using y-seams, by cutting half hexagons in two widths and carefully placing them in matching layout.
(53) Bordered String Quilt
(brown; pink; blue; red faded to peach with yellow borders faded to ivory)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, hand quilted
78 ½” x 64”
(circa 1915)
Maker and location unknown.
“String-piecing” was popular during the early 1900s and especially during the Depression. Sewn onto a piece of newspaper or fabric, even the smallest scraps of fabric could be used to make a quilt.
Instructions for making string quilts can be found here.
(54) Amethyst Quilt
(teal; yellow; scrappy fabrics)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand and machine pieced, hand quilted
67” x 78 ½”
(circa 1950)
Maker and location unknown.
Another example of “string” piecing, the four sided units were cut from large units of strip-pieced fabrics.
Note the borders added to only two sides to make the quilt wider.
Instructions for making a similar block are here, though you would string piece the center fabrics and use less background fabric, trimming so the block is square, not on point.
(55) Touching Hexagon Stars Quilt
(brown; tan; yellow)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand and machine pieced, hand quilted
81 ½” x 82”
(circa 1950)
Maker and location unknown.
This is another example of a quilt that yields an interesting secondary design: here this quilt can be viewed as yellow and tan star blocks arranged with the stars encircled by a brown harlequin ring, or another viewpoint is that the blocks are the tan and brown stars encircled by yellow rings. The blocks are made up of a six pointed star with three of the diamonds made in a four-patch design. There are several ways to assemble this block; one is here. Careful layout of the blocks is required, and this may be assembled the easiest in diagonal rows.
(56) Medallion Quilt
(faded yellow; royal blue, now faded to purple; burgundy, now faded to mauve)
Rayon and cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Machine pieced, hand quilted
67 ½” x 79 ½”
(circa 1940)
Maker and location unknown.
Purchased in Northern Indiana.
This is one of the more modern-looking quilts in the collection, similar to a log cabin pattern on a larger scale and reminiscent of those by modern quilters Weeks Ringle or Yvonne Fuchs.
(57) Necktie Quilt
(pink; purple)
Silk fabrics with cotton backing and cotton batting
Hand and machine pieced, hand quilted
58” x 73 ½”
(top sewn circa 1920)
Maker and location unknown.
This quilt was purchased in Corydon, Indiana in 1990.
Strips of bright silk, satin ribbons, and silk neckties were string pieced into large square units to create the quilt top. Note the directionality of each block, primarily oriented in one direction with select others changed to be oriented the opposite direction to create movement.
Quilt was assembled with batting and backing and was bound in 1998.
Instructions for making string quilts can be found here.
(58) Cotton Crazy Quilt
(brown; purple)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, hand quilted
58” x 73 ½”
(circa 1920)
Maker and location unknown.
Another example of a string quilt, this one with plaid fabric sashing.
While the fabric in this quilt is coarse and the batting lumpy, the overall visual image is very modern. Viewed from the rotunda, this quilt looks like large books stacked haphazardly on a bookshelf.
Instructions for making string quilts can be found here.
(59) Strip Hexagon Quilt
Scrappy cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, hand quilted
60” x 75 ½”
(circa 1930)
Maker and location unknown.
This pattern is made of rows of triangles, some of pieced-fabric, sewn diagonally to make a hexagon design. The placement of the light blue fabrics make a secondary star pattern appear, with the scrappy hexagons as their centers.
Instructions for making a similar quilt can be found here.
(60) Fan Quilt
(teal; red; blue)
Cotton fabrics and polyester batting
Hand and machine pieced and appliqued, hand quilted
69 ½” x 84”
(circa 1970)
Maker unknown.
Made in Hazard, Kentucky
This quilt reflects how colors that are popular in fashion clothing influence quilt makers’ designs.
Fan quilts allow for many variations, this one often known as Grandmother’s Fan.
Instructions for making this quilt block can be found here.
(61) Fly Foot Quilt
(uniformly faded: brown; teal; pink)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, hand quilted
74 ½” x 87”
(circa 1950)
Made in Ohio by members of a German Baptist Church. Specific location unknown.
The name of this pattern originated from the term fylfot, meaning four-footed and is associated with medieval Anglo-Saxon culture. Pattern is also known as Whirly-gig; Virginia Reel; Catch Me If You Can; Devil’s Dark Horse or Devil’s Puzzle.
The symbol used in the blocks in this quilt was known as a symbol of good luck and good fortune until appropriated by the German Nazi party in the 1930s. However, the swastika and its many variants remain a symbol of good luck and prosperity in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain countries such as Nepal, India, Thailand, Mongolia and Sri Lanka.
Instructions for making this block, which in this quilt are set on point, can be found here.
(62) Nine-Patch Quilt
Scrappy cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand pieced, hand quilted
64 ½“ x 84”
(circa 1920)
Maker and location unknown.
Nine-patch quilts (blocks made of nine equal squares sewn together into a large square) were made frequently as first quilts by young quilters, often for everyday use as they wasted no fabric and were relatively quick to sew. This quilt is interesting because it features such small nine-patch units.
Instructions for making this quilt can be found here.
(63) Blue Baskets Quilt
(blue; pink; green with decorative blue piping) Sun fading on edges.
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand appliqued and hand quilted
77” x 80”
(circa 1930)
Maker and location unknown.
The origin of this pattern is unknown.
(64) Mountain Laurel
(blue; pink)
Cotton fabrics and cotton batting
Hand appliqued and hand quilted
65 ½” x 76”
(circa 1940)
Maker unknown.
This was the quilter’s original design. Made in Wolfe County, Kentucky.
Mountain Laurel bushes are also known as rhododendrons.
Note the deep green of the leaves and the flower motif in the quilting pattern. Given the approximate date of this quilt, this green fabric was likely dyed with a synthetic cobalt green dye which is much less toxic than the arsenic-based green dyes known as poison or Scheele’s green or Paris green.
This quilt is an example of a “decorator” or “designer” quilt frequently published in women’s magazines in the 1920s. Incorporates both applique and reverse applique.