Part 8 (1/2)
Basket of Lilies Bouquet Cleveland Lilies Cactus Blossom Chrysanthemums Double Peony Daisies Daffodils and b.u.t.terflies Field Daisies Flower Basket Iris Jonquils Lily Quilt Pattern Lily of the Valley Morning Glory Morning Gray Wreath Persian Palm Lady Poppy Pansies and b.u.t.terflies Single Sunflowers Sunflowers Tulip in Vase Ta.s.sel Plant Tulip Blocks Three-flowered Sunflower The Mayflower Tulip Lady Finger White Day Lily
When seeking flowers that lend themselves readily to quilt designs it is best to choose those whose leaves and blossoms present clear, distinct, and easily traced outlines. The names of many of the quaint varieties that flourish in old-fas.h.i.+oned gardens, as lilacs, phlox, larkspur, and marigolds, are absent from the list. This is because their lacy foliage and complex arrangement of petals cannot be reproduced satisfactorily in quilt materials.
Even the lowly vegetables secure some mention among quilt names with ”Corn and Beans.” The fruits and trees are well represented, as noted by the following list:
Apple Hexagon Cherry Basket California Oak Leaf Cypress Leaf Christmas Tree Fruit Basket Grape Basket Hickory Leaf Imperial Tea Indian Plum Live Oak Tree Little Beech Tree Maple Leaf May Berry Leaf Olive Branch Orange Peel Oak Leaf and Tulip Oak Leaf and Acorns Pineapple Pine Tree Sweet Gum Leaf Strawberry Tea Leaf Tufted Cherry Temperance Tree Tulip Tree Leaves
The names of birds and insects are almost as popular as those of flowers, as this list will bear witness:
Bluebird Brown-tailed Moth b.u.t.terflies Bird's Nest Crow's Foot Chimney Swallows c.o.c.ks...o...b..Dove in the Window Duck and Ducklings Four Little Birds Goose Tracks Goose in the Pond Honeycomb Honeycomb Patch Hen and Chickens King's Crows Peac.o.c.ks and Flowers Spider's Den Shoo Fly Spider's Web Swarm of Bees The Two Doves Wild Goose Chase
[Ill.u.s.tration: ORIGINAL ROSE NO. 3
Made in Indiana about 75 years ago. Colors: red and green]
[Ill.u.s.tration: WHITE QUILT, WITH STUFFED QUILTING DESIGNS
This quilt was made in New England, and was finished in 1801, but how long a period was occupied in the making is unknown. It was designed by a young architect for an ambitious young quilter]
The animals also must be credited with their share of names:
Bear's Foot Bear's Paws Bat's Wings Bunnies Cats and Mice Flying Bat Four Frogs Quilt Leap Frog Puss-in-the-Corner The Snail's Trail Toad in the Puddle The Lobster (1812)
Occasionally the quilt maker was honoured by having her name given to her handiwork, as ”Mrs. Morgan's Choice,” ”Mollie's Choice,” ”Sarah's Favourite,” and ”f.a.n.n.y's Fan.” Aunts and grandmothers figure as prominently in the naming of quilts as they do in the making of them.
”Aunt Sukey's Patch,” ”Aunt Eliza's Star Point,” ”Grandmother's Own,”
”Grandmother's Dream,” and ”Grandmother's Choice” are typical examples.
Quilt names in which reference is made to persons and personalities are quite numerous, as is proved by the list given below:
c.o.xey's Camp Crazy Ann Dutchman's Puzzle Everybody's Favourite Eight Hands Around Grandmother's Choice Garfield's Monument Gentleman's Fancy Handy Andy Hands All Around Hobson's Kiss Indian Plumes Indian Hatchet Jack's House Joseph's Necktie King's Crown Lady Fingers Ladies' Wreath Ladies' Delight Mary's Garden Mrs. Cleveland's Choice Old Maid's Puzzle Odd Fellows' Chain Princess Feather President's Quilt Sister's Choice The Tumbler The Hand The Priscilla Twin Sisters Vice-President's Quilt Widower's Choice Was.h.i.+ngton's Puzzle Was.h.i.+ngton's Sidewalk Was.h.i.+ngton's Plumes
Names derived both from local neighbourhoods and foreign lands occupy a prominent place in the quilt list:
Arabic Lattice American Log Patch Arkansas Traveller Alabama Beauty Blackford's Beauty Boston Puzzle Columbian Puzzle Cross Roads to Texas Double Irish Chain French Basket Grecian Design Indiana Wreath Irish Puzzle Kansas Troubles Linton London Roads Mexican Rose Oklahoma Boomer Philadelphia Beauty Philadelphia Pavement Rocky Glen Royal j.a.panese Vase Rocky Road to Kansas Rocky Road to California Road to California Roman Stripe Rockingham's Beauty Rose of Dixie Rose of the Carolinas Star of Texas Texas Flower The Philippines Texas Tears Venetian Design Village Church Virginia Gentleman
Sometimes the names of a flower and a locality are combined, as in ”Persian Palm Lily” and ”Carolina Lily.” This latter design is quite a popular one in the Middle West, where it is known also as ”Star Flower.”
Figures and letters come in for some attention, for a few of the designs thus named are quite artistic. The best known are ”Boxed I's,”
”Capital I,” ”Double Z,” ”Four E's,” ”Fleur-de-Lis,” ”Letter H,”
”Letter X,” and ”T Quartette.”
Inanimate objects, particularly those about the house, inspired many names for patterns, some of which are quite appropriate. A number of such names are given here:
Alb.u.m Base Ball Basket Quilt Block Alb.u.m Brickwork Quilt Carpenter's Rule Carpenter's Square Churn Dash Cog Wheel Compa.s.s Crossed Canoes Diagonal Log Chain Domino Double Wrench Flutter Wheel Fan Fan Patch Fan and Rainbow Ferris Wheel Flower Pot Hour Gla.s.s Ice Cream Bowl Log Patch Log Cabin Necktie Needle Book New Alb.u.m Pincus.h.i.+on and Burr Paving Blocks Pickle Dish Rolling Pinwheel Rolling Stone Sashed Alb.u.m Shelf Chain Snowflake s...o...b..ll Stone Wall Sugar Loaf Spools s.h.i.+eld Scissor's Chain Square Log Cabin The Railroad The Disk The Globe The Wheel Tile Patchwork Watered Ribbon Wind Mill
Occasionally the wag of the family had his opportunity, for it took some one with a strain of dry humour to suggest ”Old Bachelor's Puzzle,” ”Drunkard's Path,” and ”All Tangled Up,” or to have ironically called one quilt a ”Blind Man's Fancy.”
Imagination was not lacking when it came to applying apt names to some of the simplest designs. To have called rows of small triangles running diagonally across a quilt the ”Wild Goose Chase,” the maker must have known something of the habits of wild geese, for as these migrate from North to South and back again following the summer's warmth, they fly one behind the other in long V-shaped lines. The resemblance of these lines, swiftly moving across the sky, to her neat rows of triangles supplied the quilt maker with her inspiration.