Half-Way There
The weather held out long enough for me to get to the half-way point on Halloween HST. We have more stormy weather on the way. How is the weather in your area?
Long Arm Progress
I'm happy with the way Halloween HST is progressing. The patterns I found have a bit of a spider web affect. There are four different designs and I'm alternating them using a technique called concatenating. To concatenate two patterns, first select both patterns on the computer. Then click out the pattern across the quilt top. As you click, the patterns alternate.
For my top, I'm using four different patterns, however not in a 1-2-3-4 order. My design requires repeating the four patterns in a variable pattern.
To do this, I need multiple copies of the different designs. The order also changes for every row. Each pattern shifts to the right or left as I add a new design in the middle. It requires concentration to keep track of where I am in the pattern.
In the second half, I will be subtracting a design in the middle and adding designs at the end of the rows.
The result keeps the same pattern in each of the diagonal stripes on the quilt. When I was figuring out how to quilt this quilt, my first though was to click the designs out, on the diagonal. This method allows me to get the diagonal result using an edge-to-edge pattern.
#The100DayProjectMysteryQuilt
I've made it to day 30! The block is Boy's Nonsense. This block is a "friendship" block or "signature" block style. The larger squares were often muslin or another light colored fabric providing space to write a name or message to the recipient of the quilt. The history of this style of block is interesting.
Friendship quilts were especially popular in the early to mid 1800s. With the growth of westward expansion in the early years of the United States, families and friends were separated. Most knew it was unlikely they would ever meet again. To share and preserve their connections and memories, quilts were signed with names and favorite bible quotes.
During the Civil War, Lady's Societies and church groups raised funds for troops by charging a fee per signature. You can read more at Kimberly Wulfert's blog, Antique Quilt Dating.
Boy's Nonsense - Ladies art Company, 1897. Also known as:
Nonsense – Ladies Art Company, 1928
Boy's Playmate – Nancy Cabot, Chicago Tribune, February 23, 1935
Boy's Nonsense – Nancy Cabot, Chicago Tribune, July 25, 1936
Forget Me Not – Nancy Page, Birmingham News, January 7, 1941
”Well what do you know about this? Here is a new version of the old-fashioned 'album quilt!' 'I like that idea, Nancy!' I am glad you do, I thought that our youngsters might enjoy having a quilt with the names of their friends embroidered on it. The names may be embroidered in a darker color than is used for the blocks or they may be done in white? Nany Page, Birmingham News January 7, 1941.*
*The Quilter’s Album of Patchwork Patterns, Jinny Beyer 2009
Until next time,