70-YEAR-OLD QUILT PATTERNS

My husband and I were heading out to run some errands this afternoon and met the mailman coming in to deliver our mail. I was pleased to see that one of my quilt magazines was part of the delivery, as well as a large manila envelope with a return address in Pocatello, Idaho. It took a minute to register that it was from my cousin Raylene. (I'm not used to seeing her married name.)

I haven't seen Raylene since we were both teens, so I was eager to see what she'd sent. I opened the envelope to find a short note from Raylene that read:

"These belonged to Grandma Earl.  Enjoy!"

Inside were two very old pattern booklets and a few loose pages. What a lovely surprise, especially since they were my grandmother's. (My mother's mother, who made most of the quilts I grew up with and several of the ones I have in my home.) Raylene and her family don't quilt, so it was very generous of her to send the booklets to me.

Grandmother's Patchwork Quilts includes a number of traditional quilt patterns. 

I'm usually not a huge fan of floral patterns, but this stylized flower is intriguing.  I love all the different shapes in the pattern and how they could be manipulated through the use of color.

Heirloom Quilts was published in 1941 and sold for a whopping 10 cents!

The page on crazy quilts includes a couple of blocks that have a strikingly modern look -- like the Crazy Patch Quilt and the oblongs.

I found the thread ad in the back of the booklet particularly amusing. Who knew that quilting bees replaced bridge parties in the '40s? ("...real accomplishment instead of wasted afternoons.")

I'm pleased to be able to add these to my quilting library, and my thanks to my cousin for sending them along!

(P.S. If you're making a quilt on the fly without a pattern, it might be a good idea to make a basic drawing and write down all the measurements so you don't cut everything and then realize you forgot to take something into account. Sure, you might be able to figure out a way to salvage it, but wouldn't it be less frustrating not to have to? I'm just saying.)