Here's a knotty problem Dawn Fox Cooper and I have been working on for a while (she's been working on it a lot harder than I have). We have been in the dark as to the source of this particular quilt design. Here's the block. This one is a four patch with the center cut into four pieces In most the white center is one piece Mary Heater Childers (1904-2003) Braxton County, West Virginia WV project & the Quilt Index Dawn has 23 pictures of quilts in the pattern. There must have been a commercial source. They are so much alike. She writes: "They all appear to be of the time period 1920-50 from the fabrics. [The pictures] have been found mainly in the US & Canadian Documentation Projects or for sale on line. Names include many Single Wedding Rings, but also Wedding Ring, Ribbon & Rings, Rings & Bows (the 2 in the University of Alberta), Friendship Knot, & Engagement Ring." Eleven of the 23 include the makers' location, one each from Connecticut, Nebraska, Missouri, Tennessee, North Carolina & Ohio and six from West Virginia. Essie Knicely Fluharty (1894-1980) Marion County, West Virginia WV project & the Quilt Index There are several patterns indexed in BlockBase that are similar but none just like this one. What makes it odd is that those diamond-shaped pieces repeat as a unit of two rather than four. This one is attributed to Mary Holmes Fisk of St. Lawrence County, New York. (Note to Dawn: Add this one.) The far more common variation with four green diamonds. This one has a BlockBase number. 4047 Friendship Knot or Friendship Wreath (not the most accurate drawing but you get the picture). From the West Virginia project Says Dawn: "I find it interesting to see such a small area & time frame for this pattern & hope that your history page may shed more light on this subject." I'm glad she has so much faith in me. Well, I was finally able to help her. It's that darn Alice Brooks. (See a post here: https://barbarabrackman.blogspot.com/2020/01/alice-brooks-darn-her.html ) I've been going through Newspapers.com looking for Alice Brooks designs I missed in the first editions of BlockBase and my Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns. And here it is. The block. I drew in a few lines. There are three wedges in the arc just like in the examples Dawn's found. The Alice Brooks patterns were distributed from the early 1930s till the '80s by King Features. They used a lot of bylines. Alice was secondary to the main signature of Laura Wheeler---both fictional characters. Alice's patterns were printed in fewer newspapers. The one above I found in the Boston Globe in 1936 and again in 1939. Also in US papers from Minneapolis to Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Sacramento in June and July, 1936. And in three Canadian papers, the Vancouver (Canada) Sun in 1939, the Winnipeg Tribune in 1938 and in Saskatoon. I was hoping to find a West Virginia paper as the source for the craze in that state, but no luck so far. Dawn made her own Friendship Knot. The pattern is going in the new edition of BlockBase as #4047.5 in the Miscellaneous category. Friendship Knot
Clipping found in The Gazette published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on 2/3/1939. 39 02 03 - Montreal Gazette - Quilt Pattern - Friendship Knot
Friendship Knot April 26, 1933- Nancy Cabot introduced the Friendship Knot quilt pattern in her Chicago Tribune column and sold it for "5 cents in stamps or coin." She said it was also called Starry Crown and "was given to the quilt piecing world in 1861." This has me confused because the way she drew it for her column (drawing at right) it would need to be appliqued, not pieced, since the background is all one piece.. In trying to research this pattern, I found it more common to have the area she shows at the center of each side as being in each corner not on the side. It is also more commonly seen with the arc section pieced like this- Check out the Q is for Quilter blog to see more blocks like this along with some ideas on how it can be pieced. I found one antique quilt that looks like the pattern Nancy shows except the arcs are pieced- Each block has a name embroidered in the center. Nancy doesn't say anything about names being embroidered but it makes sense since it is called Friendship Knot. You can download the applique pattern for a 6" inch block here. It can be found in BlockBase as #4045. Tomorrow-Martha Washington Wreath
I'm shipping on this New Big Leaf to Sarasota. This January I'll be there for a workshop with the Friendship Knot Quilters' Guild. This time I used two lovely hunks of hand-dyed fabric, with another (green) for the veins. I like the effect, not to mention the ease in letting the fabric do all the work.
An interesting if miscellaneous quilt pattern. This top from an online auction. Here's the block. Diamonds with a wedding ring like curve. It's a variation of this one. BlockBase #4047 A complex repeat (and complex piecing) BlockBase tells me the pattern was published under two different names in the mid-20th century. Friendship Knot from the Laura Wheeler/Alice Brooks syndicate and Friendship Wreath from Lockport Batting. From Mary Koval's inventory Despite the complexity many stitchers tackled it. Project & the Quilt Index. The block forms half a star with 4 diamonds. The lower star points extend into wedding ring curves---4 pieces per durve. Probably inspired by the Hands All Around antique that Ruth Finley showed in her 1929 book. Hands All Around variation BlockBase #4044 from the Arizona Project & the Quilt Index. See a post about the older design #4044 here: http://encyclopediaquiltpatterns.blogspot.com/2018/06/hands-all-round.html I'd say the version at the top of the page was someone's individual drawing (3 shapes per arc; 2 diamonds instead of 4) Except I have more photos of the variation with 2 diamonds than the Laura Wheeler design I'm going to have to number this one BlockBase #4047.5 Jesse Earl Childers from the West Virginia Project & the Quilt Index. Again from the West Virginia project. My BlockBase drawing for #4047 isn't that accurate so I am not going to give you a pattern. But there are plenty of patterns for the design with 4 diamonds out there on the internet. From a Field Guide to Quilts http://fieldguidetoquilts.com/4Curve/4CCArc/4CCArc1diagrams.html Mary Holmes Fisk, St. Lawrence County, NY The mystery design--- Has anyone ever seen it published before 1970. It must have been!
Our friendship circle block pattern can be made into a wonderful tangled quilt by implementing the use of the templates that we present here. Scraps can be used or you can use materials that we have suggested. Our suggested material amounts are an over-exaggeration, so if you make a mistake you always have more fabric to work with. Our pattern makes a 10x10 inch quilting block with a 1/4 inch grace allowance. This way you can make any size quilt you desire within 10 inch increments of your desired result. You should already know how to use a quilt pattern with templates. SIZING / FINISHED MEASUREMENTS: Finished quilting block is 10x10 inches with a 1/4 inch grace allowance for piecing. MATERIALS: Fabric in 6 different colors (1/4 yard each) YOU WILL ALSO NEED: Printer Printer paper Needle and thread/sewing machine Template plastic (optional) This is for the block pattern only. Because of the nature of this item, no returns are given.
Check out these beautiful quilt mini quilts made in the Double Friendship Knots Workshop. Tie the Knot on New Piecing Skills and Make a Beautiful Mini Quilt! Level up your quilt making and sewing skills with Foundation Paper Piecing (FPP) and Needle Turn Applique! In this flexible, self-paced
Curved shapes can be a little tricky because of the bias stretch so this is probably suitable for a more experienced quilter. Lots of ways to play with light/da
Want to learn new quilting skills? Need inspiration? I've got a program for that! (and I love working with guilds, shops, an groups) I'm currently booking ONLINE/LIVE programs for guilds, groups, and conferences —late 2024 — see general descriptions below. Should you have any logistical /technology
Work so perfect, I can't stop admiring the beauty and perfection of it!
Create connection with tessellating blocks in this quick quilt pattern.
Did you make friendship bracelets when you were a kid? I did. Thread bracelets are fun and quick to make and they are perfect for using your left over thread from other projects. It’s also a very s…
Create connection with tessellating blocks in this quick quilt pattern.
Step by step tutorial for How To Make Pura Vida Inspired Bracelets DIY. wax string and melt the ends to secure the knots
Hands All Round quilt about 1900 from Linda's collection at Treasuredquiltsuk blog http://treasuredquiltsuk.blogspot.com/2010/09/uninhibited-pink-quilt.html This popular pattern was called variously: Hands All Around All Hands Round Hands All Around It's #4044 a and b in BlockBase The name was familiar in the mid-19th century. An 1852 poem celebrating English nationalism by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, "Hands All Round" had a chorus involving a toast. The Art of Dancing, published in 1859 mentions a dance move for a jig: "All Hands Round." I couldn't find any versions of the quilt going back to the 1850s though. Most seem to date from after 1900.... with lots from the mid-20th century after the patterns were published. From Aunt Martha She used Aunt Martha's color choices--- green, pink & white The Quilt Index has records of a few but none with dates inscribed. By Mary Plaisted Taggart From the New York Project. http://www.quiltindex.org/fulldisplay.php?kid=73-19B-144 The family story on this one found in the North Carolina project is that friends in Lawrence, Kansas made it for Elizabeth Butler in 1917 when she moved to Nebraska. http://www.quiltindex.org/fulldisplay.php?kid=4B-82-F17 Hands All Around from the Kansas City Star in 1935 sent in by a Missourian, mentioning a barn dance call. It wouldn't be an easy design to make. In BlockBase it's classified as Miscellaneous, based on rather odd seam lines. Hands All Round from the Ladies Art Company in the 1928 catalog. Ruth Finley showed a version on point in her 1929 book calling it Friendship Knot or Starry Crown---also on the miscellaneous page (#4045) and it looks harder to sew. A signature quilt dated 1932---#4045 In thinking about the sources for the odd construction I am reminded of the Whig's Defeat, a combination pieced and appliqued design that was quite popular in the South after 1850 or so. Perhaps the block evolved from that older design.
