English Ivy or Clover Blossom

Sometimes the pattern is hard to see. I usually look at a corner---the top corners here.

And then we can see that it's English Ivy, BlockBase # 1330

A four-patch.

Easier to see in this mid-20th century version

Eveline Foland drew a pattern for the Kansas City Star in 1931

BlockBase shows several variations with different shading

and more or less half-square triangles.

Broken Branch from the Star in 1935

The pattern is older than the newspaper articles.

Above and below: Mid-19th century

Leaves appliqued

Or not

Late 19th century or is this Marilyn Mowry's repro?

The antique is in the collection of the International Quilt Study Center & Museum,
1997.007.0042

Marilyn  Mowry, Carolina Lily from the book  History Repeated

Annette Plog designed this repro for the Lone Star House of Quilts.

She calls it a Carolina Lily----a relative of English Ivy in the quilt world if not the plant world.

WPA Watercolor of an English Ivy quilt by Norma Lockwood

Four Block Cherry Trees

Cherry Tree quilt auctioned at Pook & Pook in 2013

George Washington's been linked with a cherry tree in the minds of many generations. While we all know it's an "Alternate Fact" we still celebrate President's Day with cherry trees.

Quilt from the same pattern, James Julia Auctions.

This Cherry Tree quilt pattern appeared in the Ladies Home Journal in 1922.

The magazine offered a Tree Design for Applique Quilt pattern in a 1924 catalog.

Cherry Tree & Robins Quilt

About 76" square

Their original photo and pattern inspiration was a quilt in the Emma B. Hodge collection

at the Art Institute of Chicago. Hodge donated the quilt in 1919.

Hodge and the curators there thought it might date to the first half of the 19th century, but looking at the photos available now it seems obvious the Hodge quilt dates to 1880-1900.

The green leaves have faded to tan, a good clue to the era

of the early synthetic dyes when colors were so fugitive.

Many quilters were inspired to try the rather challenging four-block.

Quilt from the Byron Family, Colonial Williamsburg Collection.

Another from the Pook & Pook Auction site, bound with prairie points.

It looks like the maker copied the Hodge quilt colors

but she might have had the same kind of

fugitive green.

From Vycki Jackson's collection. She found it in Illinois.

From Pook & Pook Auction

Dated 1933, by Helen Knaack, Arizona Quilt Project

and the Quilt Index.

http://www.quiltindex.org/fulldisplay.php?kid=67-EC-46

A basted top with a wonderful cherry border.was recently sold online.

In my Encyclopedia of Applique it's # 57.5

"Cherry Trees-Paragon kit, a copy of a quilt ca.1850 in the Art Institute of Chicago"

But the Paragon version is much simpler than the LHJ version.

Collection of the International Quilt Study Center & Museum,

Gift of Pat Cox. Probably made from the Paragon pattern.

Below are two patterns of sorts for anyone inspired to try the Cherry Tree.

Print them out at 8" but you'd want to stitch at 200% or 250%.

George's Cherry Tree with Birds,

reproduction block by Barbara Burnham

from her Baltimore Garden Quilt book.

For fewer cherries see the pattern 

Barbara Burnham found in a mid-19th-century sampler here:

http://baltimoregardenquilts.blogspot.com/2012/05/georges-cherry-tree-with-birds.html

View the Art Institute's Quilt that inspired the whole revival here:
http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/76056?search_no=1&index=60

Two Blocks: Stripe & Whatever

A dramatic pattern---maybe about 1900

If you were going to explain the pattern you might show it as a four patch.

A Shoo Fly block alternating with a striped block.

About 1940

Single Wedding Ring alternating with a stripe.

It's a good idea but alas I don't have a BlockBase name or number for it

I would guess it might best be described as an alternate block set.

About 1900

Sort of like a Snowball or an Irish Chain.

Stripes based on a division of three.

About 1900

An alternate triple stripe block would be a good set for any bold nine-patch block based on the same proportions.

Here's a 9-patch star alternating.

On Point: Looks more complicated than it is.

And speaking of diagonals.

Cactus Rose 1

A classic pieced and appliqued pattern

From Buckboard Quilts

There are several subtle variations:

(number of leaves, what's green and what's red and

how it fits into the square block.)

Cactus Rose Reproduction Quilt

By Pam Mayfield and Jean Stanclift,

Hand quilted by Ann Thomas,

Designed by Barbara Brackman.

When I drew this one up for America's Printed Fabrics.(see page 66 for the pattern) I put the leaf or floral at an angle and we set it side by side.

See the lines around the block to show that orientation in the square

Here's one on the diagonal in the block from 1840-1870.

One of the earlier red and green designs

Unusual idea from Old Sturbridge Village Museum they date 1840-1855. In this one with its cut-out chintz alternate blocks you get the feeling the quiltmaker was going through some fashion disruptions. Chintz quilts becoming old hat; red and green coming into style

http://resources.osv.org/explore_learn/collection_viewer.php?N=26.23.22

Sally D. Hinckley 

had a similar idea for combining two styles.

I thought this quilt might have been made in 1873 but

from what I can see of the fabrics it may be 1840-1855.

Sally  might have been 73 at the time.

Most quiltmakers realized the age of chintz was

over and a white background was the thing to do.

When I indexed these for my Encyclopedia of Pieced

Quilt Patterns I described them as leaves (see page 117)

BlockBase numbers 857.01 to 857.04---none of them on the diagonal.

All are situated on the north-south axis of the block

Crib Quilt named Cactus Rose from the American Museum in Bath

The names I found in printed patterns:

• Cactus Rose - Museum catalogs -Shelburne and American Museum/Bath
• Peony - Woodard & Greenstein, Classic Crib Quilts
• Sweet Gum Leaf - Clara Stone (about 1910), Kansas City Star, 1930
• The Lily or White Lily - Carlie Sexton and Lockport Batting (about 1930) 
• Star Flower - Oklahoma Farmer & Stockman (about 1925)

White Lily, early 20th century pattern from Lockport Batting

The earliest dated example I found is date-inscribed 1843-1845 from Maryland, in the collection of the Smithsonian.

Quilt that once belonged to Pink Phillips, dated 1843-1845 

from Westminster, Emmitsburg, and Taney Town, Maryland

Collection of the Smithsonian. Almost the same design as White Lily.

http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_556525

It was a block in March 2016 for the Westering Women BOM on my Civil War Quilts Block

http://civilwarquilts.blogspot.com/2016/03/westering-women-block-3-sweet-gum-leaf.html