Monday, January 24, 2022

Snow Quilts

 Happy Monday!  We had a light dusting of snow last night.  This morning I noticed that snow is falling in different sections of the country.

In the early part of the 20th century, a thick snow was often referred to as "a snow quilt" perhaps because of the weight of the snow:


Quilters of course tended to record whatever was going on in their lives or during seasons and there is a variety of snow themed quilt patterns.  Here are a few:


Laura Wheeler's Snowball Quilt found in a 1949 newspaper.


Snow Crystal by Nancy Cabot, 1936.
Snow Crystals seemed to be a popular theme with quilters.


1941 Alice Brooks for Household Arts

Another antique pattern called snow crystals can be found here.  Other crystal patterns are here.

Once in our study group, someone brought in an embroidered snowflake quilt which completely jazzed me.  I wanted to make one and didn't realize until years later, that I actually had the pattern in my collection.  The pattern was offered by Nancy Page:


God bless the quilter who made the quilt.  The pattern consisted of a quadrant which the maker had to reproduce in order to create the quilt. 

The pattern seems more do-able now with things like light boxes and Frixion pens but I can't imagine the patience it took to assemble just the pattern for embroidering back in the early 1930s when this pattern was marketed.

If you're ambitious and want to make the Nancy Page quilt, send me an email at allentownquilter@gmail.com and I'll email you a pdf of the pattern.

I didn't ever try to make one because I actually purchased a snowflake quilt and didn't see the need to make a different pattern (you can read that post here).


Yes there are other snow quilts but that's it for today.

Lastly,  a brief poem I found called "Snow Quilts" and published in various newspaper in 1940:


Have a safe and happy day!

















2 comments:

  1. I've always wanted to make a snowflake quilt, someday!

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  2. I love Nancy Page's pattern--the snowflakes have 6 points and each is different, just like real snowflakes. I suppose an someone accomplished in applique could do it that way instead of with embroidery. I'm not there yet, but maybe some year in the future. Thanks for offering the pattern and, in general, for all your wonderful posts.

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