Letter Q for Chain Quilt/ AtoZ 2019

Posted on April 19, 2019 by slfinnell

The April A to Z Challenge is in its tenth year, I’ve now participated for 6 of those years, and this year will be my 3rd quilt theme. It’s my first quilt using only patterns from the Kansas City Star newspaper archives. Welcome to my blog!

From KC Star Sampler book

Originally this 1942 block was pieced by Mrs. Matushek of RR3(that’s rural route 3 for you city folks) from Cuba, Missouri. It then measured 9 3/4 inches and in her quilt, she made ‘rows’ of chains in pastel shades. I am happy to say this one measured the size the book says, 12 inches (plus seam allowances).

I had doubts as to whether I wanted to tackle this one even though I’m not typically afraid of curved seams. But I just finished it Tuesday evening and I had fingers crossed that it would go smoothly. Thanks to the great instructions, I had no issues but once with a pucker that I had to rip a few stitches for and resew. Fully satisfied with my outcome even though I was in such a hurry. Naturally because of that hurry it could have done with some extra pinning. But this is a quilt block a day for April and I must move on.

Did You Know?

Cuba, Missouri, the home of the KC Star block contributor in 1942 is located on the historic Route 66 in southern Missouri. This highway was known as the Road to Opportunity back during the Great Depression as more than 200,000 people migrated via this road to California during the Dust Bowl days.

Come back here tomorrow for another quilt block for the A to Z Challenge! Also be sure to visit the home of the A to Z here and see other entrants challenge posts. There are excellent writers participating every year with topics in whatever you’re interested in

Letter P for Pinwheels/AtoZ 2019

Posted on April 18, 2019 by slfinnell

Pinwheels Redraft Options fro Star Quilts
KC Star Pinwheel 1930

As the book states, “Simplicity recommends this quilt block”, you can’t go wrong with a pinwheel block. Lots of options for layouts as you can see in the redraft version to the left. The Kansas City Star first published the pattern on April 19, 1930. Pretty good staying power after 89 years I’d say.

Checking right sides are correct
Fabric Choices
Pinwheels Layout

Be sure to keep right sides and wrong sides flipped accordingly or you’ll have a ‘dull’ spot in your quilt blocks. There’s nothing that stands out more than the wrong side of a fabric in one little area. This is why I lay my blocks out beforehand. Just saves me from spending time with that seam ripper.

Also known as Flutter Wheels, these Pinwheels make a quilt cheerful. Hope you’ll recognize them next time you see them in an old quilt.

Did You Know?

Remember the Our Gang and Little Rascals Movies? The classic films with Alfalfa, Darla, Spanky, Buckwheat, Stymie, Porky and more?? Our small town of Sedalia, Missouri is birthplace to an actress, Grace Ivadell Carter. Her birthdate is January 7, 1914 and she did parts in 3 of these different short movies (or shorts) in 1923 and 1924. Her appearances in these shorts totaled 8. Saluting yet another Missourian in the A to Z Challenge this year.

Letter O for Old’s Maid Puzzle/ AtoZ 2019

Posted on April 17, 2019 by slfinnell

Vintage Old Maid’s Puzzle from Star Quilts
1928 Old’s Maid Puzzle as seen in KCStar

This is an old-time favorite for sure! Changing quilt color choices, block direction, or sashing can give you some variations with this one that make it a popular quilt choice. As you can see in the right hand photo, they recommend Pink, Blue and White.But the finished quilt on the right is in deep reds with gray and set on a white background. They are also set on point if you zoom in close and examine it.

My fabric choices

I went with the scrap bin in my decision-making. Hopefully I’m using enough variation in colors to create a nice end result. So far, most all my coloring used during this AtoZ quilt creation is in the blue and red shades with a little dash of yellow here and there.

Old Maid’s Puzzle completed

Proud moment when I actually got the stripes set in the way I wanted. I most likely would not go to so much effort in a whole quilt with this block to be perfectly honest. For me, quilting is to be kept stress free. As it should be 🙂

Did You Know?

I was perusing the news of 1928 and found it kind of funny that in this year, the first Home Pregnancy Test was introduced. And at the same time Lady Chatterley’s Lover is banned for being too explicit in the United States and England. For even more fun I’m going to name a few famous women born in 1928. None were Old Maids either. Anne Sexton (poet) –Shirley Temple (actress) — Etta James (singer) –Barbara Lang (actress/pin-up model)

Letter N for Name on Each Friendship/ AtoZ 2019

Posted on April 16, 2019 by slfinnell

Another signature block for this AtoZ quilt was just what I needed. You can’t have too much writing on a quilt when you want it to memorialize something. Just don’t ask me what I’ll be writing on the block at this particular moment. Time will tell. I have to say I like the ’56 version with the star points better than I do the redraft version on the left.

I decided to show some corrections I had to make. You can see in my layout photo on the right that I had it correct, but when sewing, I turned a couple sections wrong and ended up spending some time with my beloved seam ripper.

All’s well in the end result for this block. It even measured the correct 12 inches.

Did You Know?

The Star and Elvis spilled the beans on a young Elvis fan on May 25, 1956. According to the article, a teenager snuck out of the house to see him in concert. Being convinced she’d gotten by with it was short-lived however. Served to her on her breakfast plate the next morning was a copy of the Kansas City Star with her picture on the front page.

Letter M for Milky Way/AtoZ 2019

Posted on April 15, 2019 by slfinnell

Vintage MIlky Way quilt from Star Quilts
Milky Way as in KC Star 1930

If you’re making a whole quilt of this block you may notice that you need to alternate the middle block or ‘star’ from lights to darks to get the desired results. But for this challenge, I needed only to create the one block.

Above you’ll see the yellow and white half-square triangle. In whole quilts that would need to alternate as a blue and white color scheme. (refer to quilt picture above)

Last Seam
Milky Way Layout

Essentially, you have a 9-patch block here. Sewn in 3 rows and finally attached with 2 long seams.

Did You Know?

In keeping with the era of the 1930’s I’m sharing with you about an astronomer, Robert Julius Trumpler today. He revealed that the size of the Milky Way Galaxy was off. And give us the ‘real’ map of stars and clusters, a way was needed to get a view through that dust. The tool itself wasn’t invented until the 1950’s but, “Thank You!” Trumpler for paving the way!!

Letter L for Maple Leaf/AtoZ 2019

Posted on April 13, 2019 by slfinnell

From Star Quilts- a vintage Maple Leaf block quilt

From Star Quilts - Kansas City Star 1930 version

In 1930, the Kansas City Star said ‘green makes a pretty maple leaf quilt’ That may be, but the maple leaf’s splendor is the colorful display it makes in the fall. Everyone knows that right?? Well if not, look it up.

The colors in this block won’t necessarily reflect the colorful scenes of a forest full of maple trees. But it is going to make a nice addition to the quilt top. Even if I did have to adjust nearly every solid colored square by trimming away 1/4 inch on 2 sides of them. I’m not complaining. But I have to say I never saw this coming when I planned a Kansas City Star quilt project. I wonder what the quilters of days past would have said about these measurement issues? Did they not make samplers??

Ok I am complaining.

Just a little adjusting goin’ on around here. If you sew quilts, you’ll see the number this block has played on me by not being correctly published. But it is the way of the A to Z right? Adjust your schedule, time, photos, etc. You get the idea. So maybe this is a life lesson for me. Let me continue to the end. It did work out ok, just shy of an inch.

Measuring 11 inches, I present the Maple Leaf block. I will forever remember the trimming and holding my breath til the very end. I salute you quilt professionals out there.

Did You Know?

The Maple Leaf Rag, by Scott Joplin, was published in Sedalia, Missouri in 1899 by a local music store owner, Joh Stark. It became a classic model for ragtime tunes and Sedalians are pretty proud as it holds the annual Scott Joplin Festival each year during the first weekend of June.

Letter K for Flying Kite/AtoZ 2019

Posted on April 12, 2019 by slfinnell

In 1937 Flying was a pretty big part of the news with Amelia Earhart, the Hindenburgh and Jacqueline Cochran (who set a national speed record for women). Why not create a quilt block called Flying Kite?!

Flying Kite Layout
The chosen colors

Confession time…I went shopping with mom and in a big way. A local store (fabric store) went out of business after the owner passed away and a couple fabrics you see here were fat quarters, not scraps. Sigh. Couldn’t help it. Sometimes a girl has to go for the bargains.

And who can pass up a great sale?

If you like pinwheels, this is a spinner variety you should love.

Did You Know?

So on the topic of sales, in 1937 I thought I’d share the cost of living for some things.

New House $4,100
Yearly wages average $1780
Gallon of gas 10 cents
Loaf of bread 9 cents
New car $760

Letter J for Jacob’s Ladder/ AtoZ 2019

Posted on April 11, 2019 by slfinnell

1928 Kansas City Star Version of Jacob's Ladder in Star Quilts.

I’ve made this quilt block before but not for the A to Z Challenge. My own quilt made with multiple Jacob’s Ladder blocks is here. Scroll to the bottom of my Completed Creations page and you’ll see Patriotic Jacobs Ladder.

Using a good mix of dark, medium and light colors will give you the desired effect in creating the whole quilt or the single block.

Jacob's Ladder completed — Jacob’s Ladder completed

Did You Know?

Considered one of the most tragic Explosion Disasters of the year 1928 was in West Plains, Missouri. A gas explosion at a dance hall killed 36 where there had been 40 couples dancing. The dance floor during the explosion was lifted to the ceiling and dropped. It’s believed that when the garage door opened in the floor below, the explosion occurred due to gasoline stored there.

Letter I for Jack ‘I’n the Box/ AtoZ 2019

Posted on April 10, 2019 by slfinnell

1929 Kansas City Star 'Jack in the Box' — 1929 Kansas City Star ‘Jack in the Box’

I chose this block for Letter I instead of the Irish Chain. It was one I hadn’t made before and even though it’s not technically an ‘I’ block, I am pulling the It’s my blog card. So here we go…..

Jack in the Box Variations
Before and after ironing
Lines drawn and ready to sew
More Lines drawn for sewing
Last seams

A lot of movement goin’ on with the direction of this block. It was important to have a layout first and a picture reference or it would have been easy to turn one piece the wrong way.

Vintage materials can make a one of a kind quilt block. In a sampler, it’s just plain fun to use up those fabrics you love but can’t find any other use for.

Did You Know?

Speaking of Vintage, I found a little gem from 1929 that not too many of my hometown folks may know of. Let me introduce Jack Bland. I chose to talk about him both because he was born in Sedalia, Missouri and he happened to be a successful American jazz banjoist and guitarist in the Midwest and Chicago. For me personally, the banjo part is close to my heart. My close friends and family know my banjo connection. I play 5-string 🙂

Special Thanks to YouTube

Letter H for Heart’s Desire/ AtoZ 2019

Posted on April 9, 2019 by slfinnell

From the Kansas City Star Quilts Sampler book

This 1932 block took a lot of piecing and for me personally it took 3 sewing sessions. My quilt time is usually in small stretches though. Still, it was pretty intense for a single block.

Let’s just say you had better have a lot of desire to finish a whole quilt of this block. I only had desire to make one at this time 😉 The following gallery of photos are just the quilt during the sewin process. Not going to describe everything in a paragraph. If you happen to have any questions, just leave them in the comments.

I truly love the end result of this block. The measurement ended right, the piecing instructions weren’t bad and it’s visually interesting. Sometime in the future, a whole quilt would not be out of the question.

Heart's Desire Block complete — Heart’s Desire Block complete

Did You Know?

With this block I’ll celebrate an outstanding female Missourian, Susan Elizabeth Blow. In my circle of life, there are children. Many children. So her achievement is close to my heart.

Susan founded the first public Kindergarten in St. Louis, Missouri and ran it 11 years without being payed. Of course she was priviledged, being the daughter of a wealthy family. Nonetheless, she believed in the importance of this early childhood introduction to school. Kindergarten readiness is how I spend my days with infants and children–guiding them with developmentally appropriate practices. Thanks to Susan for this wonderful contribution to our children!

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Katy Trail Creations

I Quilt, Crochet and Sew as well as care for children in my day job. Never a dull moment!

Tag Archives: April

Letter Q for Chain Quilt/ AtoZ 2019

Did You Know?

Letter P for Pinwheels/AtoZ 2019

Did You Know?

Letter O for Old’s Maid Puzzle/ AtoZ 2019

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Letter N for Name on Each Friendship/ AtoZ 2019

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Letter M for Milky Way/AtoZ 2019

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Letter L for Maple Leaf/AtoZ 2019

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Letter K for Flying Kite/AtoZ 2019

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Letter J for Jacob’s Ladder/ AtoZ 2019

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Letter I for Jack ‘I’n the Box/ AtoZ 2019

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Letter H for Heart’s Desire/ AtoZ 2019

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