Friday, June 2, 2017

No Whirligigs Today

My birthday present arrived this week. It's not my birthday for another three weeks but I couldn't wait.  What do you think of my new top?



It is just a top and not quilted so it has never been washed.  The colours are bright and the names are all legible. The seller described it as 1920s but my research so far says 1938 and Armstrong Co., Pennsylvania.  It has some terrific blocks in it.












 You will see more of these blocks in the future, I promise.

Now back to reality....






I was planning to share this block this week but I'm feeling uncomfortable about it.


Whirligig


Like most traditional blocks, Whirligig has a number of names: Catch Me if You Can, Battle Ax of Thor, Pure Symbol of Right Doctrine.  In the early 1930s, it was usually called by another name, as Ruby McKim demonstrates.





"Our frontier mothers ingeniously converted this ancient symbol of good luck into a quilt pattern which is made simply from two triangles.  Sometimes they called it Fly-foot".
 

And the more I consider it, the less I want to include it in the mystery quilt. Whirligig was fine in 1937 but it just doesn't seem a good choice now, no matter how it is presented.

So, there is no new block this week.  You can catch up with last week's block while I get something ready for next week. 

1 comment:

  1. Interesting thought. I looked at birthday quilt and liked it. Then you showed a few blocks and never occurred to me to look/isolate individual blocks.... and I like them MORE!

    ReplyDelete

I love your comments and am always happy to respond. If you want an answer, check that your profile settings include 'show my email address'; otherwise I can't send you a message.