Serendipitous Contrary Wife

This signature quilt top has been christened the Sugar Creek Township quilt, after one of the block maker's home address.  As a top it has never been used or washed, so the colours are very bright.

from 'Time for a Fresh Quilt Saga'

It comes from Armstrong County, Pennsylvania and was made about 1942 - 1945.  I have researched a number of the names and made quite a few family connections. I haven't yet been able to get a good overall network for the quilt. The name on the central block - often the recipient of the quilt - is simply labeled 'Mother'. Another block, centre top row is another mystery - it just says, 'Mine'. Not enough information.

Today's block of interest is the following.  The pattern is Contrary Wife.

The name on the block is Maude Hollenbaugh.  I thought it might be interesting to see if Maude has a reason to choose Contrary Wife to represent herself.

Maude married farmer Frank when she was 19.  Maude and Frank had a large family of eight daughters and one son.  In the 1920 census all nine children were still living at home, from 20 year old Verna through to Margaret, age 1 year 6 months.  I imagine Maude was occasionally contrary.

Maude's sister Minnie also had the married surname of Hollenbaugh and I guessed that Maude and Minnie may have married brothers, not uncommon in a farming community with large families.  So I had a closer look at the census pages.  I was right, Minnie and John Hollenbaugh had the next door farm to Maude and Frank.  Minnie had three boys and a daughter, slightly older than Maude's brood but still all single at living at home.

Just on a chance, I went back a page in the census form.  Guess who was the neighbour on the other side?  Mrs. Fannie Brumbaugh, the maker of the remarkable Sailboat Oklahoma!

Quite exciting!  And back another page I found more names from the quilt.  The fascinating part of this discovery is that this was the 1920 census, twenty plus years before the quilt was made.  These women were building friendships while they were young wives and mothers and these same friendships endured for the rest of their lives.  I didn't find the connections in the 1940 census because the community had changed and the women had relocated as their circumstances changed.

Time to make my own Contrary Wife.

The Sailboat Oklahoma

When I first saw this block in the 1930s quilt top I thought someone had made a mistake with the pattern.

Most sailboat blocks have the bow and stern facing away from the water, like this one.

But no, the odd sailboat is a pattern from the Kansas City Star.

Lovers of the sea will enjoy this small watercraft design. 

It came from Mrs. J. R. Barnes, Williams, Ok.

Kansas City Star   28 June, 1944

I don't know if the block is The Sailboat "Oklahoma" or The Sailboat (from) Oklahoma.  We will never know.
The maker of the quilt block was Sarah Fannie Brumbaugh.  She wasn't a farmer's wife, her husband Clyde Delvin was a driller in the mining industry.  Her daughter Ruth also made a block in this quilt top which I will show you next post.

I made two Sailboats Oklahoma (or Sailboat Oklahomas?) The first was nearly finished when I discovered a piece of fabric that was a better match to the original block, so I made it again.

Ships Ahoy

This week's block is a Sailboat.

Sailboat - H. E. Putnam

There is the usual challenge of deciding which name to use for the block.  Options were Sailboat, The Ship, Little Ship o' Dreams, Sailboat in Blue and White, The Mayflower and Tad Lincoln's Sailboat. 

The pink Sailboat is from a 1937 friendship quilt from Oklahoma.  There are two Sailboat blocks in the quilt.

Sailboat - Lou Henslee

So how are the blocks set into the quilt? Not how you would think.  Notice too the dotted green border strip.  It keeps getting wider and wider the further you go.  Each block in this quilt is not quite square and is a different size to every other blocks.  It must have been a challenge to put together; it sits quite flat and the corners are almost right angles.

Maggie Malone (120 Patterns for Traditional Patchwork Quilts, 1984) shows a similar block called Flags & Ships.  She points out that, unusually, the block is rectangular instead of square.  The Sailboat adds a white strip to make it square which then becomes a perfect block for a signature.

Flags & Ships

My latest friendship top appears to have a Sailboat block.  I assumed that Fannie Brumbaugh had some issues assembling her block; the hull is upside down.  But apologies to Miss Brumbaugh, it is a real pattern from the Kansas City Star.

The Sailboat Oklahoma

I have Googled 'Sailboat Oklahoma' but apart from the original reference I can't find any images.  If you ever see the good ship Sailboat Oklahoma in your travels I would love to hear about it.