looking for the name of a block/pattern...
 

...but don't have a picture to show you. I am quilting a vintage quilt top (circa 1950s) that was hand pieced from what looks like old tea towels and clothing. It is a queen sized top with 56 blocks of the same pattern, done in an assortment of fabrics. Each block is a fan, with a quarter circle of black fabric in one corner, then the blades of the fan are pieced in alternating fabrics. The square is finished by a curved piece of contrasting fabric sewn to the curving edge of the fan. I have seen many fan quilts in which the blades are a solid piece of fabric, but I can't find any patterns specifying pieced blades, and based around a quarter circle. None of it is appliqued - the quarter circle is pieced in. Does this sound familiar to anyone? If no one recognizes this I'll try to post a picture tomorrow... Thanks. Alison PS Why are all my paragraph breaks gone? Gee, talk about a dense paragraph!

here's a diagram and instructions. hope it's what you are looking for
http://lifestyle.howstuffworks.com/c...uilt-block.htm

Try Grandmothers Fan.

Cari

Sounds like a traditional fan block.

A photo would help. So may various fan plates.

It is a variant on Grandmother's Fan, for sure (thanks QuiltnNan and Cari, for the name). I haven't seen a photo of this particular variant yet. I'll try to post one later today. Alison

Alison, are the fans scrappy? Maybe she wanted to do a Grandmothers Fan and did;t have yardage for the fans? So she pieced them? I am anxious to see this variation. Dont' you wish you knew the history of this quilt? I love a quilt mystery!

it is a grandmothers fan pattern. The first quilt I made was this pattern. I chose patterned fabric in pink and blue and moved all the blades around so that each fan was different.

It also sounds like Grandmothers Fan to me...

I have the Grandmothers fan patterns one has rounded blades and the other has pointed blades. Mine came from a old magazine that was my DM.'s.