Originally Posted by I Herd Ewe
Originally Posted by JCquilts
Originally Posted by I Herd Ewe
So does anyone recognize this pattern?
It is Weathervane, by Ruby McKim.
Thank you JCQuilts! I delightedly pulled out my copy of 101 Patchwork Patterns by Ruby McKim (the very first quilt book I ever bought!) and there it is. I thought this was going to give me the earliest possible date for this quilt as well since she first published this book in 1931 but Weathervane is not among her original patterns. She names it as an old pattern,
"This patchwork pattern is called the Weathervane, and dates back to a time when great-grandmother used that commodity to "calc'late a change," instead of listening to a scientific forecast on the radio. But her pattern, the weathervane, is one of the loveliest of our old time quilt designs." Thank you for telling me the name of the patch and a source of the pattern!
Yes, many many quilt patterns pre date the first published patterns.. I looked for it in the Ladies Art Company catalog, which is one of the first companies to publish and didnt find it there, I was very surprised. There is one similar, but the construction is different. So perhaps Ruby McKim gave us new construction techinques for an old pattern.
any way, my guess for the date of your quilt, without seeing it in person is between 1890 and 1925. Im guessing around 1920. My reasons are this.. first the black and white shirtings were made in the last quarter of the 19th century. The style as we move into the 1st quarter of the 20th century was to use the softer pallet with the bright red as the only stark or bright color in the quilt, making it almost seem out of place. If you get the book recommended, you can read about this style in there. However, you also need to check on the red as it looks like a turkey red, but turkey red didnt bleed like the red in your quilt. During WWI there was a scarcity of color fast red indicating that your red might be from that time.
Just some things to think about in your research.