Friday, July 4, 2014

Thanks, Mom!


This charming quilt just arrived yesterday. It was a gift from Mom. Thanks, Mom! A friend of hers in Maine had some quilts, and this one happened to be available. The design looks a little like ice cream cones, but is actually a pattern known as "Nosegay". For those who were born after a certain time, a nosegay is a small bouquet of flowers, typically one that is sweet scented.


I have seen the design before, but not too often. This quilt is an especially appealing example. Bouquets are placed in rows, and the rows of bouquets face opposite directions alternating by row.


There is not much space between the bouquets, which contributes to the liveliness of the overall design. Each bouquet is appliquéd on to the block, and although the block sizes vary slightly, the average size is 8 & 1/2 inches square.


It appears the quilt was made sometime in the early part of the 20th century, probably around the 1930s. The quilt includes a wonderful assortment of small-scale prints, mostly soft colors, and possibly a few feedsack prints. Love the quilt, and it joins a group of quilts I have with repeat patterns. Some day I will exhibit them as a group. :)

5 comments:

  1. Such a lovely gift from your mom! I love that you see ice cream cones in the design because I see them too :) Happy 4th to you!

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  2. Fabulous piece! The sprinkling of very dark patches sparkles, and the alternating rows make the whole thing dance. Lucky you! A nosegay quilt is on my bucket list. Happy 4th of July!

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  3. What a thoughtful and generous mother you have! I once intended to make one of these for a granddaughter who changed her mind. It's Brackman no. 4052. Nose Gay as you said, and also "Brides Bouquet". Barbara ' s sources are Rural New Yorker 1933 and Kansas City Star 2/6/37. A pattern was available from Old Chelsea Station Needle- craft Service, a mail order service which attributed patterns to designers (probable just fictitious names like Betty Crocker) -- this one was attributed to Laura Wheeler. Page 501 in my edition of Brackman. It's a "fun" pattern to me, evoking ice cream cones and confetti. Enjoy!

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  4. So pretty, I love how each of the ice cream cone objects/nosegays has so many different pattern materials to it!

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