The Beastly Y-Seam Block Has a Name: Cathedral Window by Nancy Cabot, 1933 Chicago Tribune

When I was recreating, resizing, recoloring and revising the Moda Modern Building Blocks Sampler in EQ8 Quilt Design Software, swapping out some of the blocks for others in my EQ Block Library, I didn't pay much attention to the information contained in the software "notecard" for each block.  After toiling away at all of these Y-seams, however, I was curious about where this block I'm making came from and I went back to my software to find out.

Cathedral Window by Nancy Cabot, Originally Published in 1933 Chicago Tribune

The 20" block I'm currently working on was designed by Loretta Leitner Rising (under the pen name Nancy Cabot) and it was originally published in the Chicago Tribune in 1933.  Per the newspaper column, she named the block Cathedral Window because it was inspired by the first cathedral built in Kentucky that year, and Cabot suggested "pastel pink or blue with white" as colorways.  I've recolored the block above using a reproduction 1930s fabric so you can see it as the pattern designer envisioned it.  

In Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns this block is given reference number 1953, and it's also in the EQ Blockbase program that can either tie into EQ8 software or be used alone to identify block patterns and/or print templates and foundation paper piecing patterns in whatever size you need.  

Cathedral Window is Reference No. 1953 in Brackman's Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns

A lot of the quilt block patterns that were published early in the last century involved challenging construction methods such as curved piecing, Y-seams, and partial seams.  Most American quilters would have had strong needlework skills at that time, when sewing machine sales were just beginning to take off and readymade clothing was not yet affordable for most families.  Y-seam construction would not have been as intimidating to the Tribune's readers in 1933 as it is to quilters today.  

Sixteen Y-Seams!

Even so, I was not able to locate a single example of an entire quilt made from this block on the Internet -- but maybe the images are out there, just not associated with the pattern name or designer's name that I was using as keywords?  If anyone knows of a vintage quilt -- or ANY quilt -- made from this block pattern, please let me know in the comments so I can add that to this post.  I'm all about giving design credit where it's due.

Of course, my own color choices for this block are very different:

My Version of Nancy Cabot's Cathedral Window Block in Kona Solids

I love how the exact same block can look completely different in different fabrics, don't you? Here's as far as I got with this block yesterday:

My Cathedral Window Block In Progress

I have completed eight of the sixteen Y-seams in this block, and in case anyone is interested, I wrote a step-by-step tutorial for Y-seam patchwork in yesterday's post here.  

Dashed Yellow Lines Indicate Seams Remaining to be Sewn

Even so, I can't imagine making an entire bed sized quilt from this block, can you?!  I'm linking today's post with:

·       Oh Scrap! at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework http://quiltingismorefunthanhousework.blogspot.com

·       Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts  

·       Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

·       BOMs Away Katie Mae Quilts  

·       Colour and Inspiration Tuesday at Clever Chameleon

Quilter Goes Rogue: Slipping a Rose Dream In Amongst the Farmer's Wives

6" Rose Dream Quilt Block

I made something yesterday!  Well, actually I made it bit by bit over the last few days, one wretched little curved seam at a time, and I finished it yesterday.  It probably took me 15-20 minutes to pin each pair of opposite curved pieces together.  Once they were pinned, they were easy enough to stitch, but then pressing the little devils without distorting the bias was challenging as well.  I probably should have starched the fabrics before I cut out the pieces.

This Many Pins

The Rose Dream quilt block, first published in the Kansas City Star newspaper in 1930,  first caught my eye when Charise of Charise Creates featured it as the first block in her 2012 Vintage Quilt Block Quilt Along.  So I've had this block in the back of my mind for four years.

Charise's Rose Dream Quilt Block

I love Charise's fresh modern take on vintage style.  She has a knack for finding very special fabrics and uses them in interesting ways, often fussy cutting a word or pattern motif for a detailed effect.  Notice how she has centered a strawberry in one patch, an ornate teapot in another, and the text in the tiny center squares.

Original Rose Dream Pattern, 1930 Kansas City Star

The vintage quilt below that I found at an auction site online (thank you, Google) is similar to how I imagine most 'thirties quilters would have used this block pattern when it was originally published, combining a solid background fabric with an assortment of prints as per the newspaper instructions:

Vintage Rose Dream Quilt

The original Kansas City Star pattern was for a 13" finished block, and Charise redrafted her block to finish at 12" and offered a free PDF with templates along with an excellent tutorial for piecing the block.  But I decided to make a 6" version of the Rose Dream block out of this solid red and this small-scale floral print so I could sneak it in with the other 6" blocks I've been making from the 1930s Farmer's Wife book.

Fabric Picks for my Rose Dream Block

After all, the Quilt Police is NOT really a thing, so who's going to stop me?  Although the three blocks I've made so far for this sampler quilt have all been from the 1930s Farmer's Wife quilt book, I do have the previous book with the 1920s inspiration letters and block designs and had planned to make only the blocks I felt like making from either book and then mix them up together once I had enough for a quilt.  Because, really, it's my quilt and I can do whatever I want with it, right?  I could even resize some of the 4" Dear Jane blocks a little larger and put them in with the Farmer's Wife blocks, too.  Scandalous, right?!

So anyway, back to the Rose Dream block.  First I thought that I would just print Charise's templates for a 12" block and then use the copier to reduce them by 50%, but then I realized that Charise's templates include 1/4" seam allowances that would be only 1/8" seam allowances after reducing with the copier.  The original newspaper templates did not include seam allowances, but the scanned images of the newspaper clipping that I found online were not actual size, either.  I thought of trying to do an old-school grid enlargement on graph paper, the way Anders did his Spiderman drawing enlargement in art class this year, but then I remembered TECHNOLOGY.

BlockBase Software from EQ

Barbara Brackman's BlockBase for EQ to the rescue!  BlockBase is an add-on to EQ7 quilting design software that can also stand alone as a digital block reference library.  My husband and sons got it for me for my birthday or Christmas or something.  Why didn't I think of it earlier, before I wasted all that time messing with the photocopier like it was the 1980s or something?!  In BlockBase, I was able to enter the keywords "rose dream" and this block came up immediately, ready to print in whatever size my little heart should desire. 

Rose Dream Fabric and Templates, Ready to Cut

That little square measures exactly 1" including the seam allowance, so I cut those squares out with a rotary cutter and ruler instead of using the cardstock templates like I did for the curved pieces.

Rose Dream with FW 1930s Blocks 1-3

Right now they don't really go together very well, but I don't really care.  Once I have a whole boatload of 6" blocks that don't really go together, I'll sew them all together and it will be a "scrappy sampler."  If I find some more blocks with curved piecing or applique like the Rose Dream block, that will help. 

One of my kiddos comes home tomorrow afternoon!  He's been in Florida with our high school youth group choir, singing at a variety of Lutheran churches and visiting amusement parks with his church friends.  The house has been VERY quiet all week.  I'm almost looking forward to the sound of video games on the PlayStation!

I'm linking up with Can I Get a Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation, and Main Crush Monday at Cooking Up Quilts, Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts, and Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story.