Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Mystery Pattern Clue


I've found a couple clues about the mystery pattern. This pattern is similar to Brackman #2946, called Cross Roads to Bachelor's Hall (Clara Stone), Cross Roads (KC Star 1931, Capper's), and Wagon Wheels (KC Star 5/28/41), as was pointed out by my blogger friend Yankee Quilter. After leafing through the Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns, I was still curious, so I went to the Quilt Index. That's where I found this record of a quilt discovered in Tennessee.


This quilt is called a Country Crossroads or Crossroads. The first record I found was a quilt made by Callie Burnett and Laura White of Pelham, Grundy County, Tennessee around 1883. Merikay Waldvogel, who wrote the book on Tennessee quilts, pointed out an additional Quilt Index record for a second quilt with a matching design, made in Winchester, Tennessee around 1890.
Clara Stone "Cross Roads to Bachelor Hall"
These two Tennessee quilts share many characteristics with my Texas quilt, including the narrow binding, rounded corners, concentric quilting, and use of two solid colors with white. The sizes differ slightly, though. Mine is 76" x 94" - the largest of the three. The smallest one is 62 & 1/2" x 80". I believe mine is older than the other two, 1870 or maybe even earlier. Some of my quilt history pen-pals feel it may really be closer to the mid nineteenth century, and that wouldn't surprise me. As I've said before, all signs point in the right direction.


Here are the links for two individual records on the Quilt Index.

Click here for the quilt made in Pelham, Grundy County, Tennessee
Click here for an example from Winchester, Tennessee.

What do you think?

Did we nail it?

1 comment:

  1. It's always fun to find a clue, especially when clues don't seem readily apparent. The sense of discovery is very rewarding.

    You never know when the solution is just a few clicks away. Ten or 20 years ago it was a whole different situation, but I can't imagine doing research without the internet!

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