QUILTS & FABRIC: PAST & PRESENT


Sunday, January 9, 2011

More Polka Dot Problems


I've been collecting photos of quilts with dots. I've quickly found out what not to do if you are going to make a quilt with dots.

Forget about red dots. The quilt above from the Skinner online auction site illustrates the problem. The mid- 19th-century friendship quilt makes me itch.


This one's probably early 20th century.


Mid-20th century Sue

The problem is that we seem to have a built-in aversion to red spots.

These quilts unfortunately remind me of the chicken pox.



Something I saw entirely too much of when I taught kindergarten before the vaccine.

An idea I drew up in EQ but one I am going to forget about.




14 comments:

  1. I'm with you on this one,Barbara.
    Maggey

    ReplyDelete
  2. Barbara, you're a riot. Love the last, the little carnival gamepin.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I agree, love red, but hey.....enough is enough!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Just the thought of it has me itchy...

    ReplyDelete
  5. You and your dots! Polka Dot Problems really is a good lesson in what NOT to do. Thanks for starting my day with a light-hearted posting.

    I'm saving NORTH STAR as my treat to myself, for later today. I'm all excited about the civil war blocks. Thanks again for doing this.

    ReplyDelete
  6. In the nineteenth century, the term 'polka dot' didn't exist for this design style. They were called 'spots'. You had a 'spotted' dress. 'Polka dots' is definitely a more pleasing description!

    ReplyDelete
  7. LOL, recently finished a quilt with some red on white spots, but tiny ones luckily! Several of the antique quilts at the V & A had a lot of spots - small ones - and Jockey's Cap as a popular English paper pieced pattern.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Your picture with the kids made me laugh- Some of my k kids still get chicken pox- we just had 4 kids before Christmas.
    My son had the chicken pox when he was 6 and he gave them to my husband- man was my husband sick with them. It was a case of history repeating itself as I gave my father chicken pox when I was our son's age too. In both cases the father was much sicker than the child. It is better to get them when you are young than as an adult.
    Polka dots are indeed interesting.
    Regards,
    Anna

    ReplyDelete
  9. Just returned from a trip across Kansas, Colorado and home to Utah. We passed a sign that reminded me of you but I couldn't get my camera out soon enough to take a picture. The town's name was Dotsero. It was in Colorado.

    ReplyDelete
  10. ...I love red dots...what atreat to see them all together...!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Great subject and would love to know more about using dots in quilts.
    I have been collecting dots and circles, still not sure what I will do, but would be nice to know the do's and dont's of using dots in a pattern.

    Debbie

    ReplyDelete
  12. Red dots don't bother me at all. I really love that orange and red quilt. May have to make one of those.

    ReplyDelete
  13. And what about Spotsylvania, Virginia?

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love dots.. I would love to make an entire quilt with dots. Orange and Red would be nice.

    Oooo... I like the name Spotsylvania!!!
    Can I borrow it?

    ReplyDelete