QUILTS & FABRIC: PAST & PRESENT


Saturday, April 13, 2024

Golden Dahlia x 16

 

A formidable project!

16 blocks each with 72 diamonds made of 2 triangles.

Not in BlockBase+ or my Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns and I see why. The unknown maker adapted a larger design meant to cover a whole top and turned it into blocks.


Golden Dahlia from the H.H. VerMehren pattern company in Iowa,
advertised under the name Nancy Lee.



VerMehren in their Colonial Quilts line also did a Giant Dahlia design that was more popular than the Golden Dahlia, but some quiltmakers took up the challenge of the split diamond.

The West Virginia Project recorded this one in a variegated color scheme. 




The idea of an 8-pointed star with a split diamond goes back at least into the 1840s.




Two versions from early Quaker sampler albums....
But the large scale, single block is definitely a VerMehren idea (1933.)

Polly Mello has one or two in her collection of VerMehren quilts.

Is the version with 16 blocks one of a kind?

1 comment:

  1. Wow. I do love a challenge, but this might be more extreme than I want to tackle. I’m reminded of those “Sunburst” quilts that are sort of like Lone Stars on steroids. Can’t imagine making these small versions. Gosh but where the seams meet it must be like chenille.

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