QUILTS & FABRIC: PAST & PRESENT


Saturday, July 2, 2016

Morris Hexathon 9: Red Lion Square

Morris Hexathon 9: 
Red Lion Square by Becky Brown


Like last week's block, it's 12 of the same diamond shape.
Position and shading different, however.

Red Lion Square by Ilyse Moore


Detail, Frederica Mary Josephson,c. 1850. 
National Trust of Australia (NSW) Collection. 
Gift of Mr P. Bell, 2000.
Frederica Josephson tossed several of these 3-D cubes

I named this week's block for Red Lion Square, where artists William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones rented rooms for a studio/residence after leaving Oxford University. Number 17, the door on the left, has a square plaque commemorating their residence in the building from 1856 to 1859.


Max Beerbohm painted this caricature for a satiric biography of Gabriel Rossetti and his circle. Morris and Burne-Jones are "settled on the Settle in Red Lion Square"  With few possessions they made their own medieval-style furniture.

A self-portrait by Burne-Jones showing the studio, 
the medieval props and a model with cold feet.

Burne-Jones painted Arthur with Excalibur while living and working
at Red Lion Square.

In their twenties the university friends moved away and married. After the success of their handmade furniture and decorative arts inspired them to open a firm in 1861 they returned to Red Lion Square. Morris rented the building at 8 Red Lion Square for Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Company with workshops, offices and a showroom.

Red Lion Square in 1941 and
St John the Evangelist Church

Many of the buildings including Number 8, the firm at Red Lion Square, were destroyed by the German bombing in World War II.


Number 17 was built about 1686 and given a 19th-century facade. It is truly a wonder that it still stands.

The pattern has no BlockBase Number, indicating it
wasn't published with a name until after 1970.


Pattern for an 8" Hexagon
(4" sides)

To Print:
  • Create a word file or a new empty JPG file that is 8-1/2" x 11". 
  • Click on the image above. 
  • Right click on it and save it to your file. 
  • Print that file out 8-1/2" x 11". The hexagon should measure 4" on the sides.
  • Adjust the printed page size if necessary.
  • Add seams when you cut the fabric.
Red Lion Square by Bettina Havig
The Big Tumble by Laura Nownes


Here's a variation as a nine-patch from the 1870-1890 period. 


Architect Jeffrey Gutcheon realized a few decades ago you can adapt any square pattern to a 60 degree diamond and get the illusion of depth. 

From Jeffrey & Beth Gutcheon's Diamond Patchwork

One More Inspiration

Sara Nephew has been exploring
sixty degree angles for quite awhile.

3 comments:

  1. I love this one...it looks so totally different from the others. Makes for happy stitching!

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  2. Forgot about Jeff's ideas for sixty-degree diamonds!

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  3. I love this block and the quilts made from it. I am really looking forward to making all these hexagon blocks and making a quilt but I am waiting until I can get some William Morris fabrics before I start. Ever since I was a teenager I have loved William Morris and the artists and designers of the Arts and Crafts Movement. I am now 52. Hopefully I will be able to make a start soon.

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