The quilt club had a lot of guesses before Nancy revealed the violet as the flower for this block. The violet is one of my favorite flowers. With the heart shaped leaves and the sweet fragrance, it has my vote.
Block #20 ~ Violet
April 16, 1932
Nancy had told the members two weeks ago that the last flower was a spring one. They had guessed apple blossoms and johnny jump ups and jack in the pulpits, not to mention Dutchman’s breeches and bleeding hearts. But Nancy kept on saying, “No, no, not that flower.”
The answer was easy, once the members of the Nancy Page quilt club saw the last drawing for the flower quilt. It was the violet, a large one, to be sure, but then Nancy said she knew a place where violets grew to be perfectly enormous – just enormous.
The color is easy for this last flower, something in violet or lavender, either plain or sprigged or dotted.
The very centre is worked in yellow, fast color embroidery cotton.
The stem is done in green – bias tape, preferably.
The leaves are in green.
The design is applied to the white triangle which is seamed to the lower triangle made up of the pieced urn. The two birds are appliqued beside the flowers.
The method of making is the same as that used in all the previous blocks. Transfer pattern on lightweight cardboard is cut out and laid on the materials. These are cut with a quarter inch allowance on all sides for turning under the raw edges.
After the raw edges are basted and pressed in place the pieces are pinned onto the white triangle and appliqued in place. So are the birds, the leaves and the stems. And now the blocks are all finished.
These four blocks – the balloon flower, lemon lily, crocus and violet are seamed to the lower sides of diamonds and triangles of white which have been seamed to the flower blocks in the row above.
This leaves the triangles of white to be put in between the flower blocks. Triangles only are used since we have now reached the outer part of the quilt. Triangle only are used since we have now reached the outer part of the quilt. We need to get a straight edge on which to attach the border strip.
In the two lower corners, that is, on the lower left of the balloon flower block and the lower right of the last block, the violet, the small triangles measuring 12-1/2 by 12-1/2 by 8-1/4 are seamed. When these are all in we have a rectangular quilt measuring 68 by 97 inches.
Next comes the addition of the border strips. At the top, a white strip 68-1/2 by 12-1/2 is seamed on. At the bottom three is a white strip 68-1/2 by 5-1/2 and then below that strip of color 68-1/2 by 6-1/2. This makes the length of the quilt 108-1/2 inches. The half inch comes off when the lining is seamed on.
The sides of the quilt have two strips each, one and inner one of white and then an outer one of color. These strips are cut or torn 108-1/2 inches by 5-1/2 for the white an 108-1/2 by 6-1/2 in color. This gives the finished width of 90-1/2. The lining takes off the half inch so the quilt really is 108 inches long.
After these bands are on the club members are ready for applique border. A pattern will be given next week and will be followed by the last design for this quilt – a quilting one for the white diamond blocks.
“garden bouquet quilt, block #20, violet” Newspapers.com, Edmonton Journal, April 16, 1932, https://www.newspapers.com/article/edmonton-journal-garden-bouquet-quilt-b/164014196/
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