The REAL Broken Dishes

One of the most interesting aspects of quilt collecting and making is understanding the association between quilts and the lives of the women who made them. The old names assigned to quilt patterns show us some of the connection.

Unfortunately, research done on the earliest quilt pattern names and where they came from have not been very successful.

When I was learning to quilt, my teacher encouraged us to sign the back of the quilt with our name, who the quilt was being given to (if applicable), the date made, the city and the pattern name. It's wonderful to imagine that someday a historian might find that on a quilt I've made and be able to use that information. However, as you might expect, that information is rarely to be found on an old quilt that you might buy at an auction. I have a few, particularly my red work quilts, where the year was included, but that is all.

The first known quilt pattern published in an American magazine was a honeycomb pattern, now commonly known as Grandmother's Flower Garden, published in Godey's Lady's Book in 1835. Often when patterns were published, they were printed without a name and just simply featured as "patchwork". Imagine a magazine today printing a recipe for chocolate cake and calling it "Baking"!!!

Thankfully, the ambiguous pattern publishing issue cleared up by the 1880's and things were off and running for the next 50 years or so and by the 1920's to 1930's, there was a big quilt-making revival.

The Broken Dishes pattern, for which this blog is named, is a pattern that reflects home life along with Cake Stand, Basket, Attic Windows, Baby Blocks, Tumbling Blocks, Puss in the Corner, Chimney Sweep, Dove in the Window and Dresden Plate. You might have read the post about SO's quilt -- that is a Dresden Plate pattern.

I had always wanted a Broken Dishes patterned quilt -- so much so it's part of the reason for this blog's name. I finally scored one at a yard sale recently and to top it off, I paid only $5 for this sweet little crib quilt.



It was a little stained, but cleaned up nicely. It is sitting in my spare room where it doesn't quite go, but I haven't figured out a better spot yet.






I hope to either find one or make one some day that's a bit bigger!