8.12.2007

nursery rhyme patterns

After showing you those cute redwork nursery rhyme blocks a few days ago I've had several queries about whether I embroidered them myself or could offer the patterns along with the others on my website. First off, I bought them already completed on Ebay a couple of years ago and I only have four. I've always suspected there were more in the set and that's why I didn't trace them for patterns like I usually do. I try to always offer a complete set and, in fact, have several partially complete sets of patterns that I'm waiting to find the missing pieces for.

Rhyme Land Quilt

The pattern is called Rhyme Land Quilt, was designed by Ruby Short McKim, and was originally printed in the Free Press Prairie Farmer newspaper in 1935. There are 28 blocks—See Saw Margery Daw, Humpty Dumpty, Mother Goose, Wee Willie Winkie, Barber Shave, Rock A Bye Baby, Banbury Cross, Bo Peep, Tom The Piper's Son, Hey Diddle Diddle, Bobby Shafto, Mary and Her Lamb, Rain Go Away, Polly Kettle, Boy Blue, Curly Locks, Mother Hubbard, Miss Muffet, Simple Simon, Tommy Tucker, Jack Be Nimble, 'Bye Baby Bunting, Old King Cole, Queen of Hearts, Peter's Wife, Twinkle Star, Lucy Locket, Jack Fell Down. Here’s a web page that shows all the designs, many on their original newspaper pages.

You can sometimes find copies of the pattern on Ebay and one of my readers notified me that the link I originally listed here is no longer active. So, I did a little googling and found several options for purchasing this pattern. If you don't mind buying from a Canadian seller, you can use this listing on Ebay Canada.

You can purchase them in book form with original published text, instructions, and illustrations and remastered patterns for $20 here at the McKim Studios web site. You want item #QS207.

Also available at Dottie Mae's Costumes for $11.95. She provides a pdf order form that you'll need to fax or mail. She also has reprints of the complete set of Kansas City Star quilt patterns published from 1928 to 1961 and lots of books of redwork and applique patterns published in the 20s and 30s.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad to hear someone else shares my not entirely irrational hatred of machine embroidery.

Saw a lovely redwork alphabet quilt at a fair in Kansas where I was entertaining last week.

The letters were worked in chain stitches and the outline stitch seemed to be worked in a single thread.

janet said...

I think if you're really into embroidery the process is just as important as the finished result. With machine embroidery you get the finished result without putting much effort into it. Or getting any of the benefits - like that sense of having accomplished something creative with your own hands.

Anonymous said...

thanks for the links!! What a treasure trove that could be. I'm not much for quilting, but I could use those patterns for all sorts of things!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the link. I bought the patterns and got lost in the Ruby Short McKim web page. I see an embroidered quilt in my future.