Each month of this year I will be introducing a new block as well as the history behind the block. You may take this as an opportunity to build your own skills. Additionally, I encourage you to post your block creations either on our ACQ Community Facebook page or on Instagram using #ACQPresidentBlock2021. Each block you post will be entered into a monthly drawing for a fat quarter bundle. If you aren’t on social media – no problem, just send me an email with your photo (pond.jennifer@comcast.net). We will draw the winner at the next guild meeting, and you don’t need to be present to win (although we hope you will because we have a great line-up this year!). The winner of February’s block will be announced at the March meeting, and the March block at the April meeting.
This month’s block is Aunt Dinah. It can be made in both a 12 inch and 6 inch version. I am using the color green for my inspiration this month. And now, a little history about the block.
Quilt patterns reflected our country's agricultural society and the family's dependence on the crops they harvested, the fruit and vegetables they grew, and the foods they preserved. Up until 1920, most people lived on farms. Only 2% of the population resided in towns or cities.
Quilting allowed women to escape from the hard work, rigors, and drabness of their everyday routine. With seven or eight women gathered around the quilt frame, a quilting bee, offered an excellent way to socialize.
It was such a popular event that Stephen Foster, one of America's beloved songwriters, wrote a song about it:
“In the sky the bright stars glittered
On the banks, the pale moon shone,
And 'twas from Aunt Dinah's quilting party
I was seeing Nellie home.”
Originally published in 1940, the Aunt Dinah block is a take-off of the traditional corn and beans block.
Instructions for both a 12 inch and 6 inch versions of the block may be found at https://abyquilts.wordpress.com/sisters-bom-qal/ under the Sisters BOM – April link.