$749.00
Measures 101″ wide x 112″ long.
The Tumbling Blocks quilt is one of the earliest quilt patterns, featuring geometric forms of light and dark that tumble across the quilt. The design is cleverly constructed to appear three-dimensional. This quilt, with its varied colors and fabrics, is reminiscent of colonial times when housewives saved every scrap of fabric that came into their homes and then used those scraps to make quilts.
The Tumbling Blocks quilt design has become popular here in “Amish Country.” This handmade quilt with a scalloped border is all hand-quilted by Mrs. Frances H. Swartzentruber to insure uniform stitches.
The Tumbling Blocks Quilt fits a queen-size bed with a 20-inch drop.
Homemade quilts combine the warmth of a bed cover with a unique story told by the quilters from Lancaster County, PA. Every homemade quilt is as unique as the family, busy mother or Amish ladies group who uses a needle and thimble to thread stitch on the quilt. Some quilts involve hundreds of hours and thousands of stitches to create a unique patchwork quilt that will last for generations.
When you peruse our HOMEMADE QUILTS you are shopping for an item that tells a story and adds meaning to your bedroom! Discover more about our unique patchwork quilts and the stories behind them…
We have a lot of quilts! Want to see a gallery of the major patterns? Checkout our Common Amish Quilt Patterns.
The optical illusion of the tumbling blocks pattern has been used as far back as ancient Greece and Renaissance Europe in tiling floors or weaving fabric. Quilters at least as far back as the 19th century picked up the template and learned how to incorporate it into lovely bedspreads. It has been popular in America since the 1850s.
Oral history about the tumbling blocks quilts suggest the pattern may have been used on the Underground Railroad, Jacqueline Tobin and Raymond Dobard found. They write that this pattern, also known as the tumbling boxes pattern, may have signaled to slaves when it was time to pack up their boxes and move on. While historians debate the claim, it’s intriguing to think this homespun art may have been part of bringing freedom.
We also know that at least two American presidents, Calvin Coolidge and Dwight Eisenhower, sewed tumbling blocks quilts when they were young boys. While they may not have counted these among their finest deeds, the discipline they developed in stitching this demanding pattern no doubt served them well later!
Family Farm Handcrafts uses almost 200 Mennonite and also Amish ladies to produce quilts for our shop.