Rose Lea Alboum's compilation of a large array of illustrated quilt pattern indexes is a major research effort. Entire inventories of late nineteenth century and twentieth century quilt pattern publishing sources, some frequently numbering hundreds of quilt designs each, are recorded in Rose Lea's indexes. Although each index documents a single published source, the aggregate size of the total project is massive and comprehensive. Rose Lea's indexes constitute a notable contribution to quilt history." 

                                                                                                                         Cuesta Benberry

The American Legacy Quilt Index Series

In the very early 1970's, I subscribed to a new quilt magazine publication. Like most family endeavors, it had a certain folksy charm that appealed to me and I read each issue I received monthly from cover to cover. But more than interest in the articles, I became enamored with the quilt block illustrations. There were so many designs, and the wonderful quilt names that reflected eras in American history, that I was fascinated. I was also curious about the names that appeared with the quilt blocks, names like Kansas City Star, Nancy Cabot and Hearth and Home. I began collecting quilt patterns and quickly learned that it is an infectious occupation. The more information you acquire, the more you realize what is still out there to discover. As the years progressed, the file folders and three ring notebooks filled with vintage newsprint column offerings, catalogs, booklets, and copies obtained from friends or in trade. The burgeoning file cabinet drawers moaned and groaned under the weight of the constantly added ephemera. How does one organize this massive amount of information?

My goal was twofold: to reproduce the exact look of the blocks as they were originally published and to create a working resource of quilt block illustrations complete with name and accreditation, and to present to the readership, background material on the columnists, companies and individuals who dispensed quilt designs from their published newspapers, magazines and books during a certain period of time in individual booklets. As a guide, I studied three books, published in the 1980's that concentrated on quilt block illustrations. It was my intent to learn from these books of what I thought was a good presentation and what was not so desirable. I made the decision to designate an index for each company's offerings rather than use a classification system of block components into geometric shapes and/or patch units.

I decided that the Indexes would include offerings from the late 1800's through the decade of the nineteen thirties. And, when indicated, a foray into the 60's and 70's to include persons whose contributions were too great to ignore. The Legacy series consists of thirty four indexes with information drawn from the research of over one hundred and twenty resources, a Directory of Quilt Block Names, a recorded compilation of over twenty one thousand names of quilt blocks along with source, and a Quilting Designs Index. These indexes house the largest collection of quilt blocks offered to the American woman during the first half of the twentieth century. It is my hope that they will prove to be a working resource for quilters and serve as the backbone of quilt block identification for years to come.

Quilt Indexes

© 2006 Rose Lea Alboum