Dorothy, worried about what the future holds for her family, opens the door to an unexpected visitor.
It continues to surprise me what an important role jobs play in this story. All of our quilters find themselves working, either part-time or full-time, often in jobs they never could have imagined themselves in. That fact is, that while the unemployment rate was extraordinarily high during this time (25 percent in 1933), a quarter of all women worked. They found jobs as housekeepers, cooks, beauticians, secretaries, teachers and nurses. Some women worked in industry, but faced discrimination and were paid less than men.
I realized the other day that although I’ve mentioned that Bess is working on a Kaleidoscope quilt, I’ve never posted a picture of one. Searching on Pinterest, I found this beautiful antique quilt to share with you:
I wish I had more information. It was pinned from eBay onto a Pinterest board, and you can no longer link back to the original page (the auction must have closed). Supposedly it was made in the 1880s, but I can’t swear to it. If you can, let me know!
There are several Kaleidoscope tutorials online, if you’re interested in giving one a try, here’s a fairly in-depth video you can take a look at:
If you want to go old school, there’s always Ruby McKim:
From Ruby’s notes–“Material Estimate: The quilt contains 168 six-inch blocks, set together 12 blocks wide and 14 blocks long, making a quilt about 72 by 84 inches. You will need 2 1/2 yards of light material, 2 1/2 yards of dark and 4 1/2 yards of white, a total of 9 1/2 yards.”
Have at it, girls! See you next week!
