Ruby Short McKim's Roly Poly Circus Quilt - Softcover

Filo, Jill Sutton

9780967019703: Ruby Short McKim's Roly Poly Circus Quilt

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0967019702 ISBN 13: 9780967019703

Publisher: Charlottes Pr, 1998

This 75th anniversary celebration of Roly Poly Circus Quilt exemplifies the timeless appeal of quilt patterns by Ruby Short McKim, a Depression Era quilt designer, entrepreneur, and author of the 1931 classic, One Hundred and One Patchwork Patterns which is reprinted today. McKim's endless list of classic quilt patterns continue to charm modern quilters, and these 1923 Roly Poly Circus animals enjoy the spotlight once again, including an episode on HGTV's Simply Quilts (#435).

Whimsical animals roll across quilt blocks designed for embroidery (such as redwork), fusible appliqu, or crayon craft. All ages enjoy making and receiving Roly Poly quilts and other projects decorated with curving creatures of circus fame which include a tiger, elephant, and kangaroo, too.

Twenty circular animal friends comfortably fit 8" or 9" squares, similar to the popular Penny Squares. Full-sized and miniature patterns are included in this easy-to-use spiral-bound paperback along with instructions for a vintage child's quilt that is framed with distinctive prairie points.

Quilt historian Jill Sutton Filo offers her first tribute to Ruby Short McKim. The 93 page Roly Poly Circus Quilt book's historic chapters unveil a biographic overview of McKim, the internationally known quilt designer, as well as outlines the pattern's publication history, and offers a glimpse of redwork and embroidery quilt history. Combined with playful patterns, the author's extensive and thorough research blends with the McKim family contributions to present a refreshing and informative portrait of a powerful influence on today's quilt world, Ruby Short McKim.

Roly Poly Circus Quilt, a premier self-publishing adventure, details the life and work of America's powerhouse of quilt designs, Ruby Short McKim, in a user-friendly presentation. As a quilter herself, the author/publisher focused on the book's format, a prime concern because many pattern books are cumbersome and awkward to handle. Roly Poly Circus Quilt is an accommodating spiral-bound 7"x 8 " paperback which is easy to use when tracing designs and lays flat when reading instructions, a perfect instructional companion. If the patterns are traced on a light table, no confusing lines are printed on the reverse of the page, just a miniature design of a different animal neatly tucked into the corner of the page. Also, each pattern sports center lines for accuracy in placement and tracing. Because of its considerate format and rare content, beginner and seasoned quilters alike will enjoy this enlightening comfortable presentation.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

From the Back Cover:

Jill Sutton Filo's Roly Poly Circus Quilt book introduces the 75th anniversary edition of re-drafted patterns originally designed by Ruby Short McKim, a well-known Depression Era quilt designer, artist, , and author of 101 Patchwork Patterns. Jill, also and artist, blends technique, full-size and mini patterns with her historical research for a variety of entertaining projects.

Through frequent communication and visiting with Ruby's descendants, Jill continues gathering personal insight about this effervescent lady, Ruby Short McKim. Jill shares a portion of her "Ruby-Quest," an ongoing and challenging cross-country adventure which reveals an honest portrait. She believes that Ruby deserves overdue recognition for contributing nearly a quarter century to designing, syndicating, and documenting our American quilt heritage. From 1916 to the late 1930s, Ruby ignited the wild-fire craze that birthed the colorful Depression Era and redwork quilts we admire and collect today.

The Roly Poly Circus Quilt is fun for children and the young at heart. Enjoy recreating a bit of history. Put a smile on a loved one's face with a jolly Roly Poly.

Page 3: "The Roly Poly Circus Quilt is a refreshing adventure. Twenty jolly animals snuggle into circular shapes and fit comfortably into quilt blocks. Ruby Short McKim....designed these whimsical characters from her childhood and life-long love of the circus. Ruby's granddaughter excitedly recalled their annual circus excursion... and the young troop was cheerfully... chaperoned by smiling grandparents, Arthur and Ruby McKim."

Page 9: "Ruby Short McKim's quilt pattern business blossomed during the early 1920s. Roly Poly Circus Quilt became her fifth embroidery quilt series syndicated in newspapers nationwide.....(By 1928) Ruby began her series of home-beautifying articles with another Meredith publication, Better Homes and Gardens, which helped to skyrocket her mail-order enterprise."

Page 23: "Vintage Roly Poly Circus Quilts appear in assorted sizes and shapes. A common layout is similar to Ruby Short McKim's original completed quilt illustration with plain sashing and border. Other quilts that I have documented differed in many ways including embroidery color and style, sashing and border treatments as well as fabric choices and number of embroidered blocks.

"Some Roly Poly Circus Quilt animals were embroidered onto plain cotton flour sacks or muslin. Occasionally, the maker chose to stitch and entire blue embroidery quilt while another used an assortment of colors to create a more realistic menagerie. Many quilts are sewn embroidery block to block, without sashing, or have alternating plain white blocks. Sometimes a fine print is incorporated into the sashing and or backing.

"A few years ago, I found a Roly Poly Circus Quilt and could not resist this well-loved beauty. Although its embroidered blocks were tired, I thought this Roly Poly Circus Quilt needed a good home. Its timely prairie points, double border, and pieced backing called to me. Now, I share my treasure with you."

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