Marian Langhus, November 17, 2023
Such a mess; Why would a novice try such a difficult quilt?
A wrinkled quilt top; it came to me as part of a quilt top buying spree, I knew it had problems but perhaps someone, like my sister would value its 1920s or 1930s background and take it apart and redo. She has done that sort of thing before but our mother had made her a type of red and white Drunkard’s Path and she had no desire to tackle another.
What was I thinking? The top was not even square at the corners. It was puckered with wrinkles sewed in. Hand stitched and machine stitched both! Upon closer examination, one of the whites was too fragile to make a proper seam and had to be pulled together in some places. One red was more purplish than another.
As a top, it served one Christmas as a head board cover at our Bed and Breakfast. It garnished some interest but no one wanted to do the work it would take to make it into a small quilt.
After six years in my collection of tops, it achieved a “Cinderella Story” of its own. I wanted red and white decor for my front porch, I went through my “stash”, I am not a hoarder, nothing could be further from the truth. I was looking for a tartan but they proved too dark and I remembered the Drunkard’s Path red and white quilt top. A quick trial throw over the chairs and a walk out to the lane clinched the selection!
I laid the quilt top out on the table and cushions almost made themselves, cut easily into three strips that sewed together just fine!
The puckers, the sewed in wrinkles, the different colors of fabric made no difference as they snuggled around the cushion forms (recycled from a different time). The blocks of slightly different sizes and unaligned points did not matter.
As I came to learn about the history and lore of the Drunkard’s Path, my abhorrence of the poorly made quilt faded. Who was I to think and say such things? I look for made-up stories that soften my outlook.
Why, indeed, would someone undertake such a difficult challenge? Maybe it was started as a young, impetuous, bride- to-be that left it in her frustration and for her mom to finish.
The use of hand sewing and machine sewing, the pieces not critically cut, the points not matching indicate it was made by two people; a mother in her ailing years with a hurried daughter finishing it possibly.
The Drunkard’s Path design was popular in the 1920s and 1930s but a variation of the design goes back to Roman times. The red and white pattern’s popularity gave way to blue and white as part of the lore of prohibition with the colors urging sobriety.
Looking at my new, front porch decor, I apologize for just thinking this was a poorly made quilt top with the reasons for its origins unknown. Who ever made this may be 100 years ago, I praise you for your efforts and I hope you are appreciated in times ahead!
Lang House Quilts 