The Turtle Quilt

by Patricia L. Cummings

photos shared by Julie Liebendorfer

Initially, the Outline Stitched, Turtle Quilt, in question, blocks from which are seen below, had been described to me as having been purchased on eBay as "a 1930s quilt." I had never seen this particular set of designs before but thought they resembled the 1930s "Murtle Turtle" motifs a great deal. I began asking others who are interested in quilt history if they had seen the designs.

Television Rabbit Ears Helps to Date Block

That led to a detailed discussion of when televisions were first available and the fact that the TV, seen on one of the blocks, has an antenna, a feature not available until after WWII.

Ultimately, someone found an ad on eBay for the same designs. The seller stated that a textile product the Tri-Chem company features these same turtle motifs, and they could either be colored, presumably with their product, or they could be embroidered. The date? 1982. Mystery solved?

Update

Addition to this article: On August 13, 2007, Julie Liebendorfer alerted me to another auction on eBay for a pattern for this same turtle quilt. Apparently, the quilt was sold as Wonder Art set of 12, 9" x 9", 100% cotton quilt blocks, article #1285, and offered by Fixler Bros. Inc., Chicago. Unfortunately, the instruction packet did not provide a date.

See the Quilt Blocks Below

The following photos are close-ups of the baby quilt that was purchased by Julie Liebendorfer. After reading my turtle story, she decided to send pictures of the turtle blocks in that quilt.

Embroidered turtle playing baseball, and turtle watching TV

If you read Julie's story about her son naming his pet turtle for a baseball star, then you will realize how significant are the two blocks above.

Embroidered turtle on a scooter

The scooter brought back vivid memories for me. No motorized mopeds for this kid, and/or turtle!

Embroidered turtle doing math

Time to put on a thinking cap and tackle those math problems!

turtle fishing

"Laid back" turtle, fishing.

turtle painting a fence

How do we paint a fence? One stroke at a time!

turtle playing piano

"Practice makes perfect."

turtle in the bathtub, taking a shower

Turtle "shower."

Thanks to Julie Liebendorfer for sharing these wonderful and fun turtle images, and thanks to the members of the Quilt History list for their help in tracking down the source of these delightful blocks.

To read a story about a turtle that I wrote on 4/17/07, and to enjoy an additional turtle story shared by Julie, click on the link below:

The Turtle: A True Story