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Horoscope Quilt - Pattern No. 40

August 03, 1933
Detroit News Quilt History Project; Michigan State University Museum; Harriet Clarke
Detroit, Michigan, United States
A pattern leaflet for the jupiter, neptune, uranus or heschel border quilt block. This is the fortieth in a series of pattern leaflets for The Horoscope Quilt.
Reprint From
The Detroit News
Horoscope Quilt - Pattern No. 40
moon, earth, saturn, venus, mars, mercury


By Edith B. Crumb.

The diamonds and squares should by now all be marked on your Horoscope quilt. This should be done lightly, with a sharp pencil. By figuring spaces and then placing a straight piece of cardboards or a steel rule on the cloth, it is possible to get even spacing and straight lines. Remember, you must not use an old wooden yard stick for it usually will be found warped and curved in the center. This throws everything askew when squares and diamonds are made.

The signs which are given today are the symbols representing the planets. The quilt body has the stars in their courses.

The blue respresents the sky. But in the firmament are other heavenly bodies - the planets.

Earth Represented.
There is the earth represented by a broken circle. Do not think that the artist has made a mistake in drawing that symbol, and do not complete the circle.

Then there is the moon, a slim crescent. Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Mercury, Neptune, Uranus and Saturn, gods and goddesses famous in mythological lore, are the names of the planets. But the names are not transferred or quilted. In preparing these designs for stenciling, note that the lines extend closely parallel, and then come small or short breaks where there is no line. The finished quilt symbol is not broken this way.

The artist drew them in this fashion so that you could use the design as a stencil. Transfer each design to a small square of cardboard. With sharp shears, cut out the narrow slots as indicated by the parallel lines. The dotted lines are left unslotted so that the pattern will hold together. In other words, those breaks represent the binding pieces left in all stencil designs.

After the designs are cut, lay the piece of cardboard onto the three-inch strip and, using a sharp pencil point, draw lightly in the slotted space.

Symbol Arrangement.
Arrange the symbols as deemed best. Do not leave too much space between symbols, for unquilted space looks badly when the quilt is taken from the frame.

I would also suggest that you quilt small stars here and there in the empty spaces. Do not feel that all the symbols of the planet must be used the same number of times, nor in any regular order. Just put them in to fill the space acceptabley. Bind with a narrow strip of blue after removing from the frames.

Don't you think this quilt is attractive enough for an heirloom?

The Daily Horoscope is a fascinating feature which appears every day on the Women's Pages of The Detroit News - The Home Newspaper
1162-8-3-33

Courtesy of The Detroit News Archives.
6119.81.46

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