Jane A. Stickle Quilt, 1863 (detail),
triline 9-patch (4th row down center)
Bennington Museum
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Quilt Notes: The unusual three stripe square or diamond motif in this block (compare with the Stickle Quilt triline illustrated left) may account for its name, CHUCK-A-LUCK, that is, a gambling game, according to the dictionary, where "players bet on the possible combinations of three thrown dice." CHUCK-A-LUCK debuted in print in Nancy Cabot's column on March 29, 1937: her headline reads "Quilt Possesses a Fanciful Title and Great Beauty," pointing to its unexpected elegance. It is a fairly simple four-patch block, but with a vague allusion to LOG CABIN designs, because of the long rectangles. Brackman's ENCYCLOPEDIA (#1174) includes an interesting pictorial reference to a pattern named alternately AT THE DEPOT or RAILROAD CROSSING (#2779). Judy Rehmel's QUILT I.D. BOOK offers eight different block illustrations with tri-line corners (pg. 209), including a couple of autograph quilts.
Quilt designs themselves are often thought of as puzzles, and there are many references to popular games or forms of play in the traditional naming of the designs. For more games and/or children's patchwork at this site, see: TANGRAM QUILT DESIGNS (opens in new window), also:
CHILDREN'S DELIGHT
DOMINO AND SQUARES
GIRL'S JOY
FLYING SAUCER
HOPSCOTCH
PUSS IN THE CORNER
DOODLE-A_QUILT
MERRY-GO-ROUND
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CHUCK-A-LUCK BLOCK
