A LIGHT EXISTS IN SPRING
by Emily Dickinson (Stz. 1-2)
A Light exists in Spring
Not present on the Year
At any other period —
When March is scarcely here.
A Color stands abroad
On Solitary Fields
That Science cannot overtake
But Human Nature feels.
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Quilt Notes: We don't need to wait till spring to enjoy this quilt — new beginnings and spring-like experiences happen all the time. But there can be no first signs of spring more delightful than all those bright new colors suddenly dotting the landscape — the vibrant greening especially to begin with in late March, and then the floral yellows, pinks or magenta, bursting forth in April. And there is a strong geometric resemblance of the opening of tulips (see illustration upper left), here viewed from above, with stamen in the center, and sides of the petals cupped inward.
The SIGNS OF SPRING block first appeared in print in the Silver Anniversary issue of "Farm Journal and Farmer's Wife," 1945, according to Jinny Beyer's QUILTER'S ALBUM OF PATCHWORK PATTERNS, p.82-1. Barbara Brackman's ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PIECED QUILT PATTERNS includes the design (#2499) in her blocks with "specific construction." Maggie Malone's 5,500 QUILT BLOCK DESIGNS lists the pattern as a four-patch, p.156, #2132. The four-point star with a square in the center, all by itself, dates back to the THE STAR OF ALAMO, published in the Kansas City Star, 1941 (see Brackman, #2609).
For design content related to flower gardens or the "signs of spring," compare at this site with:
FLOWERING NINE PATCH
JAPANESE FLOWER
DRUNKARD'S GARDEN
BUTTERFLY IN THE GARDEN
GREEN RIVER
HAZY DAZY
FRESH START
DOVE
BUTTERFLY IN CIRCLES
FORMAL GARDEN
LOVE IN A MIST
DOVES IN THE WINDOW
ENTERTAINING MOTIONS for patterns combined with musings by Emily Dickinson, Japanese women poets, and other short-form poetry.
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SIGNS OF SPRING
