I’ve never made a Tumbling Blocks quilt, but I understand a
bit about their construction. First, it requires a rhombus template (four equal
sides). Two opposing angles must be 60 degrees, and the other two are 120
degrees. Second, before you begin, the scraps to be used must be separated into
three piles: darks, lights and mediums. Careful placement of these three values
is what makes the blocks “tumble.” Third – and this is the chief reason why I’m
not likely to ever make one – Tumbling Blocks quilts are generally pieced and
quilted by hand. In Plymouth, Vermont, in the childhood home of our 30th
president, there is a Tumbling Block quilt pieced from hundreds of diamond-shaped
scraps of plaids, stripes and floral prints of all colors; a quilt made by
Calvin Coolidge WHEN HE WAS TEN YEARS OLD. If I ever begin thinking too much of
myself, you have my permission to remind me of this.
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