Sunday, January 16, 2011

Atkinson Designs: Four Square Farmhouse

When I originally wrote about Terry Atkinson’s “Four Square Farmhouse” pattern, I considered the beautiful simplicity of the quilt pattern, and the stunning batik color combination.

foursquarefarmhouse1

To be honest, I didn’t think much about the pattern name.  Until today.

Terry writes on the back of her pattern,

“Four square farmhouses, often called “Cornbelt Cubes”, became popular in America when a “Square Deal” was offered by president Teddy Roosevelt.  These homes had simple, pleasing proportions- four main rooms on each floor, set two rooms deep by two rooms wide.  These same dependable proportions are used in the “Four Square Farmhouse” block.

A quick search of “Google Images” turned up the following images:

foursquare1   foursquare4

foursquare6 foursquare2

And a very interesting article, found here.

Hmmm.. now I get it!  I didn’t know homes of that style were called foursquares.  If I remember to pay attention,  Terry Atkinson always teaches me something.  

And, then there’s Rose’s beautiful new quilt.

foursquarefarmhousecup

Start with a stack of beautiful batiks.  Carefully chosen to vary in color and value, with a pleasing mixture of marbles and prints. Use contrasting pairs to highlight the beauty of every fabric.

The result?

foursquarefarmhouse3

Simply beautiful.

Four-Square Farmhouse patterns and kits can be found at Dakota Cabin Quilts, by clicking here.

3 comments:

  1. One of the floor plans in your post looked familiar... we lived in a home similar years ago in Emporia, Kansas. Looking a bit closer, I found our exact floor plan... The Gladstone Sears & Roebuck kit from 1936. The house has fantastic bones, probably why they're still around today. Thanks so much for the post. I don't think I would have know otherwise. Wow!

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  2. Here's a link to the actual house and floor plan we owned...
    http://www.antiquehomestyle.com/plans/sears/1936sears/36sears-gladstone.htm

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  3. Wow! That is most amazing. I read that many of those homes are still around today. Quite remarkable, when you think about it. ~ Laura

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