Houses on Point

House quilts have been a favorite pattern for quilters since the 1880s. Many were made in just two colors such as red and white. Many variations of the pattern exist, regarding the size, number of doors, windows, chimneys and orientation.

Freddy Moran wanted to make a quilt with little houses. So she designed her own pattern by drawing a six-inch square and then drew a house in the square. She made one house block with no plan in mind and just kept making blocks until she thought she had enough. She also added a few tree blocks.

While house patterns are usually horizontal, Freddy decided to put her house blocks on point to add interest. Freddy could never be limited to just two colors for her quilt. She used many scraps for her houses in the bright colors for which she is known. All the chimneys are the same polka dot fabric and many of the fabrics have geometric designs. She set each block with a narrow strip of black and yellow striped fabric. This perfectly compliments the outside setting of triangles and the border made of small yellow squares with an interior border of a narrow strip of black fabric.

Techniques: Machine pieced and quilted
Culture: American
Geographic Location: North America
Credit Line: Gift of the Artist