Block Holders Vintage and New

I shared with Hilda, (Every Stitch) I had a few block holders.  She suggested I share mine here.

The first one, I purchased from Hoopla (Here)
It is a super little travel set I highly recommend.

I used it when I was making Froncie's Calico Garden quilt many years ago.  I was traveling and it is a perfect take along.

It is small, at 7" square - perfect for a purse.




Many years ago my sit and sew group discussed larger block rolls. We thought someone taught a class in Houston around 1980?  Email me if you know I will update this post.

We challenged ourselves to go home and make a block roll and bring it the following month.

This is mine with obnoxious  the old ribbon ties on it.  When I got it out for this blog post, even Velma thought the ribbons were cat toys a bit much.

So I changed the ribbons out, and now I like it better.
The core (tube) is PVC pipe cut to length.  I cut mine to fit in my carry on roller bag - perfect for travel.  I chose a 2" diameter so it doesn't roll the blocks inside too tightly.

I covered the end of the tube with matching fabric.
You could use a mailing or blue print tube with a cap at the end.  Having access to the end of the tube provides additional storage.

I glued my fabric to the tube.  The raw edges were covered up by the quilted mat.

This photo shows the finished covered end.
Since I made it years ago I don't have WIP photos.

Flannel Cat Nap Block Holder

The inside of the holder is neutral flannel.
It is like making a small whole cloth quilt.
Measure block size, in my example 22"
   Add the circumference of the tube, in my example 7.5"
My finished and bound rectangle was 29.5"  I included the ribbon in the binding process, about 5" from the ends.
For quilting designs - I used stencils I already had and practiced some FMQ - remember, this project is about 12 years old. (?) 

When the tube ends are finished to your liking, and your 'mat' is finished, roll the mat around the tube/pipe.

Hand stitch the short edge of the binding to the inside flannel.

Variations from our group:  Pony tail holders for closures, shoulder strap, storage pockets along tube length and 'pages' inside the roll.
It was a fun project with lots of options to customize.

This is a vintage block holder I purchased.  I believe it was made as a teaching aid.

There are over 40 muslin pages.
Each page has at least one block basted to the page.
Hand inked on each page is 'their' name for each block.  In some cases multiple names are noted.

Most of the blocks are hand sewn and the newest fabric is circa 1890.  Most of the blocks are machine stitched to the muslin page.

Was the maker a quilt teacher?  Who and where did they teach?
A collector organizing research?  A quilter?
It is a nice stroll through some quilt history.  The maker added no dates, just block names.

Each page has a selvage edge folded over at the top - through that double layer a pair of brass rivets were added.

A pair of loose leaf bundle rings hold the pages together like a flip book.

A lot of effort - I think the block holder was designed to be durable and easy to add pages.

Do you have block holders?
     For storage?
     For  documenting spare/test blocks?
     For travel?

Have a great week!
Dawn

Other Block Holders
Book:  Baltimore Elegance Elly Sienkiewicz
Embroidered and Hand Quilted HERE
Three Ring Binders w Page Savers HERE
Hilda's Project HERE
Happy to add more - let me know!