Cross Roads quilt block, Carrie A. Hall

Between 1900 and 1935, Kansas-based quilt maker and historian Carrie A. Hall created more than 800 different quilt blocks modeled after every known American patchwork pattern. With fellow quilter Rose Kretsinger, Hall published these historic patterns in her influential book “The Romance of the Patchwork Quilt in America” (1935). Quilters could copy the sample blocks included in Hall’s anthology and replicate them to create a larger design. For example, when repeated, the Cross Roads quilt block forms a rhythmic design of circles and overlapping diamonds. The bold pattern of this and other works chronicled by Hall continue to offer creative inspiration for modern quilters and a living archive of American craft traditions.