Drunkard’s Path Quilt Square Oil Painting

This came out even better than I expected.

My mother lived with her grandparents as she grew up, and when she went away to college, her grandmother—whom we all called Mussie—made her a quilt to take with her.

The pattern is called “Drunkard’s Path,” and although this pattern has been around under various names for centuries, it was commonly used in the 1920s and 30s because of the temperance movement. I’ve read that blue and white was a popular color for these quilts during Prohibition, but blue and white were also the school colors at University of Kentucky, where my mother went to college.

I was born during my mother’s time at UK, and we used that quilt my entire growing up years, and I took it with me to college as well.

Eventually it got too worn to use any more, and my parents had the salvageable pieces made into teddy bears (which I thought was a marvelous idea).

So I’ve had in mind to paint that pattern. Barn quilts are beyond my shaky-hands ability (and I don’t have the space or the supplies, anyhow), but I decided I could definitely do a “home” quilt. I wanted the pattern to be clear, and have a hand-crafted, textured feeling.

I sketched the pattern in charcoal, which I knew would carry through the whites. The yellow underpainting gave the colors a warm feeling I really love. And I used several colors of white and cream as I worked.

Initially, I thought I might like a dark blue on my quilt square, but after dabbing on a color I made using Ultramarine, I shifted to a Cobalt, which I not only like much better, but it feels very close to the quilt colors I grew up with.

I love this particular piece so much that I prepped canvases for two more. I want to do a bunch of them! And I’d also like to try a canvas with 6 quilt squares on it, too.

Log cabin is definitely on my list of patterns to try next; that’s the quilt that some friends made for us during a very hard time in our lives, and we used it for 25 years, before my youngest son took it to his own home. It’s still going strong.

What quilt patterns did you grow up with, or come to love?

AND, do you think they would sell?

This one is 12″x12″, which was wonderful to work with. At my current $1.50/square inch, it would be $200.

EDITED TO ADD: Sold! 🙂

However, the canvases I have prepped for two more quilt squares are 8″x8″, which would be $100.

Let me know what you think.

Meanwhile, tell me your fave patterns!