Ruby McKim and Her Work
by Patricia Cummings
photos and images processed by James Cummings
This file is prompted by a reader's question regarding where to obtain copies of the designs in the "Quaddy Quiltie/Bedtime Quilt Book." The person who asked the question thought that Thorton Burgess designed the embroidery. No! He is the author of a children's book upon which the animal characters are based.
Ruby Short McKim (1891-1976) is responsible for drawing the angular illustrations for that particular quilt. As a school teacher, she taught embroidery to her fifth grade students and thought they would have an easier time in embroidering short, straight lines. To see a photo of an antique "Quaddy Quiltie" quilt, please visit the Bluework quilt that is owned by Sandra Munsey, and featured in my file about Bluework History.
Early Twentieth Century Designer
The name "Ruby Short McKim" is a very familiar one to quilt historians. She has been a beloved figure in the quilt world whose pattern designs for embroidery charmed many, and were published in the Kansas City Star and then in syndicated columns in Sunday papers. Her book, One Hundred and One Patchwork Patterns, is still in print today, and includes both traditional blocks and some of her own designs. She was a woman of skill, an artist, a business woman, and a mother.
Ruby's granddaughter and family are attempting to keep her memory alive. They have called for old newspaper clippings of her published patterns and have been successfully at establishing a permanent archive of Ruby McKim ephemera. Posthumously, Ruby Short McKim was inducted into the Quilter's Hall of Fame. There is a more complete biography of Ruby, online, at: http://www.mckimstudios.com/02bio/bio.shtml
Mrs. McKim is responsible for the creation of many recognizable patterns still being made into quilts. When a friend of mine brought over loose antique quilt blocks, at the time, I did not recognize them for what they were. I did ask if I could copy them and make a quilt. Later, I found that I had re-created Ruby McKim's "Colonial History" quilt.
Redwork Quilt made by Patricia Cummings and given to her niece, Amy, to use in the classroom. Each printed block of Ruby McKim's designs tell the story of "Colonial History."
McKim Designs Published in Many Places
The Register and Tribune in Des Moines, Iowa printed designs from a series that McKim called "Bird Life or Audubon Quilt." The Commercial News, Danville, Illinois published the same series beginning November 16, 1930 and into 1931.
Plain Dealer presented a series of patterns called "Farm Life" quilt. As is true of other pattern series, each drawn image has information about the block underneath the image.
For example, "No. 9, Pig in the Sty" says:
Pigs in their natural habitat are not so alluringly artistic as some of our other farm friends, but somebody remarked of our piggy here that he looked as appetizing as broiling bacon smelled!
So we'll welcome him into our quilt series via carbon paper to cloth, and embroider him in gray and black with red dot nostrils. The fence is tan and brown with the darker color always used on under parts, and the lighter on top where light would strike.
If you have missed any of the first eight blocks, they can be supplied at 10 cents each by calling at Room 516, Plain Dealer, or sending stamped, self-addressed envelope and the money.
Estimates of the amount of thread needed or the material required for different sized beds will be furnished free, as will any other special information you may seek.
Friendliness A Plus
As you can see from the lines above, written by Ruby McKim, she sought to have a familiar, friendly tone with the public, and offered to answer any special needs or concerns, if asked.
Scan of newspaper cut out sent to me by the late Virginia Butler.
One of two twin antique quilts with Ruby McKim flower designs.
There is much more to say about Ruby McKim, her life, and all of her work. Jill Sutton Filo, has written much about Ruby's life, including a research paper that she presented at the American Quilt Study Group Seminar in 1998. At the present time, Ms. Filo has two McKim books available on amazon.com: Roly Poly Circus Quilt, first published by The Daily Oklahoman, Sunday edition, Oklahoma City, 1924; and Toy Shop Window Quilt. Please see right side bar for ordering information for those books, and also for One Hundred and One Patchwork Patterns. Thanks!
Whether Ruby Short McKim was designing the "Three Little Pigs Quilt" or the "Our State Flowers Quilt" or the very fun "Rhymeland Quilt," it is clear that she was having fun! Abundantly clear is the fact that she loved children but that her work delighted the child in all of us, and continues to do so.
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Many thanks to Louise A. Tiemann for sharing some photocopies of some of McKim's published series, in exchange for a copy of my last book, Redwork Embroidery and Needlework Traditions in Europe and America, now out of print, BUT free to read on this website.
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Copyright 2008. Patricia Cummings, Quilter's Muse Publications, Concord, NH, 03301. Questions? Comments? Please write to me at: pat@quiltersmuse.com