Many newspapers offered quilt patterns, often inspired by so-called colonial quilts, in syndicated columns written by designers (or their pseudonyms), allowing readers to mail order or simply copy a wealth of  patterns. Among the many quilt patterns published and sold through newspaper columns, Laura Wheeler designs were particularly popular because they encouraged the creative use of scraps, that making a quilt in an economical way was desirable. The text accompanying this pattern explicitly linked it to colonial romance, reading, “Handed down from colonial days, the Friendship Fan, made of scraps continues all its old-time popularity."  In the quilt patterns published through the 1930s, the values perceived to be embedded in the act of quiltmaking thrived.