In addition to instructions for assembling the blocks, the manual included an introductory essay and charming descriptions of each pattern’s origin, echoing Ruth Finley’s emphasis on the olden days— even if most of these quilts were in fact misdated by decades—placing them after the end of the colonial era as a source of inspiration for the present. This pattern name, “Mrs. Cleveland’s Choice,” evokes the romanticized version of American history that Finley promoted.