Civil War Quilt--Block Five

2023 update: I no longer have this pattern. It is still commercially available from the designer. Please do not ask me for the pattern; please go honor the creator and purchase a legal copy.

This block is called Crowned Cross.  It had A LOT of HST (half-square triangles)!  Not very fun to sew.  I do really like blocks that use them; I just wish I didn't have to make them. No pain, no gain?  I like the bottom one the best.


I've mentioned that this project has been hanging around in my stash for quite a while, and as I am trying to work through the blocks, I know why. There are no cutting measurements given.  There are photocopied drawings of templates and it's up to you to figure out the sizes if you don't want to do things old school.  I had some trial and error on getting the right size triangles cut for this block.  I kept thinking, "What's the finished size of this unit supposed to be?"

I taught myself to quilt around 20 years ago using a Leisure Arts book called something like Teach Yourself To Quilt or something equally obvious.  It did a really good job of teaching the basics (obviously), and it was all done with templates!  Trace the shapes from the book using template plastic, trace around the templates on your fabric, cut.  I had bought a rotary cutter and mat for my first quilt project and then barely used it unless I was cutting rectangles or strips.  Strip piecing was pretty rare.  

Thankfully, piecing and cutting methods have evolved quite a bit since then.  In the quilt guild I joined as a newlywed, there was debate on whether a machine-quilted quilt was even a real quilt.  Now it's really rare to see a hand-quilted one.  

As I work through these blocks, I can't help but think of how quilts were made during the Civil War.  Just think, the majority of them were done entirely by hand (and probably with templates too).

Block Eight

Here is block eight for the Fat Quarter Shop's 2013 Designer Mystery Block of the Month program.
Block Eight--"Heartfelt Home"
Designed by Polly Minick & Laurie Simpson
www.MinickAndSimpson.com

Civil War Quilt--Month Four

2023 update: I no longer have this pattern. It is still commercially available from the designer. Please do not ask me for the pattern; please go honor the creator and purchase a legal copy.

Here are the month four blocks from the Civil War quilt.  The block name is Brown Goose.  I am totally glad to have these done.  I am not a fan of these colors.  I am also not a fan of half square triangles and these blocks were made entirely of half square triangles.  Yuck.  I'm looking forward to doing month five because the colors are browns and pinks.

An Actual Finished Quilt!

I rarely manage to finish quilts anymore.  I have many completed tops, but I rarely get one quilted and bound.  I'm not that great at machine quilting and I find it difficult to manipulate anything larger than a crib size quilt on my home machine.   So I make the tops and store them in the hopes that some day I can afford a long arm machine. I did get this wall hanging done for my mom for Christmas.
It is the Schnibbles pattern Winter White by Miss Rosie's Quilt Co.  The fabric is Papillon by Moda.

Women's Voices--A Civil War Quilt

2023 update: I no longer have this pattern. It is still commercially available from the designer. Please do not ask me for the pattern; please go honor the creator and purchase a legal copy.

We have moved A LOT--13 addresses in 15 years.  When you move frequently, things get boxed up and, at least for us, tend to stay boxed up if they aren't immediately needed.  Much of my sewing stash falls into the not immediately needed category.  Now that we are in a house in which we hope to remain, I have been making an effort to go through all those boxes we've been toting around and sort them into keep, sell, and donate piles.  (As a side note, we will be having a GIANT yard sale this spring!)  I found a basket of goodies in a sewing room box that I estimate has been packed up for at least six or seven years.  In the very bottom of the box I found an entire block of the month quilt kit.  I had only completed the first two months when I packed it up.  Of course, since the whole thing was in there, I'd had it even longer and just never worked on it.  I think I bought it when my daughter was a toddler and she is now a tween.  Embarrassing.  

Anyway, the quilt is a queen or king size block of the month done in Civil War reproductions that I bought from Keepsake Quilting.  Each month you make two blocks--same pattern, same fabric just placed differently to vary the look a bit. Here is a picture of the pattern.


These are the first two sets of blocks.  I am cringing a little because they weren't very square.  At least my piecing skills have improved since this thing's been packed up!  
Month One--Patriotic Flags
Month Two--Underground Railroad
I made the month three blocks today.  Block three is called Coxey's Camp.


In an effort to stay motivated, I will continue to post the blocks here as I complete them.   Maybe I'll have a finished quilt top soon.  Notice I said top….finished quilts are another story.

Block Seven

Here is block seven for the Fat Quarter Shop's 2013 Designer Mystery Block of the Month program.
Block Seven - "Lemon Lodge"
Designed by Lisa Bongean
www.PrimitiveGatherings.us/Shop