QUILTS & FABRIC: PAST & PRESENT


Thursday, January 6, 2011

Civil War Reunion


To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War Moda and I have a new reproduction collection called Civil War Reunion. The precuts packages ---Jelly Rolls and Charm Packs are in the shops now and the yardage should be shipped in February.



I named it Civil War Reunion because I wanted to focus on the way the War is remembered and how this country reconciled North and South, an effort that began the day the war ended.

A program honoring Confederate veterans about 1910
The photographs are from the Library of Congress.

Union Veterans Parade

The prints are named for veterans' groups and the women's associations who shaped the way we remember the War 150 years later. These groups established Decoration Day in May to honor the Union and Confederate soldiers who gave their lives in the war. (We now call it Memorial Day.)


Decoration Day or Memorial Day at the end of May
asked Americans to decorate the soldiers' graves.

Women's groups established "Old Soldier's Homes" and memorial sculptures in public squares. The Women's Relief Corps stitched quilts and needlework to raise funds for cemeteries and aid for widows and orphans.







The Blue and the Gray at a Reunion in Gettysburg

Late in the century "Blue & Gray Reunions" brought beribboned veterans from both armies together in enormous encampments that gradually dwindled until the last old soldiers died in the 1950s.


Prints in the Civil War Reunion collection range from mid-century to the 1890s.

I'll be posting patterns and information over the next few weeks. And do check my Civil War Quilts Blog for a weekly pattern that would be perfect for these prints.

10 comments:

  1. I ordered some of the Civil War Reunion line for my shop (in Belgium) and can hardly wait for it to get here - already have something in mind.

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  2. GREAT post and lovely fabrics. What does G.A.R. mean?

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  3. Decoration Day. I'd forgotten that term - my grandmother (b. 1885) used that term when I was a child. thanks for the memory.
    Beverly in Ohio

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  4. G.A.R. Grand Army of the Republic

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  5. It was still called Decoration Day when I was young. I didn't think I was that old.

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  6. I love the prints and the colors, gorgeous.
    I will definitely have to get some of that for my stash.

    Debbie

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  7. I love this! I am relatively new to quilting, but this really struck me. I have 40 Civil War letters that my gg-grandfather wrote to his wife during the war. 2 of my other gg-grandfathers were also Union veterans. I would love to make a Civil War quilt in commemoration of the 150th anniversary in their honor AND somehow incorporate their names into the quilt. Thank you so much for the inspiration! As a history buff, this is just down my alley!

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  8. Another gorgeous line of fabrics I have to own! I love this blog. Are the pictures of the Civil War memorabilia from your personal collection?

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  9. Thanks for the great collection. The Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) was a fraternal organization founded by Union soldiers after the Civil War. Before the death of the last member, they passed their Congressional charter to the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War http://suvcw.org/suv.htm, which continues today with headquarters in Harrisburg PA. The ladies organizations consist of four allied orders: www.asuvcw.org, www.duvcw.org, www.suvcw.org/WRC and www.suvcw.org/LGAR

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