It's Flag Day

Document & Reproduction: Civil War Anthem

The document print is the original print on which a reproduction is based. One of my favorite places to find old prints is in quilt tops that have been ruined by some well-meaning quilter. I don't have any regrets about taking the tops apart. The worst was a top someone had repaired with a hot melt glue gun---lots of plastic glue.

In another badly handled old top pictured here I found the flag print copied for Civil War Anthem, a Moda reproduction collection Terry Thompson and I did several years ago. The document print is in blue and white at the top. The reproduction is the monochrome print below it.

To the right is the piece I took the original print out of. Somebody in the 1960s or 1970s decided to quilt this top from the 1830-1850 era. She used a yellow wool blanket for batting and backed it with a bright blue floral calico. She fortunately gave up before shredding all the old fabrics. When the top came into my hands I removed all the quilting and tossed out the thick blanket and fading 20th-century print. I've saved the old pieces and they've been the source for several reproduction prints.

Don't forget to put out your flag today!