Civil War Quilts

2011 is the anniversary of the beginning of the American Civil War. 150 years ago today people were apprehensive about the New Year, waiting to see if any other Southern states would join South Carolina in seceding from the Union, waiting to see if the newly elected President Lincoln would let them go.

Underground Railroad

Over the past twenty years I've written a lot about quilts and the Civil War and also written a good deal of Civil War history using quilts to tell the story. In honor of this anniversary I thought I'd start a separate blog called Civil War Quilts, taking stories and patterns from all the books and block-of the-month patterns I've done. View the new blog by clicking here:
http://civilwarquilts.blogspot.com/

North Star

The blocks will be traditional, adapted from antique blocks and newly designed. I'll include reproductions and symbolic blocks. The patterns will recall Union and the Confederate stories. I'll pattern the blocks to finish to 8" and give one a week on Saturdays during 2011.

If you make them all you'll have 52. Add four repeating corner blocks and you'll have 56. A layout of 7 blocks by 8 with a 2-inch sashing will give you a quilt that is 72" wide by 72" [oops 82"] without the border.

I'll still keep up this Material Culture blog, but I will be posting a bit less often, every three days instead of every two. There's lots of other quilt history to write about, but the Civil War has an enduring fascination. I'll enjoy revisiting stories and patterns from previous books and block-of-the-month series.

There will be true tales of people with each block, some of them well-known and others not-so-famous.

I'll link the blog to my next collection of Moda reproduction fabric called Civil War Reunion.

The fabric collection is scheduled for February delivery to quilt shops, and the precuts should be in your quilt shop very soon. Click here to see a PDF file about it:
http://www.unitednotions.com/fcc_Civil_War_Reunion.pdf

I'll use many primary resources, recording the words of Americans who lived at the time from their diaries, letters and memoirs.

Kansas Troubles by Karla Menaugh

There will be period photos, many from the Library of Congress.

A blog is a great format for photos, history and patchwork patterns.

I hope you'll read it.