War & Piecing 1812-2012

Hewson panel

from Andover Fabrics

You may not have realized this but 2012 is the 200th Anniversary of the War of 1812.

The British burned the Capitol Building

 I've been focusing on the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War in 2011, but next year brings a big anniversary of an earlier war when the British invaded the young republic.

There's already one quilt challenge for this anniversary.

The Great Lakes Seaway Trail of  NY and PA invite quilters to make authentic War of 1812-era reproduction-style quilts for the not-for-profit byway travel organization’s 2012 quilt show and competition. They ask for is "cot to coffin" size and they are encouraging  authentic reproduction quilts of fabrics, including cotton, linen, silk, wool and linsey-woolsey; colors made with dyes available in that era; and patterns true to the 1812 . 

Click here for more information:
http://www.seawaytrail.com/quilting.html
And follow the blog about the contest.
http://1812quiltchallenge.blogspot.com/ 
See Moda's page at their Giving Back web address and then click on Great Lakes Seaway over on the right.
http://www.unitednotions.com/un_main.nsf/giving-back!OpenPage

Lucky for fans of early quilts there are several reproduction lines in the works. Moda and I have a collection of chintzes and dress-scale prints called Lately Arrived from London that will be in quilt shops in September.

The Little Molly from Lately Arrived from London

The look is 1780-1820

Andover is working with the Winterthur Museum to print reproductions of the famous John Hewson panel that is featured in several quilts dating to the era. See the featured panel with the vase at the top.

Hewson stripe from Andover

View more examples of the prints in that line at the Busy Thimble blog

http://busythimble.blogspot.com/

Margo Krager has reproductions of several European panels that were popular with Americans in the early 19th century. Her Reproduction Fabrics webstore is laser-printing some of the classics like the Trophy of Arms below. 

See more by clicking here

http://www.reproductionfabrics.com/lines.php?subcat=1020

The American Quilt Study Group is printing two reproductions as a fundraiser, a stripe and a floral. These will be real collector's items.

Click here to find out how to order

http://americanquiltstudygroup.org/supportfabric.asp 

And Rose Studios has a panel in a line called Manchester Glory.

Panels are hard to find. Early 19th century prints of any kind are hard to find. Let's hope these reproductions all sell so well that we'll start a fad for plum-colored chintzes and panels of fruit.

The Wellington Victory panel

from a quilt belonging to the Victoria & Albert Museum in London

See quilts with panels by clicking on these links to museum collections:

Two from the Winterthur Museum

http://content.winterthur.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/quilts&CISOPTR=380&CISOBOX=1&REC=5

http://content.winterthur.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/quilts&CISOPTR=401&CISOBOX=1&REC=16

And one from the International Quilt Study Center and Museum

2008.040.0060

http://cdn.firespring.com/images/5a675131-f9f2-46a6-97ad-4ed24d910d17.jpg

And check this blog post at the Great Lakes Seaway blog to see more links and period quilts

http://1812quiltchallenge.blogspot.com/2011/05/links-to-museum-quilts-from-1812-era.html

Apron Collection

I've recently festooned my friend Marty's salon/art gallery with some of the apron collection Terry Thompson and I share.

I've been buying aprons at the thrift shops for a long time.

The fabric is sometimes terrific

The one on the left has cocktail recipes printed on the cotton---handy.

The needlework is also fascinating.

Betty (Marty's Mom) remembers when these crocheted aprons were hot.

She works at the front desk and has been asked if this is her laundry.

Heart-shaped top and one made from a dish towel with an opera scene

We put the chiffon examples in the window

Chiffon aprons are an idea whose time is past.

Rick-rack--- real and printed

A friend recently sent photos of aprons her husband's grandmother designed for the family's Regal Paper Company.

If you haven't seen enough aprons yet go to this Flickr pool of hundreds of vintage apron photos

http://www.flickr.com/groups/vintageaprons/pool/ 

Northern Lily/Southern Rose Block 3

#3 Snow Drop Lily

by Ilyse Moore

Here's the third block in  my Northern Lily/Southern Rose series from Moda. Each pattern reflects a regional applique design. This month's is a Northern block, a Northern lily.

Susan Stiff used blue, red and tan prints from

Civil War Homefront and a green Bella Solid from Moda,

the fabrics used in the kit instructions in the pattern.

Here's a better shot of her applique

This is the inspiration block from an antique sampler.

You don't come across many wreaths based on divisions of three or six.

The original might have been from Ohio or Pennsylvania, typical of the one-of-a-kind blocks occasionally seen in samplers from those midland states.

I modified the birds and flowers to reflect my memories of northern winters in Ohio where snowdrop lilies are among the first flowers to break through the snow and cardinals provided the only splash of color in a wintry yard.

Snow Drop lilies are a bulb with a bit of a bluish cast

But I was also thinking of an invasive bulb plant sometimes called a Star of Bethlehem. It's a weed because it reproduces too easily but the star flowers are always a sign of spring after a Northern winter---a Northern Lily.

Snowdrop Lily

My version with Bella Solids and a little blue from Civil War Reunion.

I'm using pieces of monochrome prints from my scrapbag for backgrounds

Ask your shop if they are carrying the Northern Lily/Southern Rose Block-of-the-Month series this year.

Or do an online search for  Moda Northern Lily Southern Rose to find kits and patterns.

Rambler from Civil War Reunion

Here's an old top I have had for years. I bought it in Pennsylvania.

I'd guess its 1840-1860 by the fabrics. The pattern has several names, among them Rambler and Railroad Crossing.

It isn't the best constructed quilt ever made. I've been removing pieces and sending them to be copied for Civil-War-era reproductions. Then when the repro comes back I replace it where the original was. I think the floral above was in Civil War Anthem years ago. 

I made a pattern for my friend Roseanne Smith who thought she could make one that would lay flat. So we drew it out in EQ for the Civil War Reunion collection from Moda.

Roseanne made paper-pieced geese for the corners

A zillion of them. Her patience occasionally wore thin.

But she persisted. She cut the large triangles large and then trimmed them. She used her scrap bag of monochrome prints for the light triangles.

She mitered the stripe for the borders and used the red paisley for the edge triangles.

She's binding it. We'll take a good picture when it's done. Hers is a lot squarer than the original.

You know if that seamstress had been better at sewing the blocks the old top would have been quilted in 1850 and used up. The only reason such a utilitarian top is around in such good shape is that everybody knew that "It will never quilt out."

Here's a PDF file with a free pattern.

https://acrobat.com/#d=pOYFSd3OwGVfRFEDy7V75g

UPDATE The cloud has failed.

Here are the parts of the PDF with the pattern.