Linda Bergmann's Civil War Color Schemes

Linda Bergmann, Civil War Elegance

I found a picture on the web in a group of favorites from Sacramento's River City Quilt Show

in 2013. I liked Linda's palette and then when I looked at a close-up I could see why.

She's used several fabrics from my Civil War Reunion collection for Moda from a few years ago. I am impressed by the way Linda uses modern paper-piecing techniques and design with the old-fashioned palette derived from natural dyes.

Various photos show the colors slightly different but I hope

you get the picture. Cheri has commented that the pattern is Judy Niemeyer's Dancing Batiks.

Linda's been winning a lot of ribbons with her quilts over the past few years.

Fractured Star by Linda Bergmann

Quilted by Debbie Lopez

60" x 60"

The pattern is An Unusual Lone Star from Karen K. Stone. See the pattern here:

http://electricquilt.com/online-shop/karen-stone-quilts/

Linda's statement: "This star is a variation of the Star of Bethlehem; all paper pieced with Civil War fabrics."

Best of Morris Kits

Best of Morris

Designed by Susan Stiff & Barbara Brackman for Moda

82" x 82"

Now that the Best of Morris bolts are in shops you can also find our kit for the collection. This is the Moda "official kit."

See a PDF about this line here:

http://www.unitednotions.com/fcc_best-of-morris.pdf

Hancock's of Paducah also created a kit using the Best of Morris Fabric with the Floral Trick pattern by Jenice Belling of Quilted Garden Designs.

Here's a link:
http://www.hancocks-paducah.com/SHOP-BY-THEME/Moda-Best-of-William-Morris-by-Barbara-Brackman/Moda-Best-of-William-Morris-Earth-Tones-12-Fat-Quarters_3

I'll post other kits available as I find them.

Quilt Shows: Antique Quilts Spring/Summer 2015

Pack a lunch and get on the road to see some

shows featuring antique quilts spring and summer, 2015.

California, San Diego
The Mingei Museum will display changing selections from the Pat L. Nickols collection throughout 2015 in its Theater Gallery.
http://www.mingei.org/americanicons/

Kiracofe Collection

Colorado, Golden

Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum. It's What We Do: 25 Years of Collecting. July 30 through October 27, 2015.

https://rmqm.org

Indiana, Indianapolis

19 Stars: Quilts of Indiana's Past and Present. Celebrating the bicentennial of Indiana's statehood (the 19th state) with an exhibit of 19 vintage and 19 contemporary star quilts. June 13-October 4, 2015

http://www.indianamuseum.org/visit/exhibits

Kentucky, Paducah

A Tradition of Variations from the Pilgrim/Roy Collection, traditional quilts with unique style.
May 22 - August 17
http://www.quiltmuseum.org/upcoming-exhibits.html

Nebraska, Lincoln
International Quilt Study Center & Museum/Quilt House.

• Signature Cloths.
• Reflections of the Exotic East in American Quilts.
• Covering the War: American Quilts in Times of Conflict.

http://www.quiltstudy.org/exhibitions/nowshowing/nowshowing.html

Log Cabin from IQSC collection

Texas, LaGrange
Texas Quilt Museum. Antique Log Cabin Quilts from the International Quilt Study Center plus Vintage Apps: Block Quilts and Appliqué.

• Antique Four-Poster Quilts July 2-September 27, 2015.

http://www.texasquiltmuseum.org/

Virginia, Harrisonburg
Virginia Quilt Museum.
Civil War Quilts: Antebellum to Reunion. July 14 to October 3, 2015
New Quilts From an Old Favorite: Carolina Lily
Botanicals of the Valley
20 Quilts for 20 Years

http://www.vaquiltmuseum.org/
Seminar, July 24-25, 2015. Civil War Quilts: What the Women Left Behind. Featured Speaker Lynne Zacek Bassett, "Herstory in Civil War Quilts."
http://www.vaquiltmuseum.org/special-events/quilt-study-seminar/

Quilt by Amelia Haskell Lauck

DAR Museum

Washington D.C.
D.A.R. Museum. Eye on Elegance: Early Quilts of Maryland and Virginia. Through September 5, 2015.
Curator of Costume and Textiles Alden O’Brien looks at quilts from Maryland and Virginia in an exhibit of 36 quilts with a focus on quilts from 1790 to 1860, design migrations and the many hands who made the quilts.

Wisconsin, Cedarburg
Wisconsin Quilt Museum. In Stitches: Embroidery Needle Arts. Exhibit includes crazy quilts, punchneedle, redwork, needlepoint, counted cross-stitch artwork. April 15 – July 12, 2015

Spring Means Geese Flying

Photo of snow geese from hjhipster/Flickr via ChesapeakeBay.net

Snow Geese

60" x 60"

See the free patchwork pattern by scrolling down.

• 8 pieced strips
• 7 plain strips between
• 2 narrower strips on the edges.

Say goodbye to winter with some Flying Geese heading north.

I've been playing with all the indigo blues in my Best of Morris collection and decided to match them up with some textured whites from other designers. In the EQ7 sketch above I used the "Strawberry Thief" print in the strips.

But any of the larger blue prints would work great.

Here are two snow geese ideas from Moda. The lighter is a Grunge print

from Basic Gray called Vanilla

The darker a Rustic Weave in Eggshell.

Another option is to use the light for the background and

a variety of Best of Morris prints for the geese.

Cutting Instructions

I planned the first set of measurements to make the most of 5" pre-cut Charm squares for piece B. You'll need 2 Charm packs. Your geese and your alternating strips will finish to 3-3/4" wide.

A- Cut squares 2-3/4". Cut each into 2 triangles with one diagonal cut. You need 512 triangle A. Cut 256 squares.

 B - Cut squares 5". Cut each into 4 triangles with two diagonal cuts. You need 256 triangle B. Cut 64 squares.

Strips between the geese: Cut strips 4-1/4"

Strips on either side.Cut strips 2-3/8".

A Larger block---Larger Quilt

6 pieced strips; 5 plain.

About 102" square.

No edge strips.

You can also use Layer Cakes (10" squares) for piece B. You need 36 squares for 144 geese (B).

A -Cut squares 5-1/4". Cut each into 2 triangles with one diagonal cut.

B - Cut squares 10". Cut each into 4 triangles with two diagonal cuts.

Cut your strips 9-1/4" wide.

Geese and strips will then be 8-3/4" wide finished.

Fabric for the larger quilt. EQ sez:

• 5 yards for the alternate strips and binding
• 3-1/4 yards of the light for triangles A

Then I started thinking summer geese with color.

How about Kathy Schmitz's Crackle in Yellow

As summer fields...

...Or autumn

Using a large Morris print for the background

and the Crackle behind each goose.

The large print:

 Cherwell in Brown

Then there's a spring green, one of Moda's new Crossweaves

in a color called Pond.

Happy Spring!

A Fabulous Weekend in Washington

Block from a Baltimore Album quilt in the collection

of the Daughters of the American Revolution Museum

The DAR Museum hosted a two-day seminar last weekend that was perfection for fans of Baltimore quilts and antique fabrics. "Eye-Opening Symposium" was held in conjunction with their ongoing exhibition "Eye on Elegance:  Early Quilts of Maryland & Virginia "

Deborah Cooney & Ronda Harrell gave a joint paper, "Saw Some Pretty Squares," on the

joint making of the BAQ album blocks in the 1840s and '50s, updating research on the cooperative producers of these masterpieces of applique---from designers to basters to stitchers.

Detail from a bedcover from the Wilkins workshop,

recent gift of Bill Volkening

Ronda also talked about Achsah Goodwin Wilkins and her earlier workshop.

Deborah Kraak in the background here

with Dr. Patricia Cox Crews and Newbie Richardson

in the foreground. 

Deb talked about "Fabrics a la Mode," recurring floral imagery and the botany behind the chintzes.

The supply chain in 1780s' Connecticut

Me: I talked about sources for quilt patterns and fabrics before the Civil War.

Detail of the reverse applique vine in one of  

Anna Catherine Markey Garnhart's quilts

Bunnie Jordan gave us an overview of the "Quilts of Early Maryland and Virginia" and what makes them unique.

Detail of an album quilt

Curator Alden O'Brien discussed the themes of elegance and refinement in those quilts and the social context of the society that produced them.

Detail of the Penn Album quilt, Designer #4.

UPDATE: Virginia corrects me:

"It's one of one of the several variations of design style II, "

Dang-I'll never get them straight.

Virginia Vis asked "Haven't I Seen That Before?" adding to our knowledge about details of style in the Baltimore Album quilt blocks' design.

We had a good time. Wish you were there.

See more of the quilts in the excellent online exhibit at the DAR Museum's website:

http://eyeonelegance.dar.org/exhibition/introduction