Sunday, September 3, 2017

Civil War Quilting

LONE STAR
 July 22, 1861. The telegraph today brings us tidings of a terrible battle fought yesterday, Sunday, between 20,000 of the Federal troops and  the Rebels. At Bull’s Run….A rough estimate of our entire loss, is made at 5000….provisions left behind fell into the hands of the Rebels. We are startled and confounded…” (Rebecca Lorraine Richmond....Diary of a Civil War Quilt by Rosemary Youngs)
 I love  making Civil War  quilts. I try and find fabrics that are as close to what would have been used.  Some of the best pattern books I have used are "The Civil War Diary Quilt" by Rosemary Youngs,or her "Civil War Love Letter" book. Recently, I found "Civil War Legacies 2" by Carol Hopkins and Barbara Brackman's "Civil War Sampler book". I love the era, the style, the distressed fabric .  I like nothing better than to  stain fabric with tea and coffee,  beet juice and  watch it turn  into something old and wrinkly.
BLAZING STAR
 In  some of the online fabric  sites you can find actual reproductions. But they can be costly, so instead I search the  local stores here. 
 During the Civil War,In the North,  women would show their beautiful sewingto  raise money for  causes; like the civil war. Wealthy women, and their households, sewed squares using  silk.  Supplies  could then be bought for the Union.
 Southern women were first involved raising money for gunboats. In 1862 this was abandoned. From then on, money was raised for medical supplies,blankets, clothing and quilts for the soldiers.
 "Common looking people are the best in the world: that is the reason the Lord makes so many of them."
- Abraham Lincoln
THE BLUE and the GREY
 Quilts had to be sewn 7’ x 4’,  to fit a cot. And big enough in which to wrap a body. That was the reality. 
SAWTOOTH STAR
 Any fabrics  were used, including cut up rugs, draperies, old quilts and sewing them together. By the end of the war it is said that over 250,000 quilts were made.So many have not survived. 
 BROKEN WHEEL
 FRIENDSHIP STAR
 KING'S CROWN
 PINWHEEL CARD TRICK
 AMISH STAR
 In 1829, the term “underground Railroad” was first heard. It ran till about 1862,helping  slaves reach freedom.
 Some people say that quilts were used in  leaving messages and signs for the slaves as they made their way to freedom.A sort of code . 
 PATRIOTIC STAR
 GENTLEMAN'S FANCY
 The squares of this era, designed got their names after 1900. There is much speculation whether or not the quilt squares carried a “code” or message,  relating to their style and colour. 
 LOG CABIN
OHIO STAR
 All I know, is that  the blocks tell of a time in history when a household object was  raised above that of mere fabric and thread.  Something that tells a story that shapes us in its wake.
 FISHERMAN'S REEL
FOX and GEESE
 “And the quilt tells a story and the story is our past.” 
– Quilt Sayings

ROAD HOME                                                                           Photographs 2017

No comments:

Post a Comment