Thursday, April 25, 2013

Gettysburg Remembrance Quilt in Progress


The completion of my Wuthering Heights Double Sawtooth Star quilt saw me with some fabrics from the WH line still in my stash, others used down to the tiniest scraps or completely gone.
My cupboard contained some untouched Chocolat yardage by the same designers [3 Sisters for Moda] in patterns and colorways which blend. [Designers tend to produce a number of related 'collections' ] A determined web-search didn't turn up more of the WH or Chocolat line in stock, but Double Chocolat is still to be found.

Rather than ordering or buying frugally with fabric I really admire, my tendancy  well-established habit is to purchase several yards--thus the stash never quite diminishes!
Yesterday was a dark and rainy day.
We hurried to set out the 25 strawberry plants which had arrived at 7 on the previous evening
via the Fed Ex truck.
Rain began as we tucked the plants into the newly turned earth.
By the time we finished and I had brought in some wood for my downstairs fire, the back of my sweatshirt was uncomfortably sodden.
I haven't made a fire downstairs in several weeks as there has been no time to sew.
I cleaned out ashes, trudging back out in the wet to dump them, laid in wads of crumpled paper and began the ritual of arranging the twigs I use for kindling.
When I tidied my herb garden during a sunny afternoon earlier in the month, I saved  clippings of thyme, sage and lavender and put them in a basket by the wood stove.
I added a handful of these to my carefully laid fire and watched as the tiny flame grew and licked at the larger sticks of aromatic cedar, saved from J.'s creation of cedar boards last autumn.
By the time we had eaten our mid-morning meal and  I had tidied the kitchen, my downstairs sewing room was cozy.
I brought out my fabric, spread it on the work table and stood gloating.
It became rather apparent that there is more than one quilt top in that array of fabric!

The quilt I'm creating is featured in the current [May/June 2013] issue of McCalls, sub-titled The Best of American Quilting.
The designer named the quilt 'Conceived in Liberty' a phrase from
Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.
[The 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg  in 1863 will be noted July 1-3.]

The quilt layout requires 20 Ohio Star blocks and 44 Log Cabin blocks which finish at 9 inches.
Since my time of working at Wyoming Quilts has prepared me for turning out Log Cabin patchwork at a fairly speedy clip, I decided to make the more time-consuming Ohio Star blocks first.

This is again a quilt where the star components have to be planned and cut for each different star.
I made 8 blocks during the afternoon and evening while listening to two audio books [Rosamunde Pilcher--perfect for a cold and rainy day.]
There were a few breaks along the way--to admire grandson D.'s latest vehicle swap, to check Face Book [sigh] to make tea, warm leftovers for a scrappy sort of meal.
I'm insprired to get on with this project, but other tasks call today.
 Blue skies, green grass, trees exploding into leaf, bright sunshine lure me outside, but
it is too wet to work in the gardens and the air at 60F is a bit nippy.
I've pegged out a wash, moved plants around on the front porch.
I have devoted an hour to the intricasies of camera software, making some progress, but still not able to manage photos in the usual ways.
I've created a 'Library' where the photos from the Fuji now land, but can only access them through Picassa. [They are there in "My Pictures" --somewhere--lurking!]
Trying to upload to Face Book from the 'library' results in an error code.
Work-arounds will have to do until I have more time to devote to experimentation.
Meanwhile, I have a bag of potting soil and a variety of containers waiting on the porch, a pile of
seed packets on the table.
Quilting later--maybe!
Posted by Picasa

20 comments:

  1. I am really impressed and in awe of your quilting. Such lovely colors you have going in this quilt.

    Your life sounds busy and content.

    Love and hugs ~ FlowerLady

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lorraine; So many troublesome issues in life can't be changed. Crafting and creating, whether with a garden, with words and photos or with fabric--even the production of meals--all help to make life worthwhile. And did I mention reading, study, music....? Cats?

    ReplyDelete
  3. What lovely prints you have there, and I am SO envious that you have made up all those Ohio Star blocks so quickly and efficiently (and tidily . . .) What a stunning quilt it is going to make . . .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jennie; I was skeptical of the construction method given in the quilt mag, but have to say the stars went together neatly.
      I might better have gone downstairs and made some more this afternoon--have banged heads with the photo program and generally b------d things up!

      Delete
  4. I can't help noticing how neat your stars are.
    I love log cabin making one a few years ago.
    Your room sounded so cosy I was there with you. lol
    Briony
    x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Briony; Log Cabin quilts are an all-time favorite for me--they can be endlessly varied but always look homey and inviting. Wish I could really invite my 'crafty' blogging friends to join me in that sewing room!

      Delete
  5. Love your fabric selection. Looks like it will be a very pretty quilt.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jane; When I love a certain combination of fabrics and colors, I can use them repeatedly without getting tired of the effect. I'm not sure we need another quilt--but I needed a relaxing project!

      Delete
  6. Your blocks are gorgeous ...and you create so quickly too ...I do hope you sort your camera problems out so photo recovery is easier.
    Just read your comment above ...so true ...must take this on board xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Angie; Glad you like the blocks; color is an important part of our lives. Photo problems NOT sorted--I've given myself a headache!

      Delete
  7. Can't wait to see the finished quilt-I love the colors!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jan, I also love these colors--I'm not ready to move on to other fabrics just yet!

      Delete
  8. I love those stars, but you new I would :-)
    The addition of that pretty blue really lifts the other shades.
    Yes, I would love to come to a quilting session. If I win the lottery, I would love to visit all my Blog friends!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kath; These stars are going together with surprisingly easy accuracy. I hadn't tried this method before and was afraid the bias edges would wobble.
      That shade of blue appeared in a number of concurrent fabric lines--sort of an unexpected element that energizes the other colors.
      Wouldn't we love to invite our crafty friends from all over to a big sewing session--with plenty of tea and nibbles!

      Delete
  9. Fabulous start to the quilt. As for the camera....if I lived closer I would pop by and help. You know I swear by my Fuji cameras so it was a good choice as far as I'm concerned!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Em; I can imagine that you would sit down calmly in front of my PC and resolve the software issues that have so frustrated me.
      I've given up and resorted to Picasa to load and edit my photos. [And have resisted putting the fuji disc on the floor and jumping upon it!] I'm growing to like the camera, though not yet very adventurous with its many settings.

      Delete
  10. It's going to be a beauty! I'd love to watch you piecing it together.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Janet; You could set up your sewing machine on the second table in my workspace and we could sew and chat of books and cats and gardens!

      Delete
  11. I'll be interested to see the combination of Ohio Stars and Log Cabins.

    Your new header is glorious.
    Lillian

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love these Ohio Star blocks. As I bought some material yesterday (a rare event, with it at £11.50 a metre here!) I am going to try and assemble a nice palette of colours and see if I can't do this. I have no short-cut tricks though, so I know it will take me forever! I love the colours you have looked out - as I get older my eye seeks out bright colours (to cheer me up in this dark gloomy house) and so my "take" on this will be . . . bold!

    ReplyDelete