2016 Finished Quilts - A Civil War Tribute - #24

Sorry about being out of order for the quilts I finished this year.  But, as I give them away, or in this instance, sell a quilt, I took some pictures (the best that I could at the time) so I would have some record of them in my blog and my quilt notebook.  As I get them quilts done this year, I have numbered them, and it has helped me keep better track of what I have done and accomplished.  I wish I had started a system like this when I first started making quilts.

This quilt was called "A Civil War Tribute".  This was one of the the biggest quilts I have worked on, one of the most complicated quilts I have had the privilege of being a part of, and one of the most difficult quilt patterns I have ever followed.  I have found the bigger the quilt, the worse the pattern is, and somehow harder to get to come out square.

I confess, that I did choose to make this quilt to the original pattern from the 1800's and in order to get the blocks to come out to the correct size, the seams were 3/8's inch, and 7/16's inch.

You can read all the posts that I wrote about it here, if you are interested in the progress of me working on the blocks.

While at a trade show with my husband, I was spending some down time, hand stitching the binding on this quilt.  Remember it is about 102" X 112', so it was a rather large quilt for hand stitching the binding.  It was taking a lot of the down time (in between customers) to get this one bound.  Another vendor's wife was admiring the quilt, and telling her husband she would give anything to have a quilt like that for their bed.  He came over to ask how much a quilt like that would cost, and I mentioned to him the cost of materials and the amount of time one spends in making a quilt.  He didn't blink an eye, stating that he hadn't gotten anything for his wife for Christmas, and felt this would be perfect since she like it so well.  Sold!

Here is the finished quilt.

A close up view of a corner showing the pieced border and binding.

And lastly a picture of the backing and the quilting done by my long arm quilter.

I'm glad I sold this one, as I didn't like it as much once finished as I did when I signed up for the BOM.  I am so glad someone else will be enjoying it on their bed.  Warms my heart.

Size:102" X 112"

Fabric Lines Used:  Civil War Tribute Collection by Judie Rothermel

Civil War Reproduction fabric from Marcus Fabrics

Pattern: Civil War Tribute 

Designer:  Judie Rothermel

Long Arm Quilter:  Carol Logan Nelson

Year Began: 01/2010

Year Completed: 12/2016

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Center Block of Civil War Tribute BOM

If you have been following me for the last couple of months (maybe longer), you know that I have been working on some of my older BOM projects.  One of them has been Civil War Tribute.  The picture below is what the finished quilt is supposed to look like.  I am showing you this picture because, I have finished the center 36" square block and I thought you might like to see how it will look in the quilt.

Ta! Da!  The center is complete.

Now, a blogger friend from Yesteryear Embroideries, (she was the first person to leave a comment when I first started blogging. She does some fantastic work, check her blog out by clicking on her blog name ) asked me if I had picked out my my border fabrics yet.  Actually, since this was a BOM program, the border fabric came in month 12.   All the fabric for this BOM was designed by Judie Rothermel for Marcus Brothers Fabric, which consisted of a 50 piece collection.

So here is the collection that will be used for the borders.  The pattern laying next to the fabric shows a picture of one corner, and if you look closely at the whole quilt top picture above, you can see the sawtooth border and the two inner borders.

Here is the backing I am going to use on this quilt.  It is a five yard piece that I picked up on sale as it was a design by Judie Rothermel, just not from this collection. I think it will work just fine, but I am a couple of yards short, so I will take the scraps leftover from the blocks and make a pieced scrappy back.

All in all, I am glad this is almost done. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, especially a beginner quilter. The pattern was poorly written, and hard to follow, including several mistakes. Just saying, my personal opinion.

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Center of the Center

This is the center of the center block.  Yes you read right.  Remember in my last post about the center block for the Civil War Tribute quilt, and the fact that this center was going to be 36" X 36"?  Well this is just the beginning of the center, half to be exact.  This part is 18" square.  I worked on it Friday afternoon and Sunday evening after coming home from a trade show.  Such a nice way to relax after working all weekend!

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UFO BOM Blocks

I finally finished one (yes just one) sack of scraps in getting them cut up into the three sizes for some "Scrap Therapy" patterns.  See my prior post about this process of scrap quilting.

Now, late this afternoon and this evening, I cut out and made the next set of blocks in the two UFO BOM.

First up is the third block of Country Gatherings BOM that I just recently started.

Next is the tenth month for the BOM "A Civil War Tribute". And, once again, the construction of the block is done using the technique of partial seams. UGH! For this tenth month it requires a 18" and a 12" block. This is the 18" block, i will have to finish the 12" block tomorrow.

This is the last of monthly blocks, the next "block" is a 36" X 36" center medallion star. That's going to take some time and patience to get done.

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Civil War Tribute Month 9

I am slowly plodding through this BOM.  It is one of the most difficult BOM's that I have ever had the privilege of working on.   This time was not exception, as there were "Y" seams all over the place on this block.  The most obvious "Y" seam is sewing the triangles around the center square piece and the other "Y" seam is one of the two triangles between two of the three squares in each corner.   And, in order for the seam to come together correctly, I had to do each set simultaneously on each end of the seam.  

Fortunately, I only had to make two of these blocks for Month 9, one 18" and one 12".  

This is the 18" inch block:

This is the 12" block:

This is the two of them together, with the 12" block laying on top of the 18" block.

For the record, anyone wanting to attempt to do this BOM, be aware that the patterns are difficult, requiring advanced abilities in piecing and sewing skills.  It should also be noted that the directions are difficult to follow, even for a seasoned quilter and seamstress as I am.  There are even a few mistakes, so it is very important to read through the pattern before cutting the fabric, paying close attention to the placement of the fabric.  

If anyone is working on this and has questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me for help.\\\

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More UFO BOM Progress

I have to remind myself when I write posts that seem mundane, that I really started this blog as a way to chronicle all my sewing and crafting endeavors.  With that said, I have once again made some more progress on the two UFO BOM's I am working on these past few months.  I am more than three quarters of the way through each BOM and I'm getting excited to get the blocks done, so I can get them all sewn together.

This is the finished four 12" blocks of "A Civil War Tribute" BOM, month 8.

And this is block 9 of the "Land of Lincoln Sampler", called Corn and Beans.  So fare this is my favorite block in this sampler.

Thank you for following along, even with the mundane!

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Civil War Tribute, Month 8

Again today, I was able to work in some sewing time, in between canning more green chili.  I had the next month's block for the Civil War Tribute Block 8 already cut out before traveling, so all I had to do was sit down and begin sewing.

Month 8 block is a 12" block, and the pattern calls for  4 of them to be made.  I managed to only get one done today.  Even though only one was made today, it still gets me in the sewing room for a while, and gets me my sewing "fix" for the little addiction I have when it comes to spending time in my sewing room!

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Done. D.O.N.E. Done

Yessiree, I am done.  All eight of them are complete.  I wanted to cry from all the frustrations and at the same time do the happy dance, like Snoopy does.  But I cried throughout the process of making them, so I settled on the happy dance.  I know I ripped out more seams on these blocks that I would ever want to admit, because after about three completed blocks I thought I figured all the seam allowances out and could just whiz right through the next five.  Wrong.  Each block was it's own struggle nightmare.  More often than not, I would do stretching to make things fit, and then iron with lots of steam to set the fabric.  Any of the wonkiness of the blocks, will get fit in when it comes time to put the whole quilt together, and then the rest of it will work itself out in the quilting of the whole thing.  

I do have to say that I really like the way the pattern is for these blocks, as they will frame the medallion center of the quilt.  I have this same struggle going on with the "Farmer's Wife" quilt blocks, so I guess one could say, I gained some more patience and skill when working with these difficult and complex patterns.  

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Civil War Tribute BOM Block 7 more...

Just dropping in to let everyone know that I am still plodding along with these blocks.  I have a determination of completing these, if nothing else to let myself know I can do it and not leave another project hanging in the wind (or to be more accurate, in a stored box or bag in my closet!).

Each block has 99 pieces, and my muscle memory of quilting seams, has to be rechecked each time I sew a piece, as if have to come in 1/16" of an inch on each seam.  Tedious at best.  I have one block to go, and then on to what is next on my list.

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Civil War Tribute BOM, Block 7

A few posts ago, here, I wrote about the block 7 of the Civil War Tribute BOM that I am trying to get completed.  I am really struggling with this block.  I opted to keep it authentic, by cutting the block on 1/16's .  After sewing up parts and trying to get the parts to fit, I realized that my seams need to be 3/16",instead of 1/4".  I ended up tearing it all apart and starting over, and trying the assembling it again.  Even at best, and trying real hard to "eyeball" the smaller seam, it is a struggle getting all the pieces to fit together properly.  And, yeah, I have seven more to struggle through!  Sigh!!

UFO BOM Progress

After completing my current year's BOM, I worked on the two UFO BOM's I am trying to get done this year.

First up is block 7 for the BOM called Land of  Lincoln Sampler.  The name of this block is Lincoln's Platform.

Next is month 6  from the BOM called A Civil War Tribute  This month calls for four of these 12" blocks.  I have two done, and two more to  complete.

I want to get these done, so I can move onto getting some quilting done on the last wall hanging I completed, and maybe one of the bigger quilt tops I have stored in a cubby.  But, fortunatly I have to work the quilting in between a custom order I just received!  Yipee!

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UFO BOM progress

Well, this last week was slow going in the sewing room. Mostly because of some health issues, but I got to feeling better by Thursday, so to keep it simple, I worked on all of the UFO BOMs.

First up is block six of Land of Lincoln Sampler called "Farm Friendliness".

Next up is  Month 5 of the Tribute to the Civil War blocks.  This month called for (4) 12" blocks .  Here is a full view of the block made up.

And here is a pic of all four of the blocks done.

Then, last but not least, I added the sixth row on my civil war color way Farmer's Wife quilt.  There are a total of 15 rows all sewn on the diagional.  This is a side view of it hanging on my door.  When all the rows are done it will be a queen sized quilt!

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BOM (Old) Update

This week I did some work on my ongoing older BOM's.  By working on three or four projects at a time, I don't get too bored with any one project.  Working on these older BOM's that I have had stored for a few years, also gives me a sense of accomplishment of cleaning up my stash.  

First up is the progress of putting together the Farmer's Wife blocks.  This has been somewhat of a struggle because the blocks are different sizes.  The reason my blocks came out different sizes is because when printing off the templates from the CD that came with the book, I didn't make sure the print came out at actual size.  This caused them to come out slightly smaller, and slightly smaller over many pieces can be 1/4" or more.  Then, someone in our online group decided to incorporate Marti Mitchell's acrylic templates for some of the pieces throughout the quilt.  So using the incorrect sized paper pieces and the correct sized acrylic pieces have caused some difficulty in matching up the blocks and the sashing.  I have just a little warbling going on.  I am fairly confident that this will work itself out in final pressing, and when the quilting of the top gets done.  But so far, I am liking how it is turning out.

Next up is the next block from the Land of Lincoln Sampler BOM.  This is block #5, called Road to the White House.

And finally, the next block for the A Civil War Tribute BOM.  If you recall, each month requires more than just one block.  This month called for a 18" block and a 12" block.  This is Month 4 of the program.  Between you and me, these two blocks, on their own, are just plain ugly!  Actually, they look better here as a picture than in person.  But, I imagine once worked into the rest of the quilt, they won't be so ugly, and fit right in as if they belong.

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Slow Progress

I have made very little progress in the sewing room last week.  I was working on the "Aussie" two zip hipster as a custom order, and sent a progress picture to the customer.  She was not to happy with the largeness of the flag on the front of the bag.  Sigh.

Fortunately, someone else is tickled pink about this bag, and I have it sold to them.  So, it has been back to the drawing board for the other customer.  It's also the time of year when the weekend gun shows happen, and I have to be there with my husband.  And, then there is the fall garden work that has to be done.  And in the Pacific Northwest, there is so much to be done, because everything needs to be trimmed back or dug up for a pretty spring showing.

I have worked on a couple of blocks with the old BOM's I am working on:

This first one is from the "Land of Lincoln Sampler" BOM and is block 4, called Kentucky Crossroads.

This block is from the "Civil War Tribute" BOM and is block 3.  But, with this BOM, each month has two to four of the same blocks to be made.  I have made the first 12" block and will need to make another one, then I will need to make the same block pattern two more times, only these blocks will be 18".

At least, you know that I am not just sitting around and doing nothing, just not much exciting to post about this time of year.

One More UFO BOM

Confession:  I get bored with working on just one project until it is done.  I think that's why I like Block of the Month clubs.

Hence, here is another BOM I dragged out when doing the re-org of my sewing room.  This BOM is from 2010 and I started it only getting month 1 and part of Month 2 done.  Then for some dumb important reason, it got put aside and it was temporarily lost. Not really, I know where everything and anything I have bought can be found.

This BOM is called a "Civil War Tribute", using fabrics designed by Judie Rothermel for Marcus Fabrics, and the pattern was designed by Homestead Hearth. (Note, this BOM is no longer available)  What makes this BOM different than other BOM's,  is each month consists of two blocks or four blocks, instead of just one block.   And, on top of that the blocks are bigger in size than the normal 9" or 12" blocks.  It will make a much larger quilt as a result of the bigger blocks, approximately 100" x 112".

Here is a pic of what the quilt will look like when it is completed.

Here is Month 2, and it consists of four 15" blocks.

This is Block 1, and it has two blocks, one is 18", and the other is 12".

I will be working on many older BOM's this year, as my budget is very limited, and I am really committed to completing what I have on hand.  This will take me well into the 2020's, for real!