Hot off the Statler Stitcher!

My latest Civil War quilt has just been squared off 

and is ready for pink binding.

My paternal great-grandfather Jacob Buck 

served as a Union infantryman 

in the Ohio 29th Volunteers from 1861-1865.  

He fought in 19 major battles and never missed a roll call. 

 Only three soldiers in the entire war had that distinction.  

Amazingly he was never wounded and

 left the military as full lieutenant colonel.

I learned all this recently 

as I was unaware of much history on my father's side.  

His parents died when I was a child and he died when I was 7 1/2.

No one was there to pass on the family stories 

and I wasn't interested then anyway.

I am making a series of Civil War quilts 

and each is being named to commemorate a battle 

in which Jacob fought.

This quilt is named Columbia, South Carolina.

Columbia was burned to the ground in December, 1864 

by either withdrawing Confederate soldiers, 

drunken Union soldiers, or by 

out of control fires that spread by the blowing cotton fibers 

which were used as fuel.

For these reasons, 

I used the machine quilting pattern "Fire" by Cyndi Herrmann.  

The backing I chose is a red and black streaked fabric 

to represent blood and charred wood.  

I clipped this photo from a magazine
several years ago 

and always knew I would make it.  

Okay, okay I know it says 

"Turn-of-the-century quilts from the Midwest", 

but I figured since I was using fabrics from the Civil War era, 

it would become a Civil War quilt.

And that's all I'm going to say about that.  

Two of my sisters think this latest accomplishment

 is a waste of my time and fabric.  

(And hope that I soon finish this Civil War phase

and start using some prettier fabrics.)

Each of the Civil War quilts is being made 

from the same pool of 1800's style fabric, 

but is based on different blocks and 

has various settings and different border fabrics.

Some have been inspired strongly by Civil War quilts 

in books by Barbara Brachman

and others have come from my collection of quilt ideas.

Since I am a quilt artist, I am creating as I am inspired.

Also they are quite warm, bed-sized 

and are most often used when eyes are closed.

So I see it as a win-win and a part of my estate when I die.

Someone will be drawn to it, surely.

Actually when you think of it, 

we still are fighting some of the same battles today.

State's rights, civil rights, economic development,

political turmoil, etc.

Humans are so ornery.  

They never learn to truly work together, 

each giving a little and doing things the best way for the majority.

Most keep their stubborn habits.

Speaking from experience,

Carlene

* * * * * * * * *

Great progress on Civil War series of quilts...

My plan is to name each my Civil War quilts after a battle
my great-grandfather, Jacob Buck fought in
during the War Between the States.



With the help of my sisters,
Deb Corcoran and Judy Steeve, 

Gettysburg, the Civil War modified rail fence quilt
shown on my last blog, is completed.

Deb helped me pin it on Leticia,
our Gammill Classic Statler Stitcher. 

 I used the Goose Down pattern
designed by Dave Dennis.  

Judy helped me square it off.  

I prepared the binding and sleeve
and attached them to the quilt.  

Now Judy is whipping down the binding and sleeve.  

I so appreciate their help so
I can get so many quilts completed.  

* * * * * * * *

  

When I saw this photo (above) 
in a Country Living magazine years ago, 

I knew I would be making it some day, 

so I ripped it out and placed it in my 
"Interesting quilts" file. 

 I decided it would be a unique one 
using Civil War fabrics 

and solid "School Bus orange", red and pink. 

This one (below) is still unnamed.

I used Electric Quilt to design it
to my preference--the 100" x 100" size
and determine fabric yardage needed.

 My family is not enamored with it, 
but I really like it.  

I'll have a better photo after it is quilted.  

I think I nailed the original, don't you?  

* * * * * * * *

Bobbin (below) in her felted wool cat cave.

Well, Bobbin, my mackerel tabby cat 
is giving me the "stink eye" 
as she is ready for "us" 
to go to bed as it is after 11 p.m.  
I can't wait to start 
another Civil War quilt tomorrow.

Hope you are staying warm
during our cold snap.

Carlene

I'm still alive and blogging again after almost a five-year hiatus!

Hello, friends!  

Several years ago I had an idea to make 

six different quilts featuring Civil War reproduction fabrics. 

 This photo is of the top half of one of these quilts.

I just finished piecing the blocks and 

sewing two sets of 25 blocks together tonight. 

Is it a pattern from the 1860's?  Who knows?  

I can't find the pattern in 

the Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns 

compiled by Barbara Brackman.  

My friend, Lenor Davis suggested the pattern 

could be described as a modified fence rail.  

Good idea.

My friend, Kathy Brooks from near Chicago, Illinois 

had made a quilt using this pattern years ago.  

 I just know I liked the pattern and I had to make it.

* * * * * * 

Here are photos of some of 

the other quilt tops and completed quilts 

 I have pieced in 2014.

* * * * * *

I purchased two kits named Hanky Panky 

at the Pine Needles Quilt Shop in Cedar Rapids, Iowa 

and made this large queen quilt top.  

It is one of the 45+ quilt tops awaiting my machine quilting.  

* * * * * *

I purchased two layer cakes of the "Collage" fabric line 

and pieced this couch quilt which was a Christmas gift 

for my niece and her husband, Brittany and Doug Loudenback

 who live in Connecticut.  

I used the Missouri Star Quilt Company tutorial 

named "Cheerio" for my instruction.

I quilted it on my new Statler Stitcher and 

was pleased that it arrived at its new home before Christmas.  

* * * * * *

I had a generous selection of fabrics

 from the "Wordplay" fabric line 

and used them plus some of my other fabrics

 to piece two couch throws/wall hangings

based on the "Cheerios" pattern, too.  

After Statler Stitcher quilting, 

they were gifts this autumn to my sisters

Jo Anne Souza in Connecticut

 and Judy Steeve in Clarinda.

Well, it is time for me to retire tonight.

  My goal is to begin REGULAR blogging. 

 I hope you come back and 

find blogs every single week in 2015.

Merry Christmas! 

Carlene

Going green...

I design all the quilts I want to make on Electric Quilt

before I purchase fabric and begin construction.
Here are drawings of two 100" x 100" green quilts
 I am currently working on.

This one features "deviled eggs on a tray".

So far I have hand appliqued a golden orange yolk
onto each of the 23 egg whites

(made from Kona white cotton).

(Two eggs are missing because...

when have you ever gotten the deviled egg tray 

to the table with all the eggs on it? 

People are always grabbing one off

 as you approach the serving table.)

Now I need to applique the egg whites
onto the large piece of "hostas" background.

Isn't this "hosta" fabric (for the tray) excellent!

My current dilemna is to find a way to keep the hostas

from showing through the egg white fabric.

When this quilt top is completed,
I had planned to stencil "paprika" on the yolks.

Someone recently suggested "pepper" instead,

so now I am considering a second quilt featuring fried eggs on a tray

which I might have to name "Over Easy".

If I do make it,

I would probably have to use some brown/tan striped fabric

and add some 3D rippled bacon strips.

(And yes, I do sleep under all my quilts.)

The next quilt I am prepping for is the sheep in the pasture below.

The sheep will be foundation pieced and sashed

so that they can constantly graze on a lush green grass background.



I hope you are going green, too!
Carlene

You just never know...

 

On March 20, 2010 I was speaking about my quilts

 to a group of women who were visiting Clarinda 

for the National Minneapolis-Moline Collectors Convention. 

In addition to sharing stories about more than thirty other quilts, 

I also chose to set up my 96" x 124" quilt named

 "Holocaust: A Hate Movement" 

in the main area of the Nodaway Valley Historical Museum.

 Since men and women were expected at the Museum that day, 

I thought its message could reach a large group. 

As it turned out, we did have 102 visitors that Saturday.

I shared the messages which are built into the quilt

 through blocks, fabrics, text, dimension, texture and quilting. 

Seventy blocks, chosen for their names 

from The Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns compiled by Barbara Brachman,

tell the story of the Holocaust in chronological order. 

The Nazi swastika block was drafted from a photograph. 

Bright colored prints first released in the 1920's and 1930's 

are featured in the beginning of the quilt. 

At the time when life became precarious, 

only solid-colored fabrics were used. 

The chosen colors were black (hate), red (death), orange (fear), 

brown (Nazi uniforms), dark blue (U.S., British and French flag color) 

and light blue (Israeli flag color). 

The four gray border fabrics represent everyday "normal life" (left), 

ashes blowing in the wind (top), 

ashes in the furnaces (bottom) 

and tendrils of hope growing from the ashes (right).

Blocks pieced with their seam allowances 

on the surface (instead of inside) 

reverse the meaning of the original block name. 

For example, the reversed block "Peace and Plenty" 

depicts the lack of peace and plenty at that time. 

Text such as "Where is God" and "Men to the left, Women to the right" 

documents both memories and agonizing concerns. 

Overall hand quilting in three-inch intervals 

represents the barbed wire fences 

surrounding the extermination and work camps.

In 1991 I was inspired by God 

to make this quilt after visiting Yad Vashem, 

The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority 

near Jerusalem, Israel. 

Yad Vashem was founded in 1953 by the State of Israel 

to recognize those killed and harmed during the Holocaust 

and to acknowledge those who worked to rescue the survivors.

The software programs Electric Quilt and Blockbase 

were used to design the quilt layout and print templates 

for cutting out the pieces of the blocks. 

The names of the 77 quilt blocks 

are listed in alphabetical order as follows:

American Homes

At the Depot

At the Square

Attic Window

A Victory Quilt

Boxcar Patch

Broken Windows

Brown World

Children Israel

Church Steps

Churchill

Day and Night

Danger Signal

Depression

Father's Choice

Follow the Leader

Ghost Walk

Hide & Seek

Home Again

Hour Glass

Lost Children

Memory Block (seven - each containing one of the texts below)

..."Men to the left, women to the right"

..."Work will make you free"

..."Break the body, break the spirit, break the heart"

..."Where is God"

..."Whatsoever you do to the least of these my brethren, you do unto me"

..."I was only following orders"

..."Never again"

Next Door Neighbor

Nothing Wasted

Our Country

Path Thru the Woods

Peace and Plenty (backwards)

Peaceful Hours (backwards)

President Roosevelt

Prosperity (backwards)

Railroad Crossing

Road to Paris

Rob Peter to Pay Paul

Salute to Loyalty

Secret Drawer

Star of David

Swastika

Target

The Stockade

Trial and Troubles

Underground Railroad

Victory

I am drawn to tell stories about my quilts. 

This one has been the most difficult so far. 

In addition I have found that remembering history

opens my eyes to the current lack of justice and peace

in so many areas of our world.

 Keep your eyes open. 

Be courageous and speak up. 

You just never know when you might make a difference. 

Do you know of a venue which would welcome 

a short term display of this eye-opening quilt with a serious message?

Peace,

Carlene

A tisket, a tasket, white with blue basket

Here is a photo of a lovely full sized Depression era basket quilt which I took at the quilt show at the Shenandoah Historical Museum in September, 2009. I drafted a queen/king on Electric Quilt 6 and added a inner border to float the blocks more. In addition I changed the setting from alternate white blocks to white sashing. I have to make more blocks, but I chose that method.

Then I flipped the basket colors and actually like the white baskets on blue, too. I am a sucker for two color quilts. How about you?

Then I got to thinking...why didn't I like the plain alternate blocks? So I reworked the quilt a bit more and here it is in white with blue baskets and then blue with white baskets. Leave a comment if you have a preference.

I love to give my opinion. Don't you?

There's snow on the pink mountains

I've been working at quilting again. This is my pink and white delectable mountains quilt. Five borders are added onto the center block. As you can see, I am up to number three so far.

I am using the Eleanor Burns book and template. It was been going very smoothly.

After a green spell, I am currently on a pink focus. The next quilt is a trip around the world...or at least that is my current thought.

Last September I went to a quilt lecture by Star Anne McIntire Kloberdanz at the Historical Museum in Shenandoah, Iowa. There was a lovely exhibit of Depression era quilts which prompted me to take many pictures.

I have been using them as inspiration for new quilts to design and make. Here is their dark blue and white quilt that is inspiring me to use my indigo blue and white fabrics and their "Squirrel in a Cage" block to make my version of this quilt shown below in an Electric Quilt 6 drawing.

I have been very lax on blogging. Perhaps I will turn over a new leaf and use my blog to prompt myself to do more quilt re-designing.

I hope you are finding inspiration to create quilts or other arts that make your heart sing.

Carlene