Civil War Bride Quilt Revisit

It has been six months since I last visited the CWBQ. It was in my mind to get back to it since I put it away before Christmas, but I just had many other projects I want to do as well. Anyway, not all is lost. I'm back to visit it again working on the table block I started six months ago.

To get myself motivated I even took a drive to see the original CWBQ at Threadbear in Castlemaine. It was raining all the way and most people would say it was a terrible day, but Mr Notjustnat and I love driving in the rain so for us it was a lovely drive. We stopped for lunch at Kyneton and visited a few shops on the way (sorry no photo, rainy days are no good for photographing). Be sure to scroll down to see the original CWB quilt.

My table block is finished, washed and pressed. I changed the shape of the legs from the original design and changed a bit on the vase too just to make it easier for appliqué. I don't think I will put the tassels on the table cloth as on the original block. I don't think it needs it.

Here it is the original quilt I saw in person at Threadbear. I was the last visitor yesterday afternoon. Corliss was busy preparing for the quilt show next week in Melbourne. You wouldn't have known it because the shop was immaculately tidy. It is a beautiful shop in the middle of a country town of Castlemaine in Victoria. I will drive from anywhere to get there again. 

Mr Threadbear kindly offered to take a photo of Corliss and I in front of the quilt. You can see I was rugged up from the rain and cold. Yes I did a bit of shopping while I was there. I got myself a pattern pack of The Morrell Quilt. Inspired by Janet again! I have no plan to start it any time soon though. 

My next block is the bird of paradise block. The templates are cut and ready to go. I added purple and orange fabric after I took this photo. It will be a very bright feathers so watch this space. 

I hope everyone is keeping well and warm for those of you in Australia, and those of you in North America and Europe are keeping yourself cool and away from the severe heat you are having at the moment. The climate is changing I'm sure. We can help our environment by re-purposing and recycling. When I start a new project I make use of what  fabric I have on hand. My quilts don't have to look exactly the same as the originals. They are  my quilts and they should have my own personal stamp to show that it's the one I made. I look into my stash before I go out and buy new fabric for every project. You would be surprised to know that the background fabric I use for the CWBQ came from Reverse Art Truck. I have a feeling that I don't have enough for the whole quilt, but I don't mind adding other similar fabrics to it. I'm sure that the ladies during the Civil War wouldn't have the same background fabric for the whole quilt. 

I feel strongly about our environment and what little I can do to help. I hope you are all doing what you can to help - Thanks for sharing my passion in protecting our environment ...!

The Lone Table

I posted this block on CWBQ blog at the weekend so I thought I would post it here just in case not all of you have seen it. I am still working on this quilt, but have been distracted on more urgent matters these last few weeks. I started cutting the appliqué pieces as soon as I finished the last block, but for some reason things came in the way of me finishing it. I hope that it is not QADD attacking me again LOL!!! I thought I will show you what little progress I have made with the block.

At least I finished the hardest part of this table - that is the lace and legs. I changed the shape of the legs slightly. I used to have a table that had the same legs at this one once. I like it better than the original legs. I am almost there right? Only the leaves and cherries to do hahaha!!! I hope you notice my traditional Chinese scissors? They are the cutest scissors I've ever owned! The blades are only 1.5" long and the handles are big and comfortable. The full size version of these scissors were traditionally used by Chinese grocers for cutting vegetables. They are really sharp. I love them. The fob is a hand painted gourd that my male colleague brought back for me from China. It is a perfect scissors companion.

Wedding Bells are about to ring!

I think I would like to call for a toast! The wedding bells are about to ring. After weeks of on and off stitching the groom block is finally finished. I must say it was an unknown quantity with this block not having a picture or idea of how it would turn out. I had to just keep going and not be worried about it until the end. I only changed my mind once while stitching. I was going to use green for an apple, but the block called for more red to brighten it up a bit so I ended up using red for an apple like the previous blocks. I think I am happy with how it turned out. Thanks everyone for your input on his facial features on my last post. I still haven't decided if I will give him a face. I hope he will talk to me.

Here comes the groom armed with flowers and fruit for his beautiful bride. He has a pet bird to whisper to his ear what to do when he finally meets his bride. I would like to mention that the pink fabric for the butterfly came from my friend Serena's fabric collection. She sent me a box of 60-70s fabric and this piece was one of them. Thanks Serena you are now part of my quilt.

Four blocks completed in total. Not too bad for me. I didn't have a lot of time to work on this block, but I really enjoyed stitching it. I have been admiring all the blocks that people in the Civil War Bride blog have produced. I think my next block will be the table block. I would like to get this wedding all prepared. The table is very important to bear all the wedding gifts.

The Groom is born

The Groom is born! I started workig on him about two weeks ago , but he was without a face for all that time. I managed to give him a face-lift just last weekend. I found that the face and hat were hard to position together. I think I am happy with that now. What does everyone think? Does he need a feature on his face? My sewing group thought he should have, but I am not sure. Some input here from everyone please.

Lizzie did a great job on the pattern. I particularly like his strong legs. He would need them to fight the war! I decorated my block a bit differently than what Lizzie did, but still using the motifs from the main pattern. I gave in to the temptation and got some Civil war fabrics from Autumn rose Quilting. I couldn't help myself when I saw what they have. Not having any Civil war fabric before I thought I might get just a little bit LOL! Anyway, I can use what is leftover for Dear Jane quilt.

DH and I went to see another movie tonight and it was Mao's Last Dancer. It was such a good movie, directed by an Australian director Bruce Beresford. I highly recommend it. It wasn't a sad movie, but it made me cry with happiness. If you have a chance don't miss it.

Here Comes The Bride

Here comes the Bride yeah! It has taken me long enough, but to be honest I have been working on this block most nights, if I didn't fall as sleep in the middle of it, that is! I am still enjoying it, and every leaf or flower I complete I sit back and admire the progress. I truly believe that I will finish this quilt without a doubt!

Having the group blog motivates me a great deal. I am much more organised with keeping the journal as well. I have no photo of the journal to show you today because I have been busy this weekend attending a pop-up book workshop for both Saturday and Sunday. Will take some photos of the journal next week. I only managed to take a photo of the completed block when I got home this afternoon, thanks to the daylight saving!

Here it is my beautiful bride. I gave her a new hairdo with curved ends. I am happy to add that the fabric for her skirt is the only true civil war fabric I have got in my stash. It's perfect for the skirt. I have added a little lace trim along the bottom edge of the skirt, just to dress her up a little on her wedding day. I hope you like my version of the bride.

These are the blocks I have completed so far. Not too many compared to some other energetic ladies on the group blog , so be sure to hop over and check out everybody's version of this quilt. My next block will be the groom block using the pattern that Lizzie kindly shared with everybody. I will have to work out what I will use to decorate the rest of the block with. I can see that it will be another slow block to complete. I will introduce more fabric in the next block. I am thinking blue for the groom coat, or maybe brown and black. Decisions, decisions! I need some help here please.

Bird Backyard # 4/20 Completed

Finally I have something to show for after two weeks of hand appliqué. I did get sidetracked just a little in those two weeks. Apart from quilting, I make handmade books and journals (please visit my papers blog), so it is only natural that I make a journal for CWBQ. I am hoping that keeping the journal will keep me interested long enough until I complete it. I do hope that this quilt will be an heirloom one day...!

Completed block # 4/20. I really enjoyed working on this block. The block represents the ornamental vines we have in our backyard. The new shoots are budding right at this moment. I managed to take this picture hanging the block from the vine itself. I don't own many mauve fabrics so I just used one fabric and turned some in reverse for the grapes. I am happy with how they look. What I might do later is to add some embroidery on the leaves.

Here is the journal I made. I used some of the motifs from the pattern for the cover of the journal. I have used all these fabrics for the blocks and I really like them, specially the red for the cherries. I will definitely use it again for cherries on other blocks.

The actual journal was spiral bound together with blank pages. I used the image from our CWBQ blog for the title page. There is my name, date and place started.

I have printed out the templates for each block with pictures and spaces for me to fill in the date started, finished, and block number and method used. I also keep samples of fabrics used in each block. There is plastic sleeve in front of the fabric samples to store the freezer paper templates.

Instead of writing everything all over again, I printed the posts from the blog and pasted them for each block I finished. I hope I have given you some thoughts about keeping a journal for your quilts, or at least keeping everything together to help the future generation of quilt historians!!!

Please visi: Civil War Bride Quilt Blog

Civil War Bride Quilt # 1/20 Completed

I wish you could see me jumping with joy after I put the last stitch on this block. The best thing is that I am not fed up with it yet. I have QADD (quilter attention deficit disorder) so I am delighted that I have not got it yet with the CWBQ. Keep our fingers crossed...!

Working on the applique is very enjoyable. I keep it within the guidelines for now because I have not touched applique for almost 10 years. I am surprised that I still have the skills to do it. I just want to touch a little bit on the technical how to of the applique . I know that most of you are accomplished quilters, but some of you have been saying that you have not yet tried the applique. I used two types of applique for this block. For the leaves and smaller pieces I used freezer paper applique and for the larger pieces such the urn and apples I used double applique. Feel free to ask any question regarding the technique; I will try my best to explain it to you.

The thread I used for applique is YLI Silk Thread. It is a perfect thread for the job. I only use grey for all the pieces. The only annoying factor for this thread is that it keeps slipping out from the eye of the needle because the silk is so fine. I overcome this by tying a knot at the end of the thread to the eye of the needle. Believe it or not, the knot is so tiny that it slips right through it when I sew!

Here is the completed block. It took me over a week to get this far. Of course I only work on it after I get home from work. I would spend between 2-3 hours stitching each night. Not having worked on applique for a while I have to try and perfect my stitches again. I am happy with how it turned out for the first block.

Here is another view when I keep my camera straight up and down. I don't know why my photos are always crooked! So far I have not bought any new fabrics for this quilt. I am planning to use up what I have in my stash. I hope that this block inspired you to take up applique too...!

I will let you have a peek at my next block. It is block 4/20. I have chosen this block because it has a grapevine and a bird on it. In our back yard we grow an ornamental grape and the new leaves are starting to open. With new leaves and blossoms in the back yard the birds are here as well. So this block is perfect for Spring stitching. If you notice there is a frieze fragment in the picture. I found this piece of moulding on a pile left by builders after they finished renovating an old church on the Peloponnese, Greece. I love it so much I had to bring it back with me.

Please visit and read more about CWBQ quilts from the members of The Civil War Bride Blog.

The Civil War Bride Quilt # 1/20

One of my purchases from the Quilt and Craft Fair in July was the Civil War Bride Quilt pattern. I did not intend to start for a long time, but since then I discovered that Lizzie has started a blog dedicated to the Civil War Bride quilt. I have been checking the progress of everyone and would very much like to join in. Here is my block 1/20 in progress.

I intend to use only fabric from my stash. I think I might have enough background fabric, but if not I will use different fabric for that. I don't think they were too fussy about what fabric they used during the Civil War in 1860.

To motivate myself and to get started with this quilt, I have got a book out from the library on Women and Civil War by Louise Chipley Slavicek 2009. It was fascinating to read that Mary Edwards Walker was the first woman to wear trousers during the Civil War in 1860. I hope that somewhere in this book there will be something about quilts. I will keep you posted if I come across it.

I just want to show you this beautiful old tin I am using to keep all the applique pieces together. It is in keeping with the period. I hope you enjoy this post with a bit of history. I hope to learn more about the Civil War by the time I finish this quilt.