Fabric for Yankee Diary

Susan B Rogers quilt, 1867, Smithsonian Institution collection

Susan's quilt is one of the samplers that provided inspiration for our 2017 Block of the Month Yankee Diary. It begins Wednesday, January 25.

Susan B used a white background with various blues, reds and greens. Note the flags of striped fabric. Hers is set in conventional squares but we are going to be doing an irregular set with various sized and shaped blocks.

I am doing mine in traditional colors like Susan B, primarily red, white and blue with green and yellow accents---no browns.

• Turkey red reproduction prints for the reds.
• Various bright and dark blues from my Union Blues and Baltimore Blues lines.
• A little gold in print and plain.
• Some rather odd olive greens for leaves.
• And the background is a plain white.

Denniele is doing hers in red, white and blue. Her background is a plain navy blue.  For the applique and piecing she's using some clear, bright reds and the blues are from Baltimore Blues

Becky's background is a small print, a slightly gray shirting print.

Her colors are red and green but in this block the red is pushed to pink and the green to a more pastel, clear green.

Here she's pushed the red to madder orange.

You'll be making some flags. I bought a fat quarter of a blue polka dot and a red zig-zag stripe. Denniele also used a zig-zag for her flags; Becky a traditional madder-style stripe. A fat quarter of each is enough but you may want a half yard so you can use the prints in other blocks too.

Flag fabrics

Here's the plan for the quilt finishing 42" x 54"

The numbers are the monthly pattern numbers.

Fabric Requirements

I bought 3 yards of the background---I'm not planning a border.

But if you want to add a 9" border to make the quilt 60" x 72" buy 1-3/4 yards.

For the applique and piecing in the blocks you will want an assortment of prints (or maybe plains). You'll need the flag fabric (see above).

Fat quarters:  Perhaps 8 would be enough for the monthly blocks and checkerboard filler strips. It's going to be very scrappy so you probably can raid your stash for most of it.

Block 6 in the diagram is a checkerboard filler.

Other Color ideas.

Below some samplers I found on the internet.

First: Monochromes

Red & white by whom? (see UPDATE below)

Here's a sampler of irregular sized blocks, which

is what we'll be doing. It looks great in red and white

and the two-color combination unifies different sizes and blocks.

Thanks to commenter Alwayssketpintap: "thought I'd share the designers of the red and white sampler shown above. They are the SentimentalStitches.net Gay Bomers and DearJane.com author, Brenda Papadakis. Their debut duet work was called Just Takes Two.

Same sampler in two fabrics - recolored in blue and white.

Shades of blue by whom? 

Thanks to Chickadee who says:

The blue house quilt is called Indigo Manor by Louisa Otis. The pattern, called Meet Me at the Manor, was in Quiltmaker magazine. Isn't it beautiful? I've never made a monochromatic quilt but it is tempting.

Almost black and white by Elisa 

Then there's sophisticated neutrals

Farmhouse Spring Sampler. 

Colors pushed almost to grays.

The kit is from The Cotton Patch---wools and cotton flannels.

Settlers' Pride sampler by Maggie Bonanomi

Wool on black.

That Maggie look is a great look.

Passion Flowers by Becky Goldsmith, 2008

And then there's Becky Goldsmith's take on traditional color.