Richmond II

I recently went to the Presidential Mansion of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia.

Jefferson and Varina Davis lived here during much of the Civil War.

The house is now surrounded by the Virginia Commonwealth University medical buildings.

Above is the street view.

But from the gardens one can imagine how it looked when Varina Davis lived there.

Here's a Matthew Brady photo of the house from the National Archives. I assume this was taken in 1865 when Brady documented the fallen Confederate capital.

 

Street view about 1935

Garden view about 1910

The cupola on top is now gone.

 

Garden view about 1950

 

 

 

See two posts on the blocks Richmond and Christmas Star with stories of the Davis family in this house.

http://civilwarquilts.blogspot.com/2011/02/6-richmond.html http://civilwarquilts.blogspot.com/2011/12/52-christmas-star.html

And see pictures of the interior here.

 http://www.cottages-gardens.com/Connecticut-Cottages-Gardens/November-2012/Lets-Go-Faux/

Roseann's Blocks

Twin Sisters

 

Because we added ten more blocks to the book than are on the blog I asked Roseann Smith to make 8" versions. She used the reproduction fabric line 1862: Battle Hymn that we did earlier this year at Moda.

Courthouse Square

 It's a very somber collection, reflecting the sorrows of the war.

Old Maid's Puzzle

 

Roseanne loves to fussy cut and miter corners.

Sanitary Commission Nine Patch

Sugar Bowl

 

So I said to her, "Let me put those blocks together." She said "Let me see those blocks."

I handed them over. They have been confiscated.

 My theory is she didn't want me messing with her very nice blocks. She has a point. When she gets them together I'll show you.

A Color Scheme of Primaries

 

Peace & Plenty

 

The book Civil War Sampler is going to have instructions for 12" blocks and ten patterns that we didn't have on the blog. This means I had to write ten new stories----I love doing that.

Tennessee

But I also had to make ten new blocks---and since I am not much of a seamstress I put that job off as long as I could.

Pinwheel

 

I do enjoy picking out the fabric, however, and I decided to use a red, green and yellow color scheme--- one that was popular at the time of the Civil War.

Old Maid's Puzzle

 

I added some double pinks

Courthouse Square

And bright blues echoing the Prussian blues and indigoes of the era

Twin Sisters

 

I made a baby quilt out of 9 of the blocks, took snapshots,

And sent the whole thing to the publisher who took much better photos of everything for the book.

You will not get to see any dog parts in the book (notice Dot at top of photo)....even though that might be historically accurate.

 

 

My sister blogged about Abraham Lincoln's dog this week

 :

http://doctorbarkman.blogspot.com/2012/11/lincolns-dog.html

 

More Finished Samplers

Wedding Dress Blue

Alternated a framed four-patch block with her on-point sampler blocks.

Here are a few more completed tops and quilts I've found on our Flickr page.

Ila grouped the blocks with a graphic dark and light set.

Impera Magna went for a classic red, white and blue color scheme.

Just Cruisn MBK

figured out a way to get an extra Flying Geese border in there.

Morgan Girl's olive greens, pinks and golds create a vintage look

 

as do Bettina Meier's pinks and neutrals.

 

Lynn's at Bluebirds Quilts is totally finished.

I can see the quilting in the photo.

 

DorsetSpinner has finished her top with a triple sash.

You may remember she uses a treadle machine.

And Mary at Namawsbuzy created a red and white look with pinwheel stars in the sashing and a red paisley border.

Sandy sent a photo of her finished top. She alternated a framed shoofly block and added others. It's quite different from the blog blocks but a classic sampler.

 

Congratulations to all!

 

 

 

Finished!

Cookie's Creek has her Civil War Sampler quilted, bound and displayed at a show.

The bright blue border really picks up the blues in the center.

 

Here's a shot of a medallion top from Domy R.

I photoshopped it a little, stretching it out, so you can see the center better.

Again, the narrow white border focuses your eye on the white in the center.

Sanguine Stitcher pieced small light frames around each block...a great way to make up for size differences.

 

Stella Bella

 

 And Celine think alike---same stripe for the border: the stripe from Civil War Homefront from 2011--in different colorways.
They did the same set too but reversed the coloring.

Mary Vail's top is ready on the quilting machine.

Notice her alternate block of an X.

It adds a second layer of pattern.

Martine deC used a small nine-patch for her cornerstones...

 

A nice detail

 

And Little Quilts announces she has her masterpiece quilted.

You may recall she embroidered the Gettysburg Address in the alternate quilt blocks.

 

Civil War Sampler Microfiber Cloth

I know it's an oxymoron---the words Civil War and Microfiber in the same sentence--- but it's a great stocking stuffer.

C&T Publishing, which is publishing the Civil War Sampler book, took Becky Brown's cover quilt and printed it on their

fast2clean™ Microfiber Cleaning Cloths

Swipe any screen clean!

 

Here's what you get in a package ($9.95):

1 Large Cloth, plus 1 Medium and 2 Mini Static-Cling Cleaners

 

Now, do not put too much reliance on the historical idea of a Civil War microfiber cloth.

Abe Lincoln here is probably asking Matthew Brady if he can borrow his handkerchief to clean his glasses. He undoubtedly used a handkerchief to clean his smartphone screen too.

Lincoln's Eyeglasses

 

We were looking for a lovely quilt image and Becky's is beautiful.

 

Click here for more information:

http://www.ctpub.com/productdetails.cfm?sku=20199

Here's what they say about the product:

"Each package contains four antimicrobial, lint-free cleaning cloths:
• One large (7” x 6”) Super Hi-Microfiber cloth
• One medium (3” square) Super Hi-Microfiber cloth with static cling backing
• Two mini (1.5” square) cloths with static cling backing

I stuck the medium-sized cloth to my monitor

where it will remind me to actually clean the screen.

Printed with gorgeous full-color details of a quilt featured in Barbara Brackman’s book, Civil War Quilts, these high-quality, reusable cloths are great for cleaning your computer or television screens, as well as smaller devices like cell phones, LCD displays, and cameras. Use them on your eyeglasses, mirrors, CDs, jewelry and more - just toss them in the wash as needed. With the special static cling backing on the medium and mini sizes, you can easily attach the cloth to your device, remove it to swipe your screen clean, then re-attach it and keep it handy for next time. "