Tuesday, August 26, 2014

My Civil War Heroes quilt--Done!

In early 2013 I started to make a quilt to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War and to honor my gr-grandfathers who so bravely fought for the Union.


I began making Log Cabin blocks and followed the directions for Barb Vedder's Four-Patch Log Cabin in Quilt Almanac 2013. Thanks, Barb! The Log Cabin pieces are 1/2". It was a great way to use up a lot of scraps but I was definitely lacking in the "lights" department.    


All the letters are done in reverse applique. I purchased a set of alphabet stencils at Staples and laid out each name on a large piece of paper before transferring it to fabric. 


Here's a detail. I quilted around the inside of each letter and did diagonal row quilting in the background.


The center of each corner block features a Civil War general. I quilted concentric squares on point (3/4" apart) in each area of darks and lights with cross-hatching in the borders.   




Robert Bower, my maternal gr-grandfather, enlisted as a Private on 25 Aug 1862 at the age of 34 in Co. C 50th Regiment MA Volunteer Infantry. He was mustered out on 24 Aug 1863 in Wenham, MA.



Horace E. Davis, my paternal gr-grandfather, enlisted as a Private in Co. G 2nd Regiment NY Mounted Rifles at the age of 27. He was wounded on 17 Jun 1864 at the Battle of Petersburg.  He served from 30 Dec 1863-10 Feb 1865 and was discharged from Finley Hospital in Washington, DC. He received a Distinguished Service medal.



James McCord, my maternal gr-grandfather, enlisted as a Private on 19 Aug 1862 at West Farms, NY, in Co. C 6th NY Heavy Artillery at the age of 24. He was promoted to Full Sergeant on 26 Feb 1864 and Full Sergeant Major on 14 Apr 1865. He was mustered out on 28 Jun 1865 at Petersburg, VA.


I put this Lincoln Toile on the back which is the same fabric I used in Lincoln's Woes.


Here's the label with all the pertinent info :-)


__________
Copyright 2014, Barbara Schaffer





5 comments:

  1. love this quilt, what a special tribute. love the fabric you chose for the backing of the quilt too!
    using a stencil and doing reverse appliqué what a great suggestion I will be making a trip to Staples to check this out!
    thanks!
    Kathie in NJ

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  2. Your quilt will be a cherished family quilt for generations to come.

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  3. Wonderful quilt - wonderful family history.
    I love the backing and label and especially your lettering - really well done! I wish there was a special civil war quilt exhibit where we could display our modern love for the civil war era and our quilts that are a tribute to it.
    Hhhmmm, any connections to aqs or IQA?

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  4. What a terrific quilt! Wonderful story and photos to go along with it.

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