Pet Regiment

The fun thing about sharing with you my progress so far is that I get to re-read Rosemary's book! I've read the diary entries twice and when I work on my blog postings, I read the entry a third time. I find the diary entries fascinating and don't mind re-reading them. Rebecca Loraine Richmond was very involved in the Ladies Aid Society in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She is known for her very detailed diary entries from the Civil War era. In this entry she writes in detail about bidding goodbye to the Third Regiment, 'Our Pet Regiment'.

Again, I used fabric similar to what is featured in Rosemary's book. 

'Pet Regiment'
June 13, 1861

Have a wonderful week!  Remember to post your progress on the Civil War Diary Quilt Group on Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1547598@N25/

I will be working on 'Bull Run' out of Rosemary's book next. Hope that you have a great weekend! I'm hoping to spend some time in my studio quilting today.

Happy quilting and perfect stitches to you!

Check out Rosemary's website.  Her books and Cd's can be ordered there too!

Bidding Goodbye

In this passage in Rosemary's book, Rebecca writes in her diary about saying goodbye to several young men who are going to war. During the Civil War many towns would have grand 'parades' to bid the soldiers goodbye. The young men would be in good spirits and excited about going... family members would put on brave faces and wave them goodbye as they marched by. Reminds me of the scene from the movie 'Cold Mountain' as Nicole Kidmans character, Ada waved goodbye to Inman, (Jude Law).

I picked out fabrics similar to what is shown in the book.

'Bidding Goodbye'
June 12, 1861

Have a wonderful week!  Remember to post your progress on the Civil War Diary Quilt Group on Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1547598@N25/

I will be working on 'Pet Regiment' out of Rosemary's book next. Hope that you have a great weekend! School starts in a couple of days, goodbye summer. I will miss my carefree, jammies and coffee until noon days....

Happy quilting and perfect stitches to you!

Check out Rosemary's website.  Her books and Cd's can be ordered there too!

Soldiers Ladies Aid Society

I really like the color combination of this block. I worked on this block during quilt retreat and it seems I had troubles with this one even though I tried to take extra steps to get the fabric in the right areas. My first boo-boo was a 'happy' mistake.... I switched the light and dark on the center star block. I liked the results and left it. It looks like a sweet little sunflower. Happy mistake, I'm gonna leave it. But not all mistakes are happy..... check out the outer border on my 'Soldiers Ladies Aid Society' block.....  there's a triangle of red where it's supposed to be black. Arrrrrrg! I haven't corrected it yet.... I am not looking forward to taking out the teeny tiny stitches in the seams... I will fix it. Just not today... I'm going to go and cry in my coffee and get ready for a super busy weekend...

Love this color combo.... 

My favorite part of this block, my star looks like a sunflower.
So cute! 

'Soldiers Ladies Aid Society'
June 7, 1861

Have a wonderful week!  Remember to post your progress on the Civil War Diary Quilt Group on Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1547598@N25/

I will be working on 'Bidding Goodbye' out of Rosemary's book next. Hope that you have a great weekend! Tonight is my 35th class reunion, geez where did the time go! It'll be fun to go since the last one I went to was my 10th. Then on Sunday I get to spend the day at the state fair. Love the fair! Hope you have a wonderful weekend too!

Happy quilting and perfect stitches to you!

Check out Rosemary's website.  Her books and Cd's can be ordered there too!

The Nobel Third

Another block done on my Civil War Quilt. This one is called 'The Noble Third'. Rebecca Loraine Richmond was very active in the Ladies Aid Society. Many of her diary entries describes in great detail about the ceremonies and the parades that were held for the Third Regiment.

I chose fabrics that were very close to what Rosemary used in her book. I'm finding my huge Civil War stash to be shy of the right kinds of blues and reds that are needed for some of these blocks. I'm trying really hard not to purchase anymore Civil War style fabric until I'm done with this project. (if you saw my bin of Civil War fabric, you would totally understand...)

'The Nobel Third'
June 3, 1861

Have a wonderful week!  Remember to post your progress on the Civil War Diary Quilt Group on Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1547598@N25/

I will be working on 'Soldiers Ladies Aid Society' out of Rosemary's book next. Hope that you have a great weekend! The Minnesota State Fair starts next week! I can't wait to go... I love seeing the quilts that are on display. I'm also looking forward to some cheese curds and sharing some fun with my family!

Happy quilting and perfect stitches to you!

Check out Rosemary's website.  Her books and Cd's can be ordered there too!

Declaration Of War

I'm back from quilt retreat and I had some productive sewing time to work on my Civil War Diary Quilt and also on my Dear Jane quilt. I took pictures so that I can blog about my progress so far. I just love sharing with you my blocks so far, it helps to keep me motivated so this isn't a UFO forever! I have moved onto the chapter in Rosemary's book about Rebecca Loraine Richmond.

I found this write-up about Rebecca on Findagrave.com.... " Rebecca Richmond was the cousin of Elizabeth Bacon Custer, wife of General George Armstong Custer. During the Civil War, Rebecca made several trips to Washington DC to visit Libbie Custer. On one visit Libbie took her to the White House, where she was introduced to President Lincoln. Rebecca lived in Grand Rapids, Michigan her entire life and never married. She died of pneumonia at the Browning Hotel on Sheldon Street at the age of 84." The block I'm showing you today is called, "Declaration of War". It represents Rebecca's diary entry dated April 14, 1861, the date when the telegraph arrived announcing when the guns of rebellion were fired in Charleston.

'Declaration Of War'
April 14, 1861

Have a wonderful week!  Remember to post your progress on the Civil War Diary Quilt Group on Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1547598@N25/

I will be working on 'The Nobel Third' out of Rosemary's book next. Hope that you have a great weekend! August is just flying by! Soon it will be State Fair time and then back to school. Take some time to enjoy the remaining summer days, I know I will be!

Happy quilting and perfect stitches to you!

Check out Rosemary's website.  Her books and Cd's can be ordered there too!

Old Abe Lincoln

 The block I'm showing you today is called 'Old Abe Lincoln '.  I forget quite often that not everyone thought Lincoln was a wonderful president during a very dark chapter of American History. It is clear in Emma's diary entry how the southern states felt when  President Lincoln was assassinated. During the Civil War, Lincoln supported the Union, which opposed slavery. Lincoln did not support the Confederacy or slavery. Remember when Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation it did not pertain to the southern, Confederate states or to the border states. During the war, it only was upheld in the Union.

I am pleased with how my block turned out. I used the pre-printed Lincoln panel for the block. It was so nice of Rosemary to send me the pre-printed panel. I was thinking, if you don't have the panel, you could  print Lincoln's picture on fabric using an old photo that can be found online.  

Here is the fabrics I picked out for this block. 

'Old Abe Lincoln'
April 21, 1864

Have a wonderful week! Remember to post your progress on the Civil War Diary Quilt Group on Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1547598@N25/

I will be working on 'Declaration of War' out of Rosemary's book next. Hope that you have a great weekend!

Happy quilting and perfect stitches to you!

Check out Rosemary's website.  Her books and Cd's can be ordered there too!

Bolts of Fabric

Happy Saturday! I'm still having fun getting my Civil War Diary Quilt blocks done. I'm actually on a roll, I see the end in sight! I'm about three quarter done! This block, I am in love with, love the colors and really like how the fabrics worked out together that I used. After reading Emma's diary entry again this week, I think how fortunate we are to have such beautiful fabrics to work with on a day to day basis. Remember last week Emma was worried about how to replace their clothing. Well in this diary entry she writes about how her father returned and brought back all sorts of provisions. (flour, corn, bacon and fabric) Yes fabric! 6 bolts of 'factory cloth'. Factory cloth is heavy, unbleached homespun, which they will be using to make clothing. Not ideal because it's heavy.  Remember in Gone With the Wind when Scarlett had Mammy make a gown out of green drapes. Fabric was so expensive and hard to come by - it's no wonder that they got imaginative with their dressmaking. Thinking about this, my curtains in my bedroom could make a nice blouse.

I choose fabrics from my Civil War stash... 

'Bolts of Fabric'
April 1, 1864

Have a wonderful week! Remember to post your progress on the Civil War Diary Quilt Group on Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1547598@N25/

I will be working on 'Old Abe Lincoln' out of Rosemary's book next. Hope that you have a great weekend!

Happy quilting and perfect stitches to you!

Check out Rosemary's website.  Her books and Cd's can be ordered there too!

Important note.... my email crashed last weekend. Very sad and upsetting. I lost all of my emails in the inbox.... this includes my pattern testers and if you sent me a any recent email giving me your address so that I can send you a prize you may have won. Please feel free to send me a friendly little 'hello' so that I can restore some of what I lost..... Thank you!

Recovering Items

Happy 4th of July! It is a total coincidence that the block I'm showing you today is red, white and blue. The block I'm showing you today is called 'Recovering Items '. I picked out fabric that matches what is in Rosemary's book. Red, white and blue! In this passage Emma writes about how much of their clothing they lost. She also writes about calico  being priced at $25 to $30 a yard. That's a fortune even in today's economy! How much would you pay a yard for fabric? I'll pay $12 a yard, but rarely do. It's gotta be pretty awesome for me to pay too much. But then again if you pay $4 for a fat quarter.... well that's $16 a yard. So I guess I'm guilty of paying that much a yard... don't let the hubby know.

I'm so glad I saved all of those little bits and pieces...
They sure came in handy for this block. I love how it looks scrappy!

'Recovering Items'
March 14, 1864

Have a wonderful week!  Remember to post your progress on the Civil War Diary Quilt Group on Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1547598@N25/

I will be working on 'Bolts of Fabric' out of Rosemary's book next. Hope that you have a great weekend! I love the 4th of July, I'm looking forward to watching fireworks tonight.

Happy quilting and perfect stitches to you!

Check out Rosemary's website.  Her books and Cd's can be ordered there too!

Guerrilla Warfare

Happy Saturday, hope you have a great weekend ahead that includes some quilting time too.  The block I'm showing you today is called 'Guerrilla Warfare '. I picked out the same colors as what is represented in the book. I am still using foundation paper that I am printing up from Rosemary's companion CD. It sure makes working on this quilt so much easier. I didn't 'flip' the image for the block so my block is a mirror image of what is in the book. But I still really like how it turned out. And besides.... no-one will know that it's backwards when they look at the quilt overall. I'm actually starting to think I will actually get this quilt done in my lifetime. I'm starting to think about sashing fabric and how I will quilt it.

'Guerrilla Warfare'
March 10, 1864

Have a wonderful week! Remember to post your progress on the Civil War Diary Quilt Group on Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1547598@N25/

I will be working on 'Recovering Items' out of Rosemary's book next. Hope that you have a great weekend!

Happy quilting and perfect stitches to you!

Check out Rosemary's website.  Her books and Cd's can be ordered there too!

Abomination of Desolation

 It's Saturday! Being out of school has freed up a little of my time and I have been trying to work on my Civil War Diary Quilt when I have a free moment here and there. I'm still working on the blocks from Emma
Florence LeConte Furman chapter from Rosemary's book.

Emma writes about the destruction of the burning of Columbia, South Caroline during General Sherman's Carolinas Campaign. The block I'm showing you today is called 'Abomination of Desolation '. In this passage Emma writes in her diary...

".... I have seen the "Abomination of Desolation" It is even worse that I thought. The place is literally in ruins. The entire heart of the city is in ashes - only the outer edges remains...."

Emma Florence LeConte Furman

To read more of Emma's diary entries, I found a great site. Check it out HERE.

Here are the fabrics I picked out...

Instead of using foundation paper, I just rotary cut
the square out to be sewn together.

"Abomination of Desolation'
February 22, 1864

Have a wonderful week! Remember to post your progress on the Civil War Diary Quilt Group on Flickr. You can even check out what I've gotten done there too!

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1547598@N25/

I will be working on 'Guerrilla Warfare' out of Rosemary's book next. Hope that you have a great weekend!

Happy quilting and perfect stitches to you!

Check out Rosemary's website.  Her books and Cd's can be ordered there too!

Sadness And Silence

I have 75 blocks done out of the 121 blocks that are in Rosemary's book, 'The Civil War Diary Quilt'. I may actually get this quilt done in my lifetime. The block I'm showing you today is called 'Sadness and Silence '. In this passage Emma writes in her diary...

"The very air is fraught with sadness and silence. The few noises that break the stillness seem melancholy and the sun does not seem to shine as brightly, seeming to be dimmed by the sight of so much misery...."

Emma Florence LeConte Furman

I have my material picked out and foundation paper printed
and ready to go...

Sadness and Silence
February 21, 1864

Have a wonderful week! Remember to post your progress on the Civil War Diary Quilt Group on Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1547598@N25/

I will be working on 'Abomination of Desolation' out of Rosemary's book next. Hope that you have a great weekend!

Happy quilting and perfect stitches to you!

Check out Rosemary's website.  Her books and Cd's can be ordered there too!

Churches Spared

 The block I'm showing you today is called 'Churches Spared'. In this passage Emma writes in her diary about how three of the churches in her community were spared. Which is pretty miraculous since everything was burnt around them. She writes about how it's Sunday but there are no church bells ringing. I remember on 9-11 the quiet that evening. I am used to the constant hum of traffic and planes flying over head. I will never forget the eerie silence that evening. I'm guessing that I felt about the same as Emma did when she experience the absence of church bells that  February Sunday morning.

My fabric choices from my fabric stash.

It is so helpful to write the colors on your foundation
paper as you work on the block. Especially since this
block is so detailed.

Churches Spared
February 20, 1864

Have a wonderful week! Remember to post your progress on the Civil War Diary Quilt Group on Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1547598@N25/

I will be working on 'Sadness and Silence' out of Rosemary's book next. Hope that you have a great weekend! It might be a nice weekend to do some gardening. I'm sure I have a few weeds to pull! They always seem to grow better then my flowers at times.

Happy quilting and perfect stitches to you!

 

Check out Rosemary's website.  Her books and Cd's can be ordered there too!