Baltimore Applique Society's Lady of Victory Quilt

My friend Taryn wrote recently about the unveiling of the Lady of Victory opportunity quilt on her blog "Reproduction and Antique Lover"  with photos of the lovely applique block she made. So, I thought I would share the story about this quilt, and photos of the block I made.

How the project came about: Mary Koval purchased a beautiful Baltimore Album quilt. The center block is Baltimore's "Battle Monument" and at the top of that monument stands the Lady of Victory -- thus the name "Lady of Victory Quilt." Mary has since donated the antique quilt to the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Arts in Cedarburg, Wisconsin.

The patterns: Mary graciously gave her permission to the Baltimore Applique Society to produce the Lady of Victory quilt pattern. The pattern set includes 25 - 18"x18" patterns, border patterns, information on the history of the quilt, and a CD-ROM with a high-resolution photo of each block. Proceeds from pattern sales will help the BAS further its goals to help museums preserve antique quilts and to promote the art of applique.

The opportunity quilt: Baltimore Applique Society then produced an opportunity quilt from the pattern set. BAS members volunteered to stitch the blocks, then all the embroidery details were added. Blocks were to be made as close to the antique quilt as possible. Volunteers were each given a kit with all the fabrics, a photo of the antique block and a pattern to work from.

     Here are some closeups of the block that I stitched. Lots of techniques on this block! The eagle's eye is an oval fussy-cut. I tried to keep the edges nice and smooth, but keep the little lines that look like eyelashes. It was a challenge to needleturn such a tiny piece by hand! But that beak was the most difficult challenge -- to get that red part flat underneath and then cover all the edges with the inner and outer points on the beak.

To make this flower, I sewed strips of red and pink together, then cut the petals out one at a time; the same way we often make split leaves from two green fabrics.

Berries were made the same way.

... and a little split bud. The little pointy red bud but was done with reverse applique. The eagle's yellow feathers could be done with reverse applique, or applique on top. I chose to stitch them on top -- I basted them on in a group as one piece, then cutaway excess a little at a time.

The flag is red stripes only, just like on the antique quilt. The star on the flag was MUCH easier to stitch by stacking two triangles crisscross.

I hope you enjoyed this little applique closeup tour. I can't wait to see the whole quilt in person, all quilted!

Keep Stitching!

~ Barbara

Annette of Alberta's Baltimore Garden Blocks

One of the first questions people ask when starting an applique project is, "How do I choose fabrics?"

You are only limited by your imagination and the fabrics available to you. However, it is always interesting to see what other stitchers have done. They may take your imagination to new places.

Annette J. of Alberta, Canada is stitching applique blocks from the book "Baltimore Garden Quilt." She has a company called Natures Colors, and she is using her own hand dyed fabrics in a rainbow of colors. So her take on this quilt is quite different from the antique red-and-green color scheme. With her permission, I can share her photos here. Thank you Annette!

Enjoy "nature's colours" stitched by Annette:

Cynthia in Texas - Broderie Perse Applique

Cynthia in Texas has been busy stitching her Baltimore Garden Quilt blocks with a beautiful twist. She is adding a broderie perse technique, cutting motifs such as flowers and birds from various fabrics. Cynthia is a master at finding just the right fabrics, and using them to their best advantage.

We have seen Cynthia's Block B1 in a previous post, and I've been anxious to share more of her blocks. Now she has finished several more blocks, and here they are (with Cynthia's permission, of course). This one, a floral block with trios of roses in pinks, reds, and burnt orange. Check out these bursting rosebuds, with just a bit of the rose motif in the calyx, and added sets of newly formed rosebuds.

Then, Cynthia completed a wreath with four open blooms - not sure what the flower is called, but it sure is appropriate for this lovely wreath.

Next, a sprouting garden of pinks and iris, and a wreath of old fashioned roses. Several leaves are also carefully cut from her focus fabric.

Here is Cynthia's version of a Woven Basket. Are you noticing all the little tendrils? There are even some tiny morning glory buds to promise more blooms for tomorrow.

And a coordinated vase of full-blown roses, of course, complete with their buds and leaflets.

Perfect for a four-block set!

Cynthia continues on, (there is no stopping her!) to make the same Vase block again, this time, featuring a cutout of a maiden pouring water from a jug. Quite an inspiration for creative use of printed fabrics, don't you think? (And look closely - there are TWO birds in there!)

Note From Cynthia:  The floral fabric is Love Letters by Laundry Basket for Moda. The toile border (and a bit on the baskets) is Garden of Enchantment by Maywood Studio. The background toile is Reflections by Ro Gregg for Paintbrush Studio. 

Baltimore Garden Quilt Fabric Suggestions

The search for just the right fabric continues!

Quilters have sent me questions and suggestions about fabric choices for their Baltimore Garden Quilts, and other 1850s reproduction red and green quilts. As fabrics go out of print and new ones become available, I will try to post more suggestions. Several stitchers are doing blocks with broderie perse fabrics. Those I will list in another post very soon, with lots of photos!

Here are some fabric lines suggested by friends, and shop owners, and some that I have used. The first ones listed may be available now, or have been out for a year or two. Later in my list are newer lines coming soon.

Turkey Red – There are a lot of nice Turkey red solids and subtle prints available all the time. However, I would NOT recommend Kona – it is too thick and heavy for fine appliqué and especially too thick for multilayer flowers.

Here is a red fabric that I have really enjoyed using for multilayer flowers, Robert Kaufman "Fusions" Screen Print D# 5573 (pictured below). This multilayer flower is from the Block B3 pattern; the most complex layered flower in the book, Baltimore Garden Quilt. See how the subtle shading makes it look like each petal was stitched on separately?

For greens and yellows, the following choices are wonderful, if you can still find them:

Windham Fabrics - Baltimore Album ca 1847 – Mary Koval
http://www.windhamfabrics.net/cgi-bin/fabricshop/gallery.cgi?Category=436&View=All&v=1

Windham Fabrics - Mary’s Blenders – Mary Koval
http://www.windhamfabrics.net/cgi-bin/fabricshop/gallery.cgi?Category=479&View=All&v=1

Andover Fabrics - Crimson and Clover – Jo Morton
http://www.andoverfabrics.com/Grid.php?GroupName=Crimson and Clover by Jo Morton

Andover Fabrics - Crimson Bouquet – Jo Morton
http://www.andoverfabrics.com/Grid.php?GroupName=Crimson Bouquet
(A-5085-Y is a fabulous golden yellow!)

COMING SOON, OR LATER THIS YEAR

A friend who recently attended Quilt Market posted an update of future fabric ranges on her blog. Here are some you might want to consider for your Baltimore Garden Quilt.
Here is a fabric line I am really looking forward to! PERFECT yellows, PERFECT greens, and one potential Turkey red print (available 11-20-2012):

Windham Fabrics, New Colonies by Nancy Gere:
http://www.windhamfabrics.net/cgi-bin/fabricshop/gallery.cgi?Category=595&View=All&v=1

Blue Hill Fabrics has some good candidates for yellows and greens in Pomegranate – Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum:
http://bluehillfabrics.net/collections/item/41-pomegranate

There might be a green candidate here:

Marcus Fabrics - Tavern Collection Greens – Paula Barnes
http://www.marcusfabrics.com/cgi-bin/fabricgallery/gallery.cgi?Category=659

The next two collections will be popular for Baltimore Album quilts – definitely also on my list:

Newcastle Fabrics - Prussian Blue – Pamela Weeks
http://newcastlefabric.com/gallery/item/35-prussian-blue

Little Pink Stars – Margo Krager
http://newcastlefabric.com/gallery/item/22-little-pink-stars

If you find other great fabric candidates, please post a comment!

Here is another find (thank you Charmaine!) from Andover Fabrics - IQSC Square in a Square (available September 2012)
http://www.andoverfabrics.com/Grid.php?GroupName=IQSC Square in Square

Morning Glory Bluebirds

Following up on an earlier post, More Excuses to Buy Fabric (as if we need excuses), I suppose that post was a bit of a teaser, since I didn't show the whole quilt. So here is a picture of the whole quilt.

Morning Glory Bluebirds, 63"x63" made by Barbara M. Burnham

This quilt is one of my favorites, as I am a HUGE bluebird fan. We are so fortunate to have bluebirds raise their young in a nestbox in our backyard every summer.

The morning glory wreath block is from a series of applique patterns called "Joyce's Garden" in the 1980s. The first blue block turned out so pretty, I made a pink one. Those two blocks languished in a closet for years. Then one day, I decided to try designing some bluebirds on the blocks. They turned out pretty too, but then they sat in a closet for a few more years. Later, we moved to our current home and immediately put up a bluebird box. Within 15 minutes, we had bluebirds inspecting the box! Ever since then, we have had bluebirds nesting in our backyard.

To quote my friend, Wendell Long: "Nothing exceeds the wonder and magic of the first flight of a bluebird." You wait for hours to see each nestling take that first scary flight from the safety of their nest and head for the trees, or sometimes, land somewhere totally unintended. They are SO much fun to watch as they learn to hunt for bugs and chase one another around the gardens. That is what inspired me to design this quilt’s border with the fledglings hiding among the morning glories, begging for caterpillars.

For the hand quilting, I used a stencil with a woven trellis design (for the morning glory vines to climb on), and Quilter’s Dream Request Cotton. It was a challenge to keep the overs and unders of the trellis marked correctly!

This quilt has won some ribbons, some of them blue. One of the judge’s comments said the birds did not have enough contrast (blended in too much). They didn’t realize that my intent was to emulate nature’s camouflage – that was kind of the point of blending them in. You have to really look for them. I think judges often don’t have much time to enjoy the quilts.
 

Baltimore Grid

What is the "Baltimore Grid?"
Instead of cross hatching, I often hand quilt my applique quilts with the Baltimore Grid pattern. The Baltimore Grid forms an X in the center, and lines echo from that X. It is easy to do! There is a stencil available, but it doesn't fit every situation. (The same stencil is very handy to mark a Chevron border - you just use half of the stencil.) Here is a link to the stencil to see what it looks like: http://quiltingstencils.com/baltimoregrid16.aspx

The Baltimore Grid is easy to mark to fit any applique design. You can alternate direction on each block, or follow the X pattern across an entire quilt. Here is how I used the Baltimore Grid pattern on my Bluebird Basket quilt.

From the back:

How to Mark the Baltimore Grid
For a single block -- say you have a 12 inch block -- put a pin at each 1-inch on all 4 sides of the block. These marks will be evenly spaced across the block. A block seamline or sashing can be the stopping point or change of direction. Mark diagonal lines with a hera marker from point to point, or use blue painter's tape to mark the quilting lines. If you use a water soluble marker, you can mark dots at the inch marks to guide placement for each line of painter's tape. Be sure to quilt along the correct side of the tape.

For blocks that do not measure in exact full inches, cut a length of paper the same length of the block. Fold the paper into even sections (in half, then half again, etc.) until you have folds that are all equal, close to an inch or so. Mark the correct fold lines on the paper with a pencil. Use the marks at the edge of the paper to place pins or marks.

On my large center block, I used the red dogtooth as equal points, and at the center sides, center top and center bottom, I changed direction. Marking only a quarter of the block at a time, I used a long strip of blue painter's tape at vertical and horizontal to mark my center stopping points. I marked the lines with a hera marker along a clear plastic ruler. You don't see a center X because of the applique, but the diagonal lines sometimes continue through spaces between the applique.
 

There is also a feather vine here, which interrupts the grid, but the Baltimore Grid lines are all continuous, out from the center on this quilt and through the borders.

Here's another bonus - when you finish quilting the grid, maybe you will want to quilt some more, and decide to do cross hatching, or add quilting in some or all of the quilt. You are halfway there! That is exactly what happened with this little quilt. When I pulled out all the basting stitches, it just was not enough quilting to suit me. The quilt was nice and square, so I bound it, and then quilted between each line, all by eye - no more marks were needed.

Lori Smith Fit-to-Frame

To follow up on an earlier post,
http://baltimoregardenquilts.blogspot.com/2012/04/echo-quilting-by-hand.html
I finally finished binding this little quilt. The pattern was designed for Lori Smith's Fit-to-Frame series, but I decided to finish the wall hanging with no frame.
At Caron's request, here is the finished piece.

Echo quilting by hand is something I really enjoyed, and can't wait to try again!