My son, Zach, is an avid history student who loves to reenact various eras from America's past. One of his special interests has always been the Civil War so I decided to make him a reproduction United States Sanitary Commission quilt based on an actual surviving quilt I saw in one of my quilt books.
I used the dimensions for a "Sanitary Commission Nine-Patch" given in Barbara Brackman's wonderful book Quilts From the Civil War and then tried my best to copy the colors used in the original piece. My quilt was sewn entirely by hand but soldier quilts of the period were often machine sewn since these went together faster and therefore got to the men quicker.
I decided to tie or "tuft" my quilt instead of hand quilting it because this was a common 19th century way to finish a utility quilt. Hospitals were in desperate need of these cot sized quilts so women made them as fast as they could in order to help comfort their sick and wounded men. Because of this, I'm sure that more than a few were put together quickly by tying. Women and children on the home front (both sides) worked selflessly to keep their soldiers supplied with quilts and other necessities but it was the United States Sanitary Commission that stood second to none in making sure these treasured items ended up in the places where they were needed most.
I hope everyone is having a good weekend. I will be sharing a few more Civil War projects in the coming days so until then.....Happy stitching!
Sandy
6 comments:
What a beautiful quilt! It's funny how hand-sewing things give an extra dimension to the result. Monica
Beautiful quilt, I love the fabrics you chose! I always prefer hand quilting to the tie look, but I am in the process of finally quilting my years ago pieced counterpane and my gosh, it takes two hours per block to hand quilt it. At 60 blocks, this will take "forever". I can certainly understand now why they tied these! If I ever attempt another quilt, I'm tying it! I just hope it looks as great as yours does!
Thanks so much, Robin & Monica. And Robin, I will let you in on a little secret....I actually started to hand quilt this quilt but got impatient with the process. I like the hand quilted look much better too but was relieved to realize that tying was very common in the 19th century, especially for this type of quilt. Hand quilting is my least favorite part of making a quilt...I guess that's one reason why I usually make doll quilts!!!
Gorgeous quilt Sandy and your son looks most pleased to have received it. I have the Barbara Brackman book. You've inspired me to get it out today and sit and enjoy a look thru.
Thanks so much, Lori! Aren't Barbara's books great? I have four or five of them and have actually read most from cover to cover. That's not something I usually do either but the info she gives is just so fascinating...I love reading them :)
Love this quilt! Your son looks very pleased with his new treasure!
Carolyn :)
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