Saturday, September 19, 2020

Well-Loved Ladies QAL: Whig Rose

                                 

Welcome to Block 2.
The photo above is a portion of 
a circa 1860 quilt in my collection.
The quilting is applique' outline,
leaves, rosettes, and a gorgeous 
plant of some kind in the border.
The blocks are huge so I had
to reduce for my oversized blocks:)
Yes that is a blue polka dot
in the stems!!!
This is why there is blue in this
block only and I was just 
as surprised as you may be.

where I showcase the 
variations of designs and 
it is exciting to announce that 
this lecture will become available
in ZOOM format in 2021
for so many more guilds to access
and see all the lovely details.

So let's talk Whig Rose variations!
This design is highly recognized and
I personally own 6 Rose of Sharon
quilts from which this variation derives.
There are a lot of similarities
and then the fun bits that
make them different.
Most of the variations
are the number of leaves/roses.
Then there is the positioning 
of the stems/vines.
I have one with an eagle/stars
and a pieced one with stuff work
that is beyond amazing!!

Rose of Sharon comes
from the Song of Solomon
in the bible and was early inspiration 
for many designs.

Barbara Brackman, Queen of
design indexing, has no fewer
than 28 Rose of Sharon variations 
and an additional 20 Whig/Dem
variations in her Encyclopedia
of Applique' book.

The Whig party was the Republican
party at the time so how does one
differentiate?
See the Additional Reading below...

BARBARA BRACKMAN OFFERS some explanation 

of the difference between a Whig Rose and a 

Democrat Rose from a catalog she wrote for the 

Spencer Museum of Art: Flora Botanica.


ASSEMBLY TIPS

This will be a great block to 
use that Teflon pressing sheet
if you are doing fusible applique'.
You have that center rose of
4 layers along with the accent
on the stems.
These can all be premade 
before placement onto 
the background.
Using this method would 
allow you to assemble
all stems with accents
and rosettes before placement.

No pressing sheet?
How about parchment paper?
 

Come quilt along with us
as we learn about the quilts
that inspired my 
WELL-LOVED LADIES 
SAMPLER PATTERN
FULL PATTERN

Whig Rose TEMPLATES ONLY

ADDITIONAL READING:
The links below go into more depth about 
either the history of the plants if you are a 
gardener OR the history of the quilt block. 
Barbara Brackman will blow you away
with all the variations she has accumulated!!
ENJOY~


Saturday, September 5, 2020

Well-Loved Ladies QAL: Currants

                                                   http://nestlingsbyrobin.com/lectures--workshops.html
Welcome to Block 1.
The photo above is from the 
center of a circa 1860 
quilt in my collection.
The quilting is a cross hatch done
in 1/4" grid which gives it a 
fabulous look and feel!

where I wanted to showcase the 
variations of designs because
I am fascinated by how designs
have evolved over time.

Most of the time this block
is seen with berries added but
I do like the simplicity of this layout.

This plant was being grown here in
the US during the mid 19th century time 
allowing quilters to be inspired 
and it easily lends itself to 
quilt design. 

"...introduced by English settlers at the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 
1629 and was cultivated on some scale, particularly in New York
The plant acts as a host for the white pine blister rust that
 threatened the timber industry. In 1911, the Federal government banned 
the cultivation, sale and transport of blackcurrants to protect the white pine."

Since then the Federal ban was lifted but
some states still have the ban in place.
NY just lifted theirs in 2003.



Look at the leaf shape of a currant 
plant and you can definitely see that in 
the applique' and why berry clusters
would be added to the layout.

Below we have the poke weed 
which is poisonous and used
as a fast dye.
It came to the quilting world through
the widespread study of botany,
 obvious beauty, and was
also used by some women of the day
as a political statement.
Easy to see how these two could
have been used interchangeably 
depending on where you lived.

Come quilt along with us
as we learn about the quilts
that inspired my 
WELL-LOVED LADIES 
SAMPLER PATTERN
FULL PATTERN

First block: Currants
(Includes quilt instruction)

Currants TEMPLATES ONLY

ADDITIONAL READING:
The links below go into more depth about 
either the history of the plants if you are a 
gardener OR the history of the quilt block. 
Barbara Brackman will blow you away
with all the variations she has accumulated!!
ENJOY~