Antebellum Album

My final completion of the month: 

ANTEBELLUM ALBUM.

I don't have a destination in mind for this quilt, but I'm glad to have it wrapped up.  I've been on a mission, and I did a good job of 'finishing up' this month, three UFOs done!  I have maybe eight more tops still waiting for their turn. 

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Antebellum Album

Woohoo -- progress on Antebellum Album, 

last year's Civil War BOM!

  I left off with this project back in late December.  The block series finished at that time, and I had all my blocks and alternates pieced and put together.  I wanted to add borders to enlarge it, but I knew that the amount of fabric I had remaining was very limited ... and was **many** years old, so not readily available any more.  So I set everything aside and let it stew in the back of my mind for a while.

After three months of procrastinating, I finally got myself talked into just getting it done.  This is not the border I originally had in mind, but it's how far my fabric went, and it's OK.

A final striped border gathered everything together, but again I was inhibited by a very limited amount of very vintage fabric.  I would have liked the final border to be a bit wider, and also to have had enough to adjust the corner miters a bit better.  Sigh -- it is what it is.

Moving this one ahead to the To-Be-Quilted queue.

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Antebellum Album

The final block for Barbara Brackman's

ANTEBELLUM ALBUM BOM

was released yesterday!

A Double Life

 I had finished piecing the alternate blocks a while ago, so it was quick work to get the top assembled.

At this point, the project dimensions are 60" x 60".  I'd like my quilt to be larger though, so I'm simmering on some ideas for adding borders to increase the size.  I have limited amounts of the light and the pink used in the alternate blocks, so design decisions will need to take that into consideration.  I'll come back to this project later this winter.

Now that Antebellum Album has concluded, Barbara Brackman will be offering two new sew-along series.  The first one, Stars in Her Crown, begins on January 5 and continues for ten blocks.  The second one, Hospital Sketches, begins at the end of January and will involve nine applique blocks. I'm not sure I will participate in either one this time: hoping to do some of my own projects for a while, including delving into Brackman's new book, Kansas City Star Quilts Sampler.

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Antebellum Album

Barbara Brackman's ANTEBELLUM ALBUM

I fizzled out on this BOM back in August, when we were busy with out of town guests and Lucci's big birthday party, and somehow never got back to it. 

 Here's where I left off:

 I spent the day today (finally) catching up and doing some forward thinking about this project.

Block #9 - Lexington Belle 

 Block #10 - Carolina Lily

 Block #11 - Ever Widening Circle

 I also finished sewing the alternate blocks, so here's where I stand now:

It's likely that I'm going to enlarge this beyond the 60" x 60" top we're working toward.  I browsed through my stash tubs and came up with some possibilities for sashing, borders, etc. One more block next month, and then I can make some further design decisions.

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Antebellum Album

Barbara Brackman's Civil War Quilts

Antebellum Album 

#8 - Southern Cross

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Antebellum Album

#7 - Chimney Sweep

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Antebellum Album

Barbara Brackman's

Antebellum Album BOM

Block 6: Madame's Star

Halfway done!

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Antebellum Album

Month 5 of Barbara Brackman's

ANTEBELLUM ALBUM

Cross and Crown

This month we learned about Charlotte Forten Grimke, the first free woman of color to graduate from college in Salem, Massachusetts.  She went on to become a teacher, writer and lecturer.  Sadly, the challenges she faced in the 1850s are relevant today also.

My block set is growing.  I need to get going on more of the alternate blocks. 

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Antebellum Album

Month 4 of Barbara Brackman's

ANTEBELLUM ALBUM

Quaker Pride

This month's block was popular in friendship quilts during the 1800s, and there are many surviving examples of this antique signature block.  Barbara's article discussed needlework curriculum in schools of the time, and also mentioned disheartening

maternal mortality rates.

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Antebellum Album

Barbara Brackman's ANTEBELLUM ALBUM BOM  

Month 3 - Friendship Star

This was a block that required concentration --

lots of set-in seams!

This month we read about the education and adult lives of some young ladies who attended 'finishing school' in New York during the 1840s.

Enjoy more quilt history at CIVIL WAR QUILTS

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Antebellum Album

February passes so quickly!

Already time for Block 2 of Barbara Brackman's 

ANTEBELLUM ALBUM.

This month we learned about some early styles of friendship quilts, and also  traced the lives and careers of some students from Mount Holyoke Seminary.

Lend & Borrow

I began working on the alternate blocks also, and I like the soft colorations I'm working with.

Learn more about ANTEBELLUM ALBUM at

  Barbara Brackman's' Civil War Quilts blog

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Antebellum Album

Today is the first installment of

Barbara Brackman's 2018 BOM

ANTEBELLUM ALBUM

Wandering Lover

In the article, Barbara discusses Indie Fletcher Williams, whose affluent family had close associations to both the North and the South during the Civil War.

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Antebellum Album

Introductory information posted today about

Barbara Brackman's 2018 block-of-the-month series

ANTEBELLUM ALBUM

Barbara's series are always informative and challenging!

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