Applique Tutorials

McCordsville, quilt top by Barbara Brackman,

inspired by the work of Susan McCord.

Karla Menaugh's blog offers a class in fine machine applique. A recent topic is how to prepare and applique split leaves or two-tone leaves like those in the quilt above.

http://karlamenaugh.blogspot.com/2010/03/split-images.html

 The pattern is from a book that Karla, Shauna Christensen, Deb Rowden and I did several years ago called Our Favorite Quiltmakers: Susan McCord.

Thanks, Susan McCord by EuJane Taylor,

Photographed at Quilt Market a few years ago.

The Shade Garden Sampler included several applique blocks based on McCord's style.

Shade Garden Sampler by Joan Nell

Cut Glass Dish by Dorothy LeBeouf

Cut Glass Dish by Ilyse Moore

See Susan McCord's original Harrison Rose from the collection of the Henry Ford Museum and a quilted version at Wendy Sheppard's blog

http://ivoryspring.wordpress.com/2008/10/01/a-grouse-y-sort-of-wholecloth/

See more about our book here:

https://www.pickledishstore.com/productDetail.php?PID=1040

Butternut and Blue in the Civil War

Borderland Sampler by Jeanne Poore, Overland Park, Kansas 2005, 91" x 91"

The quilts above and below are from a book I did a few years ago

 called Borderland in Butternut and Blue.

Butternut & Blue by Ilyse Moore, Overland Park, Kansas 38" x 38".

 Ilyse redrafted the blocks to 12 inches and added her own border.

When I taught the class on which the book is based, we used navy blue and yellow ochre to symbolize the Confederacy and the Union in the Civil War.We tend to think of Civil War colors as "the blue and the gray," but many Southern soldiers had no access to official Confederate uniforms and wore their everyday clothing made of home-dyed butternut. 

Sketch of a Missouri guerilla fighter

from the Library of Congress collection.

Guerilla fighters were referred to as "Butternuts."

Click here to see my guest blog about butternut and blue at the Kansas City Star's Pickledish site.

http://pickledish.kcstar.com/?q=node/1005

I think the color combination symbolizes the North and the South so well I've done two books on the topic.

Borderland in Butternut and Blue features a sampler quilt with some stand-alone projects.

Click here: https://www.pickledishstore.com/productDetail.php?PID=765

Buttermilk and Blue by Dorothy LeBoeuf, Rogers, Arkansas, 85" x 85",

a combination of two blocks from the Borderland book.

Butternut & Blue: Threads of the Civil War contains several pieced and appliqued designs.

It looks like none are available if you check the big online book sources (or they cost twice the original price) but a few quilt shops still have copies. Here's one online source:

http://www.aquiltersfabricgarden.com/books.html

And Quilters' Warehouse sells it. Click here:

http://www.quilterswarehouse.com/p-6533-butternut-blue-by-sunflower-co-op.aspx

I've also used the colors in my Moda collection Civil War Homefront that is in quilt shops now.

Swatches from Civil War Homefront in Sassafras Tan, Sorghum Brown and Ironclad Navy

These new reproduction prints would look great in any of the projects from either book. Below are two reproduction quilts by Karla Menaugh from the Butternut & Blue book.

Western Sun by Karla Menaugh 45" x 45"

Midnight Garden by Karla Menaugh 40" x 50"

I know it's confusing---all these Butternuts and Blues, but I like the way the words sound. And to make things even more confusing Terry Thompson and I did a fabric collection called Butternut and Blue for Moda several years ago, from which the two quilts above were made.

More Thrift Store Quilts

Sujata Shah, 36" x 48", recycled shirts.

A few more quilt tops from correspondents in Washington state.

Sujata writes:
"This quilt is based on the Gee's Bend quilts. I used to teach at a local shop and ran a club for couple of years. The club was called, 'Inspirations from Quilts of Gee's Bend'. I got really interested in free hand cutting and curve piecing. This is made out of shirts and I plan to hand quilt it with pearl cotton. "

Foggy Day Quilt by Dorothy LeBoeuf, 20' x 20"
Dorothy writes:
"...to dispell the fog. Made from solids in stash plus awful curtain fabric. So freeing to work with this stuff, after working with today's expensive fabrics. Also freeing to not use a ruler althugh it seemed strange at first. We are going to be sad when we run out of the awful curtain fabric."

A shirt and "the awful curtain fabric"

Scrap Challenge by Dorothy LeBoeuf, 64" x 75"

"Silk garments waiting on the muse."