Phillies Baseball Quilt, Soldier Quilts and AHIQ 26

Perfect timing. The World Series starts tonight between the Houston Astros and LA Dodgers. Neither FO’s Phillies nor my Giants made post-season appearances but his quilt is bound, washed, and gifted. This is the final quilt for the Great Debaters. Remember those adorable friends of my youngest who wrangled over who should have received a graduation quilt?

Front
I alternated left- and right-handed ball players. On my first attempt I turned the templates over but between front and back of fabrics and templates got myself turned around. It was easier to make two template sets: one for lefties and the other for righties.

The gloves were originally drawn with curves but I quickly found that unnecessary. Simpler is better. Sashing color seemed a difficult choice since the team colors were covered by the red shoes and blue caps. Happily this two fabric choice worked wonders. The true whites strengthen the quilt by pushing the value range. The outer border might be a bit wide. I simply cut the fabric into four equal lengths and didn’t want to trim it off in the end. After all, FO is a grown man. He needs the size.

Making the field of different greens added life to the top. Still, this quilt uses far fewer fabrics than most of mine.

What fun to design and sew! But... I've created a bit of a monster: every guy in my family wants one celebrating his team and several people have written asking for the pattern. There aren't many patterns of guys. Mostly we buy camping fabric or plaids and call it a guy quilt. Not that hearts and flowers are only for girls but this one has struck a chord with many people. I'm going to try to write up a pattern formally. After the holidays. Stay tuned. And thanks for the encouragement. :-)

Phillies Baseball quilt 

DH thought team patches would be the cherry on the top. He insisted until I agreed he could buy one. He bought four. Plus four more for the Giants quilt he wants. {Someone doesn't want me to forget my promise.} One is the Philly Fanatic, probably the best mascot in all sports. He alone is worth the trip to a Phillies home game. Another celebrates their 2008 World Championship.

Back
FO's name is behind the red-bordered box. Next is his university and graduation year. {Yep, this has been in the works for quite a while but he says it was worth the wait.} My son came up with the third line. Philadelphia is home to the Liberty Bell so the screen flashes, "Ring the Bell!" after home game home runs. The final four lines are a quote by Aaron Rowand.

The white and beige background fabrics include stripes, plaids, spiders, power poles and lines, and boat building plans.

Phillies Baseball quilt back, owner's name whited out in photo

Quilting
Detailed quilting might have showcased each section with a different designs but this quilt will be used heavily and {hopefully} washed frequently. After stitching in the ditch along the sashing, a curving, allover design will be the sturdiest choice.

The Baptist Fans come courtesy of Quilt Diva Julie who generously shared pointers. I couldn't have done it without her help. The only other time I sewed fans they were a disaster - misshapen, missized, mistaken. With Julie's encouragement and advice these worked so well I used them on the border as well as the players. {Why miss another place to practice?}

Phillies Baseball quilt, quilting details from back

Quilt Details

Size: 86" x 92"

Pattern: Original design

Batting: Mountain Mist Cream Rose 100% cotton

Thread: YLI nylon monofilament with white Gutermann and Presencia 50 wt grey cotton 

Quilting: Walking foot straight line and free motion Baptist Fans

There are quite a few previous posts about this quilt:

1. An idea to celebrate baseball
2. Field of Dreams
3. Appliqueing Phillies in cursive
4. Free-hand piecing letters for the back
5. Making sentences
6. Applique numbers
7. Sewing the back together
8. Baptist fan quilting

NYC
DH had an unexpected meeting in NYC. Guess who tagged along? So many things to see and places to go. First up.

War and Pieced: Quilts from Military Fabrics at the American Folk Art Museum showcases Soldier Quilts created 19th century British soldiers who served in Crimea, India, and South Africa. Calling them quilts is a courtesy classification as these are only one layer and frequently intended as wallhangings or gaming boards.

Soldier quilt with elaborate borders, India c. 1855-1875

British military uniforms were made from milled wool broadcloth which was also felted to produce a raised nap. Since the fabric could be cut without fraying, tailors and soldiers could cut it into complex pieces without seam allowances and hide the overstitching in the nap. Except for the embellishments on the front, they look the same from the front or the back. It's believed the fancy-cut fabrics were ejected from buttonhole punches or created with special die.

Detail of the elaborate border. Fabric may have been ejected from buttonhole punches.

Facings were dyed in regimental colors which included black, white, blue, buff, green, purple, and orange. Although many of the soldier-makers remain unknown, the theater they served in can be identified by the colors used in their quilts. For example, the mid-blues in the quilt above were only used by British regiments in India.

Did you know that different dyes were used for different ranks? The uniforms of common soldiers were dyed with madder and could turn purple or pink over time. NCOs, sergeants, and volunteer corps got "mock scarlet" created from a variety of dyes while true scarlet from cochineal dyes was reserved for officers.

Bright fabrics from military uniform facings

With longer periods of inactivity during Indian service, soldier quilts from that continent were brighter, more complex, and - inspired by that ancient Indian art - often included beading. Several are thought to have been made by orderlies who were frequently Indian tailors.

Quilting was promoted as a healthy antidote to the "canteen culture" of war and to provide employment to wounded soldiers. Who knew quilting keeps alcoholism at bay?

The simpler construction and limited color palette of the quilt below suggest it was made by a convalescing soldier. The four crosses at the bottom may mark graves of fallen comrades.

Soldier's Quilt: Square within a Square

; Crimea, India or UK; c. 1850-1880

The final two photos below reminded me of Fort Ticonderoga. The blue design on the left looks like a star fort to me. On the right, the visible white threads are exactly what the soldier-guied used to sew uniforms at the Fort. I noticed all the threads that showed or mended these quilts were white.

Two examples of the Soldier Quilt exhibit that reminded me of Fort Ticonderoga

The book Wartime Quilts: Appliqued and Geometric Masterpieces from Military Fabrics accompanies the exhibit and includes many more quilts. I had it shipped home to save luggage space. The Magazine Antiques posted an article last month explaining current understanding of these masterpieces. It has great photos, too.


Fourth Quarter AHIQ Invitation
We've all been busy. At first I thought it was summer vacation, then back-to-school but now realize we are all overcommitted for the year. Hardly anyone has time to comment. Perhaps we are disheartened by world politics which seem to focus on war and rumors of war. Fortunately, this vacation as it helped me realize I need to slow down, breathe, and reevaluate.

We considered another invitation but decided now is not a good time. Check Kaja's post for details. It's just what we all need.

What have you quilted this month? We could use something pretty to look at with details to enlighten.

Enjoy the day, Ann

InLinkz removed because it was hacked.

AHIQ25: Use Your Words

Today's the last day for this invitation to use your words on quilts but it won't be my last time to use this technique. Summer vacations put quilting on hold but hopefully you had some time to work on a project or at least to think about a future project. There are so many ways to incorporate words and letters: applique or pieced, free-hand or accurately.

I've been focusing more on the mechanical "how" of adding words but what you choose to add is even more important. What moves you to creativity? A poem, a family scene, a political commentary? There is no ambiguity about your meaning when it's written.


Phillies Quilt Back

This is becoming a two-sided quilt. I made the words into sentences, added a new phrase, and now need to fit them all into a back. It must be large enough yet not cut any words off so I pieced it with the top underneath.

Pulling all my neutrals, I first placed smaller bits where they might best fill in. I'm finding I like the effect of turning the corner with the same fabric. Look at the white above and to the right of Phillies for an example. Odd, because my original idea was to NOT sew same fabrics together.

Arranging sentences to fill a quilt back

Probably because they were left-adjusted on the wall, that arrangement became my favorite. Except the "for who" line was too long. I considered right adjusting the answering line but... No, that's too much trouble.

There was one puzzle piece, the stripe below "my teammates" which required partial seams. Not too hard. Fortunately, I had switched to ruler use and squaring the fabric as soon as the words were together. It was easy to determine the size of that rectangular bit.

At this point, the back is still too small by about ten-inches lengthwise and fifteen-inches widthwise. Since I've never been very interested in matching front and back (and don't want to risk cutting off any letters) I intend to frame the sentences. Here are three fabrics I considered for for a border. While I like the black and white best, I don't want anything to compete with the words. The red might disguise the beginning letters too much. What's left? White.

Choosing fabrics to frame the quilt back

Unfortunately there wasn't quite enough white so the lower right has the last bit of that white-and-blue from the sashing plus two shirting remnants. I know one is from a trip to NYC but have no idea where there other came from.

Finished back for Phillies quilt

Yes, I'm deliberately cutting off the top line again to give the recipient privacy. Above his name is a band of white. The top and back are ready to go and the back is larger than the front by at least two-inches on each side. Hopefully this will make basting a breeze.

What does the front look like? Here it is, covering the design wall.

Philadelphia Phillies quilt

Woo hoo. I'm ready to baste and quilt!

PS: I know there are two sixes on the shirts. One is for a Phillies player while the other played at LSU (Louisiana State University) when the FO was there. {Actually, three of these numbers represent LSU players.}

Enjoy the day, Ann

InLinkz removed because it was hacked.

Applique Numbers

Although they make me laugh, these ballplayers are missing something. There's too much empty space on their uniforms. And in the yard. I haven't figured out what to do about the grass but..

Phillies ballplayers in unnumbered jerseys

I bothered FO {that's Future Owner} for a list of his favorite players and their numbers. With a serious drop dead date and threat to add Giants players to the quilt. Ha. I'd feel guilty but it worked. He sent the list, I graphed the numbers and appliqued them to the chests. I thought they were perfectly straight but these two are slightly aslant. Whoops. It adds to the folk-art charm, right?

Adding numbers to the Phillies ballplayer jerseys

All that's left is slow, careful cutting. I'm out of the pinstripe so can't make a mistake here. Sure wish I'd numbered the jerseys before sewing the uniforms. It would have been much easier.

This coming Tuesday is AHIQ linkup. Are you ready to share your words? I am! And I can't wait to see what everyone else has done.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Piecing Words

The Phillies top may be done. I'm letting it marinate while I start on the quilt back. These free-pieced words don't seem to match the cursive team name on the front. And besides it's turned out that there are many more words than will fit on the front. So I decided to fill the back with them.

Piecing letters is so much fun. Why did I wait so long to try it? Some are quite easy: r  o  f

Piecing r, o and f

Of course, there are letters that eat my lunch. Like W.

Drafted w's and one attempt to piece it

After several iterations on graph paper, I thought I had a plan - until I kept slicing the wrong section or cutting the wrong direction. I finally have enough but they are much larger than the others. Ah, well. It adds a whimsical feel. {That's my story and I'm sticking to it.}

I pieced the FO's name first. {To respect his privacy, no photos of that.} I didn't know what I was doing but it came out okay. Next was his college with graduation date {The 2 was tough.} Now I've started a couple of sayings.

Piecing words for a quilt back

What have I learned so far?

1. It's hard to free piece and stay uniform in size. {No, they aren't supposed to be completely uniform but look at how the word Phillies grew. The s is as large as the h. Mrs. Davis, my second grade teacher, would not approve.}
2. It's hard to be a "little bit" wonky. {It's kind of like "a little bit pregnant."}
3. A quick graph of each letter helps keep track - of the direction and width of lines as well as width of open spaces. 
4. Typesetters have letter blocks with identical heights for a reason. 
5. It helps to mix making each letter the same height with sewing a couple of short letters together and then adding the height.
6. One-inch finished width "brushstroke" is too wide for a three-inch tall letter.
7. It's easier to  cut a larger background square and then subcut it for the letter. (See the r above.)

Fortunately, we are not in Houston this week but we are certainly keeping an eye on Hurricane Harvey. Our neighbors say they are prepared.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Field of Dreams

OK, a field of someone else's dreams. It's still a blast.

After a rough start, the Phillies ballplayers are coming together nicely. A couple of adjustments made the piecing easier. I straightened the curve on the glove and sewed the belt before cutting the shirt. I also thickened the ankles of the high tops. The casually pieced stick figure style amuses me although making raglan sleeves made this block a bit more complicated. But baseball means raglans and inset seams don't bother me.

They are large blocks with oddly shaped pieces so I'm cutting and sewing one at a time. Each block takes about a day but only nine are needed.

Phillies ballplayers

Five blocks finished. I'm over halfway. And I'm making right-handed players now! {It was easier on my mind to sew the lefties first then the righties.}

Philadelphia's colors are red, white, and blue. I'd like to sash with red or blue but the feet and cap may become lost. The first four fabrics came from my stash but I purchased the two on the right to finish round it out.

Tuesday is our next AHIQ linkup where we'll be sharing where we are with letters on quilts. Have you got any new ideas?

Enjoy the day, Ann