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.

Quilting Baseball

We're one game away from the World Series so today's the day to start quilting the Phillies! First things first. Some stitch-in-the-ditch along the sashing just to keep areas a bit more enclosed. For about one-millisecond I considered quilting individual areas: the uniform, glove, background, etc. Nope. Too crazy. This is not a wall- or art-quilt. It will get heavy use by someone who will love it but perhaps not take perfect care of it. Let's go for sturdy instead.

QuiltDivaJulie made Zinderella recently with Baptist Fans. Oh, how beautiful. I've tried them before, not very successfully. She kindly sent me some pointers and I gave it another try.

On this first ballplayer I kept forgetting the design and made headbands instead of fans. Oh, well. There are eight more players.

Quilting the first baseball player

The second block worked out much better. Neither the lighting nor my eyesight is perfect so I overshot the eighth-inch gap I imagined before each fan blade. Mine go right up to the fan and travel over to the next spot. Sometimes I miscounted the number of blades in the fan but overall, it looks good. Thanks so much for the advice, Julie!

Better Baptist Fan quilting on the second baseball player

I chose Presencia grey cotton thread for all the free motion and am very pleased with the thread and the color. Grey blends well with all these colors. Presencia is truly a long-staple Egyptian cotton: strong and low-lint. Over the years I've found that if thread does not explicitly state long-staple Egyptian, it creates more lint than I want.

Last week DH and I visited Fort Ticonderoga in upstate New York. We deliberately planned the ferry crossing. Interestingly both captain and crew were women. There was a basket of local apples for sale on the honor system so we both enjoyed one. New England apples are a treat to all the senses. Tart, crispy, aromatic. Nothing tops locally grown.

Larabees-Ticonderoga ferry landing

Hotels and taverns formerly existed at the landing but have been burned or destroyed over the years. This building still stands, made from stones taken from Fort Ticonderoga across the lake. It may be a home now but still has the pulley to lift cargo to the top floor.

Larabee's Point Lakehouse

Originally built by the French, Fort Ticonderoga's star-shaped walls are typical defensive structures.  Due to the north-south mountain ranges and lakes, the fort occupies the strategic location between Canada and Boston/NYC. It's at the three-mile portage between Lakes Champlain and George. Unfortunately it could be bombarded from several mountains, a fact which the British used to capture it twice - once during the French and Indian Wars (aka the Seven Years War) and again in 1777.

Fort Ticonderoga appears as a small white line on the left peninsula in this panoramic view from the top of Mount Defiance

Panoramic view of Lake Champlain and Ft. Ticonderoga from Mount Defiance

Ethan Allen's Green Mountain Boys captured the fort in a surprise attack in May 1775. The cannon were shipped overland to break the siege of Boston forcing a British retreat - an early and major American victory.

While Americans hoped to encourage or coerce Canadians to join the Revolution, they used the fort as a staging point. British also used this passage to transport soldiers and materiel until General Burgoyne, trying to end the war by splitting the American forces, was surrounded at Saratoga when his troops from the south and west didn't arrive. His surrender, later commemorated in the Burgoyne Surrounded quilt pattern, marked the fort's decline as there were no more British troops to ferry south.

In 1820, the property was acquired by William Pell. His great-grandson, Stephen Pell, restored it and founded the non-profit association that runs it today.

Outside view of enlisted barracks at Ft. Ticonderoga

Each year the Fort highlights a different year from history down to the clothing, food, armaments, and occupants. Once past the gates, it became 1758 when the French held off a far superior British attack. The staff cast a four-pound cannon, built the carriage, and set it off daily - in French with an docent adding explanations in English.

Every guide seemed to hold a Master's degree in history or languages. Details flowed. As we walked around the Fort, they expounded on the socio-political realities and ramifications of events here and in France. I spent half an hour with the soldier guide above this barracks (four men to each mattress) while he made a new pair of breeches for a comrade. He used white thread to sew the blue and red boiled wool uniform. No matching thread in this era. The uniforms must have been hot in summer although he said the linen underclothes helped wick away sweat. {Hmm. Not sure that would be enough for me.}

Bunks in the enlisted barracks, Ft. Ticonderoga, NY

The 2018 season opens in May with a two-day reenactment of Ethan Allen's attack. Visitors can watch from Mount Defiance and other strategic points. I'd love to be there, wouldn't you?


The next AHIQ linkup is this Tuesday. Kaja has a clever idea for year's end. Check it out and link up your utility/improv work.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Pulling a Rabbit Out of my Hat

Of course, it's not a rabbit. It's {yet another} forgotten leftover. And it's {sort of} understandable.

Once upon a time... I took a Strips 'n Curves workshop with Louisa Smith. It was only one day and either I missed those directions or she didn't exactly give us yardage amounts but I took way too much fabric. Way, way, way too much.

Louisa is and upbeat, organized teacher who loves color and curved pieces. In this workshop we cut 1.5" strips and sewed them into sheets of fabric shading from one color to the next. Throughout the day, all I did was sew those strips. Unlike the other, smarter participants, I never got around to cutting any blocks during the class. But I listened well. Within a couple of months I actually finished and gifted the first quilt - a queen-size safari quilt for my dear sister. There was enough leftover made-fabric for another one or two lap quilts. {Did I mention I cut way too much fabric?}

Mel Beach recently challenged to our guild. "Pull out one or more fabrics that cause you to wonder: What the $%#* was I thinking when I purchased this fabric?" I've moved this made-fabric four times. Not to different rooms; different cities. Since Louisa is coming to speak and teach Double Visions Quilts, it seemed this should be finished. Now. Two birds with one stone.

Working so quickly, I forgot to take photos. The fabric is simply shaded strips that are then cut with templates. It's not hard but requires accuracy in sewing the strips and cutting the pieces since you need to line the seam lines up for best results. On the plus side, that many seams means you can usually nudge any that are out of alignment.

At least the fabric was already made so I started by cutting with templates until I ran out of strips.

Strips 'n Curves Negative/Positive units ready to sew together

This quilt is most effective when the seam lines match. While not difficult it takes time to pin them all. First you pin along the curves, then the diagonal of the block.

Matching seam lines by inning curves and diagonals 

I can't remember how long it took to make the strip fabric but it took two afternoons to cut the pieces and three more to sew them into blocks. Next steps will be to pin the blocks into rows, and finally the rows into the top.

We watched the Giants final homestand last weekend. They won't be in the postseason (they're in the cellar) but it's always a good day for baseball. I've particularly enjoyed getting to know some quilters and their favorite teams this year: Patty's Indians (great winning streak) and Julie's Red Sox (also my grandson's team.) Both teams are in the playoffs. October baseball is special. I'll be watching.

Discovering shared interests with someone creates more connections and helps us see others as complete people. Our world needs those bridges. Getting to know new people is a great benefit of blogging.

Enjoy the day, Ann

AHIQ 24: Pieced and Appliqued Words

Wasn't the solar eclipse exciting? I hope you had a good view of it, too. If not in person then at least on the news. NASA had an entire series of telescopes set up to view the live event as it crossed the US. Here's a feed from Madras, Oregon.

This is the second month of #AHIQwords invitation.  Part of improvisation is trying new techniques even if we must push ourselves. I may be the last quilter to add lettering to a quilt but it's something I always wanted to try. This is the time for me to check it off my list. The thing is: it's so much fun I can't wait to start another! Who'd a thought?


Baseball Quilt

The blocks are pieced and sewn with sashing. After realizing blue would dissolve the hat and red the shoes, I chose a white-and-blue stripe combined with red-and-white make a wide sashing. The quilt is getting livelier by the day. In baseball, the team name is on the front while the player's name and number is on the back. I could put numbers on each player or simply a "P" but haven't decided yet. {In part because FO hasn't sent me a list of his favorite players.}

Phillies baseball team with sashing

Words on Quilts

This is as good a place as any to add words to a quilt. My first idea was to freely piece words around the borders until I realized the Phillies name is usually red in an upright cursive.  That's a machine applique job. After many attempts, my script finally looks similar to theirs. 

I traced Phillies onto red fabric then prepped the entire 8"x 25" rectangle using Lara's method in Crafted Applique. Years ago, Cindy England told me the best way to make sure a word is straight is to cut it out after it's laid on the background. And Audrey at Quilty Folk keeps writing that she appliques before sewing the border to the quilt. Isn't it helpful to have such smarties around? It's certainly made the job easier.

After lining the word up with the edge of the border, I pinned it, pressed it, then machined sewed along the pencilled lines. Then, taking a very deep breath, I cut about an eighth-inch away to remove the extra. 

Starting to cut away the applique

Mel at Piece, Love & Happiness loves Havel snips for this. I tried hers a few times but couldn't get enough control. Fortunately, Havel has another pair that remind me of nail scissors. The curved blades made cutting around the curves a snap; I simply turned the scissors back and forth in my hand to match the seam. Thanks, Mel!

With some relaxing music while sitting at a sturdy table with good light, I finished in about an hour. 

Continuing to cut away the applique with Havel scissors

The FO's name and graduation year need a location - border or back.

They won the World Series in 1980 and 2008. Their mascot, Phillie Phanatic, is considered the best in baseball.  Features of their ballpark include:

• The Angle
• Ashburn Alley
• Liberty Bell {lights up for home runs}
• Veterans Memorial
• Memory Lane
• Rooftop bleacher seats

Also under consideration are these sayings by Phillies players and announcers:

• Moon Shot.
• Ya gotta believe.
• Swing and a long drive. That ball is outta here.
• When it is time to go out on the field, we all go out through the same door.
• For who? My teammates. For what? To win.
• Half of this game is ninety percent mental.
• Root, root, root for the Phillies

Looking at this increasingly long list, piecing them on the back might be the best plan. It seems very hard to keep creating this wide, even cursive. Besides, I've been itching to try free-piecing letters.

What words have you found for your project? How are you planning to add them to your quilt? Kaja and I created a new Pinterest board, Alphabet, with a variety of pieced and appliqued words and letters. It's a good starting point to spark your own ideas.

Just in case you're still working on with Chinese Coins, take a look at Patricia's quilt for Nora combining Coins with words. Wish I'd thought of that.

Eli Leon, African American Quilt Collector

A friend forwarded this article about Eli Leon. In the 1970s Eli began collecting African American quilts in Berkeley CA. After winning a Guggenheim fellowship, he travelled across the South to research and purchase more of this art. Eli posited, "There were African survivals and enduring African influences in African-American quilts, and that quilts made by African-Americans reflected the survival of a cultural identify under siege." He mounted several local and national exhibits from his extensive collection. Sherri Lynn Wood wrote more about him here and here.

Enjoy the day, Ann

InLinkz removed because it was hacked.

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

Celebrating Baseball and Cherries

Baseball

Starting the final Great Debater quilt. The future owner (FO) and I share a love of baseball although we root for separate teams. {Hmm. That's a line from I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair in South Pacific. About halfway through the song.} Instead of riding him off my range, I decided to make a baseball quilt highlighting his beloved Phillies.

After quite a few sketches of baseball diamonds and backdrops, I remembered Farmer Fill by Freddy Moran. There are several versions in her book, Collaborative Quilting. Pages 82-84. Freddy spoke at our guild meeting last year and this is the Parts Department quilt she showed with a few of those guys.

Parts Department 2 by Freddy Moran. Shown at SCVQA meeting

I asked Freddy and she enthusiastically told to me to go for it... and send her a photo when it's done. How sweet is that?

My first pattern centered the ballplayer along the vertical axis. Looks okay except the glove fits almost to his elbow. I need to redraft this; it's bothering me more and more.

The Phillies colors are red, white, and blue. They usually play in red and white pinstripe uniforms. Lucky me. I had some in my stash - both a pinstripe and a loud red and white stripe. Loud looks better to me currently. The next job is to locate skin tones, glove tones, and green grass for them to play on. Here's what came out of my stash. My current guideline is, "No shopping until I'm absolutely sure there's nothing on hand."

Fabric pull from stash for Phillies baseball quilt

Not nearly enough greens or tans in house so I shopped QS' stash while I was there. That's my favorite first stop! After that I checked out a couple of stores in Colorado, including Alamosa Quilt Company. This small store has a broad selection of fabrics and some of the friendliest staff anywhere, including my dear friend, Peg Collins.

For a millisecond I considered using a single green for all the backgrounds. Ha! The uniforms will be consistent and that's enough. Once home, I paired skin colors with greens, trying for some contrast.

Pairing fabrics for baseball

Next I pieced my first ballplayer. I thought it would be easy to switch from lefties to righties but made several cutting errors. And I don't have extra of the pinstripe. Notice I switched from the broader red-and-white stripe to this true pinstripe shirting.

Left-handed Phillies baseball player

After all these fiascos I'm going to make a new set of templates strictly for lefties! I'm also wondering if I should make a cut-out template for the baseball glove to make fussy cutting more successful.


Cherries

We're nearing the end of bing cherry season so I was determined to make at least one batch of Cherry Almond Scones. This recipe comes from Paige at For Love of the Table where I find many favorites.

My first step is to curdle some milk with lemon since I don't keep buttermilk around. Then set the eggs out until they are at room temperature while pitting and cutting the cherries.

Cutting cherries

Once the dough is prepared, I scooped sixteen small scones on parchment paper. Then they go in the freezer for a couple of hours. The final prep step is to cut the parchment and transfer the scones to freezer bags. It's easy to pull them out when needed.

Of course, I baked one for breakfast the next morning.

Cherry Almond Scone, recipe from For Love of the Table

Enjoy the day, Ann