On Your Mark, Get Set, ....

Mary McDowell's block was January's Block.

CCCQ Block 28 Mary McDowell

Now January is nearly finished and February is the day after tomorrow.  Block 29 is in the gates and ready to sprint through the ether to lucky computers.

I have been thinking about projects for 2015.  I could finish UFOs but that seems too boring.  The last block for the Chester Criswell Quilt will be released in June so this project will be complete (apart from quilting...) I have spent three years in the 1850s and am ready for a new decade. I am working on a special something, I don't want to give too much away, but I will leave you with some clues.  Ready?

Digging for Gold - Looking for Those Signature Quilts

This blog has been a little quiet because I have been searching for stories to use on my Remember Me signature quilt digest.  Oh, and there was Christmas and New Year and visitors and grandchildren and all sorts of good things too.

I found a story about a set of old blocks discovered in a flea market.  The blocks were dated 1863 and made during the American Civil War.  The blocks were traced to their original home, and were returned to the local historical society.  Believe it or not, one of the names on the blocks was the great-grandmother of the person who received them into the collection!  You can read the whole good news story at Cape News.

I found the webpage of the Illinois Quilt History group.  They have an index of stories about quilts, archived newspaper articles and links to all sorts of interesting places. There is a detailed article about researching one of the quilts in their collection, the 1933-1935 Schuyler County Signature Quilt.

1933-1935 Schuyler County Illinois Album Signature Quilt

I also found pictures of the infamous "The Sun Sets on Sunbonnet Sue".  Made in 1979 it is a tongue-in-cheek depiction of poor Sunbonnet Sue's demise in a variety of incidents.  But it was also a statement about women who quilt - we are not all Grandmothers and Old Maids and faceless women doing nothing.  This quilt and others are referenced at "In the Shadow of the Quilt: Political Messaging in Quilts" at the Quilt Index.  The article includes a signature quilt that I'm hesitant to list - a 1926 fund-raising quilt for the KKK.

I am on the lookout for more gems of quilts.  If you have a favourite signature quilt in your local museum, or have discovered a great website, or if you have a quilt or some blocks in your own collection that you would be willing to share I am always ready to hear from you.

Have you signed up for the Remember Me When This You See email digest?  It's not a dated newsletter, when you sign up you receive the first email the next day and the second email a week later so you never miss out on the 'news'. It's easy to begin, just jump to Two Bits Patches and fill in the blanks.  Enjoy!