A CCCQ Finish

A few months ago I met up with Carole / Wheels on the Warrandyte Bus at Gippsbeary Cottage in Korrumburra.  There were other people there too, but Carole and I stole some time to bring out our Chester Criswell quilts. You may remember when Carole did a guest blog post showing her beautiful applique work while the Chester Criswell Quilt was a block of the month.

A preview of Carole's quilt

Friends - Carole's quilt and my CCCQ

Well.  Carole entered her CCCQ (Chester County Criswell Quilt) in the Victorian Quilters Quilt Showcase and it was accepted. Congratulations!  It will be on display from tomorrow, 25th July through the 28th July at the Stitches and Crafts Show in Melbourne.  Look out for it!

If you were at the Sydney Quilt Show you may have seen Michelle's CCCQ - you may not have recognised it at first but it is a magnificent interpretation.  If you are on Instagram read the touching story of this quilt #michellethequilter.

I can't help but be a little bit proud - I feel like a quilty godmother!

If you are feeling inspired the patterns are still available on Etsy.  I haven't yet uploaded all the patterns but here are some to get you started. More to follow!

Set A - Blocks 1, 2, 3 and 4

Set B - Blocks 5, 6, 7 and 8

 

The CCCQ and a New Friend

Researching an antique quilt is similar to building your family tree.  Months go by when nothing happens, then a new link opens up another set of cousins that you didn't know existed.

A few weeks ago I exchanged texts with Cathy who is researching a group of signature quilts from the Delaware Valley.  The quilts were made in the middle 1800s and are similar in that each one has a large centre medallion - like the Chester Criswell quilt.

Cathy shared a few photos of these quilts. The one that took my breathe away is in the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  It was made 1847 - 1849, a few years before the CCCQ 1852. It's a beautiful quilt, love that scalloped edge.  It does look a little familiar ....

 Here is a closeup of the centre medallion.

And here is the block I made from the CCCQ.

Can't wait to see what turns up next!

House on the Hill

I've made a House on the Hill block now.  It's a six inch block.

It's easy compared to the Honeymoon Cottage. I also found that Ruby McKim's book 101 Patchwork Patterns is accessible on the 101 Patchwork Patterns website. You can download House on a Hill as a pdf of the original page and use the pattern to make a 12 inch block.  All the pages are available free for personal use.

Still not a good photo of my Honeymoon Cottage; the background fabric is white.  Honeymoon Cottage is also in 101 Patchwork Patterns.  Unfortunately the pattern isn't printed, you had to send away and buy the pattern for 20 cents. Material for the whole quilt was $2.95.

Honeymoon Cottage

I've been pretty happy in 1937 with feedsacks and house blocks.  But if you look in the sidebar to your left you will see a ready to be quilted Chester Criswell Quilt.  Three cheers for turkey red and green and 1852!

Carole at Wheels on the Warrandyte Bus had been always ready to post her progress on the CCCQ, and she was also a guest blogger back in 2013. Carole didn't use all of my patterns, some of the blocks pictured are her own designs. Can't wait to see it quilted!

1st September - E-book launch Date.

It's official now.  The e-book "Round is the Ring That Has No End: Stories from the 1852 Chester Criswell Quilt"  will be on sale 1st September.  27 more sleeps!

... a Thousand Words

The Home Stretch

In the midst of special birthdays, anniversaries and a family wedding I have been collating the final pattern of the block of the month Chester Criswell Quilt.  The first block was released nearly three years ago in August 2012 and Block 33 will be unleashed in a few days.  Congratulations to all of you that have kept up with the blocks and shared your blogs, you deserve a medal!

The final block doesn't mean the end of the quilt.  The patterns are all available at Two Bits Patches, you can still buy one or two or all.  There are a few surprises still to come, so keep watching this space.

Do you like my new collection?  My aunt has been downsizing and I have been given these family photos.

 

This is my new favourite.  These are Mary McClellan Smith nee Criswell's daughters; Mary, Alice and Marion. The photo is about 1885.  Marion was my great grandmother.

...changed my mind.  This is my new favourite, Ryan just turned one and we had a birthday party at an animal farm.  Happy birthday Ryan.

CCCQ First Year Finish

I received a photo this week from Kathleen Connor in the north west hills of Connecticut.  She's a CCCQ fan and has made this quilt top from The First Year patterns.  Not only does she have a finish, two of these blocks are Kathleen's own design.

I asked Kathleen about her journey with the Chester Criswell Quilt.  She says,

"I've enjoyed every stitch I took for this quilt! The first Chester Criswell block I made was Jane Wilson's block, #1. I found that I loved doing the one piece, papercut style block with needleturn applique. Next up was Block 2 which reminded me of the traditional leaf and reel blocks found in many antique quilts. Sharon's patterns were a joy to work with, well drawn and not difficult to stitch. At that point I thought of making a 9-block quilt with the leaf and reel style blocks balancing "square-shaped" blocks like Block #1. I knew I wanted to put the circular Block 4 in the center; this is my favorite block though it's hard to choose a favorite, isn't it?

I designed two new versions of reel blocks for the quilt.  I thought I'd design an applique border for the quilt, but when the blocks were put together with the sashing, I visited a new-to-me quilt shop and found the perfect large scale paisley. I'm going to hand quilt around the edges of each applique motif. Then I might do echo quilting in the background of each block, or I'll do diagonal quilting lines across the backgrounds and sashing. I had better decide soon!

I've had a great time with this quilt, and I plan to use more Chester Criswell blocks in a future quilt."

Thank you very much Kathleen, for sharing your work.  I'm impressed with the way Kathleen's new designs blend with the old.  Every one has favourite blocks ... and not so favourite blocks.  If you don't like the block you have to make next just replace it with one of your own. 

Another CCCQ fan, Wanda at Scrap Happy aka Blended Quilter, is looking for a swap partner for Block #24.  If you're interested just hop over to her blog.

The Family Circle

Now that I have discovered Mary Criswell's older sister Agnes Smith I though I would see where her block fits in the Chester Criswell Quilt.

This is the centre of the quilt.  The large block in the centre is Andrew and Alice Criswell, Mary and Agnes's parents.  E3 is Mary Criswell's wreath which is the same as D6, Martha Lambourn's.  (The pattern is the same but not the date - Mary's is dated March 13th 1852 and Martha's is 4th Month 2nd Day 1852.  Mary was a Presbyterian and Martha a Quaker.)
Mary's sister Margaret is F4 and I'm not surprised to find that the 'new' sister Agnes is next door F5.  There are other important blocks here too.

C3   William Criswell, one of Mary's brothers (deceased)
C4   Alice McClellan, Mary's Godmother
C5   Lizzie Lambourn, Martha's younger sister
C6   J Dickey Smith,  Agnes Criswell Smith's son and Mary's nephew
E6   Martha Richmond, Alice McClellan's niece

One of the unanswered questions is as follows:

Who made the quilt?

My first assumption, now called Theory A, is that Mary's mother Alice made the quilt. There are far more relatives represented than friends on the quilt, many of them older cousins and aunts. But would Alice put herself and her husband in the middle of the bride's quilt?  It doesn't quite make sense.

Theory B:  Mary McClellan Criswell made the quilt herself, asking her family and friends to make the blocks.  She put her parents in the centre partly as a thank you and partly as a source of her own 'familyness.'  If Mary already had her dozen quilts in her glory box this could have been the thirteenth special quilt.

 (from Wikipedia - The term "hope chest" or "cedar chest" is used in the midwest or south of the United States; in the United Kingdom, the term is "bottom drawer"; while "glory box" is used by women in Australia.)

"This album's then a wreath for thee"

Theory C:  Martha Lambourn organised the quilt and the collected blocks were given to Mary as an engagement present. The verse on Martha's block suggests a gift from friends; the verse on Mary's suggests receiving such a gift. This was certainly common in the 1850s although pieced identical blocks would be more likely than the large appliques of this quilt.  But would Martha have contacted all of Mary's relatives, and why would she put Alice and Andrew in the middle?


Theory D:  All of the above, but I will never know for sure.  If we had all the answers then there would be nothing left to wonder about. 

Blog Hop Party - You are All Invited!

This is my first Blog Hop Party, come and help me celebrate!
Thanks to Michelle at the Quilting Gallery for organising it, must be a lot of work Michelle!

My Giveaway

this giveaway is now closed

I am giving away five single patterns of the Chester Criswell Quilt.  The patterns are applique reproductions of my red and green signature quilt made in 1852.  15 patterns have been released so far and are available at  my website Two Bits Patches.  If you are one of the five winners you can choose any one pattern from the fifteen available, or you can chose to have the pattern for Block #16 which will be ready on 1st December.

Block 1       

Block 2     

  

Block 3    

Block 4    

Block 5   

Block 6  

Block 7  

Block 8   

           

Block 9  

Block 10

Block 11

Block 12  

  

Block 13

Block 14

Block 15

The patterns are downloadable pdf files, so you don't have to wait for the mail.  Each pattern has the template and instructions and a story about the wedding guest who signed the quilt.

To enter, leave a comment with the pattern number you would like to win, and tell us where in the world you are from.  One entry per person. The five winners will be chosen at random after the blog hop finishes on 26th November.  I will contact you if you make your email address visible, if I can't get in touch with you by the end of November I will chose another winner.

HINT:  Block 1 is free on the website, so you can go to Two Bits Patches now and download Block 1.  I can send the winning patterns to any email, so you can chose to have a pattern sent to a friend or even as a Secret Santa gift or Kris Kringle.  I'm good at secrets!