Friday, August 31, 2012

The Chester County Criswell Quilt

   Sharon from Two Bits Patches has released a new Block of the Month with a fabulous applique quilt which has been passed down in her family. I've finished the first block which Sharon has provided free of charge and the details for the BOM are as below. There is a blog for participants as well and I hope many more people participate in re-creating this lovely quilt with me. Who knows, Sharon may even be able to organize an exhibition of all the quilts when the BOM is completed. My block hasn't been trimmed yet as I do that when I am ready to put them all together. I think the second block may be ready now so check out Sharon's website at  http://www.twobitspatches.com
 Here are the details from Sharon's website:
The Chester Criswell quilt was made in 1852 in Chester County, Pennsylvania.  It was made by friends and family for Alice Criswell and Jesse Jackson Smith for their wedding in November 1852.  The quilt has 61 blocks in total, all appliqued in red and green with signatures and locations of all the participants.
36 of the blocks are being drafted month by month for lovers of reproduction quilts.  Each month a new block will be available as a downloadable pdf file along with interesting information about the maker of the block.  There is also a blog all about the quilt, the monthly block and local history stories and pictures.  Following the blog gives you the chance to share with other participants and show off your own work.
 Hugs, Jan Mac

4 comments:

Lynne said...

That sounds very interesting but, alas, I just can't take on any new projects at the moment!

Carole~Quilter on the hill said...

I love your 1st CCC block Jan. The applique is beautiful and the spotty fabric is gorgeous, can you tell me what it is? I am also making this quilt and I agree that it would be great to have a sharing exhibition when we have finished.

Jan Mac said...

Thanks for the comments Lynne and Carole. Lynne I was thinking the same thing but as it's only one block a month it is achievable and a lovely quilt. Carole, believe it or not I bought the fabric at Spotlight. It's labelled as a fabric from the V and A Museum prints and they had several repro prints in red as well as other colours. I'm making my blocks slightly smaller so the applique fills more of the blocks and I will have less blank parts for the blocks with less applique. It will be a fun project to share.
Hugs Jan Mac

Sharon~Two Bits Patches said...

Thank you for the promo Jan Mac! Your block is lovely, it's a thrill to see my pattern appearing here and there.
Sorry you couldn't make the show and tell yesterday, we will have to organise a meeting sometime.