Dad's Civil War Quilt

It finally happened this week, I put the last stitch into my dad's Civil War quilt! It was a bit late for his Father's Day gift but, better late than never. This was the quilt that I was creating using blocks from Barbara Brackman's "Civil War Sampler: 50 Quilt Blocks with Stories from History". I didn't make all of the blocks because I wanted some symmetry to the quilt. Instead I chose a few blocks and doubled them (with a few favorites being quadrupled).

A few close ups of some blocks.

I pieced the blocks on my treadle and hand crank sewing machines. I chose not to use any electrical machines so it could be a little more authentic. So when it came time to quilt I decided to take a stab at hand quilting after practicing on some smaller items. I love the look of hand quilting and thought it would complete the look of this quilt. Since there were so many different blocks I wanted a repeated pattern that would tie everything together so I decided to quilt repeating fans across the quilt. The middle panel (featuring Lee and Grant) was the only area of the quilt without fans. I chose to quilt around all of the details of the panel so each detail would stand out!

I finished the hand quilting this past Tuesday evening.

Quilting the last stitch!!!

After all of the quilting, the binding seemed like a breeze. I had the whole quilt completed by Thursday night. I must say, I was even happier with it than I thought I would be. 

Folded over the clothesline

And since it was for my dad, there was love in each and every little stitch.

Back of Quilt

I dropped the quilt off with my dad this weekend and I am pretty sure it will be greatly cherished. Now I will move on to stitch a special baby quilt for my expecting neighbor. A quilter's work is never done!  :)

Happy Quilting!