Guild meeting

Last night was guild meeting and I introduced one of 3 block of the month projects that we're offering this year.  Mine is the Civil War Jubilee pattern designed by Barbara Brackman for Moda Fabrics. I think she's also launching a fabric line by that name as well.

Barbara is what I would call an authority on Civil War era quilts and fabrics. She's published quite a few books about these topics and I have some of them on a wish list for myself!  I've been following her blog at Civil War Quilts for a couple of years and although I've not been making the blocks and stars, I find it very interesting to read the stories she adds about the fabrics, patterns and quilts that she writes about. Disclaimer here:  I'm a history buff!  In case you hadn't noticed.

Without realizing that it was the 150th anniversary of the ending of the Civil War, Don, Lily and I stopped at Appomattox Courthouse, VA . . .

in our travels last June and found it very interesting.  It's a national site and as always the rangers were extremely knowledgeable and entertaining as they described for us General Lee's surrender of the Army of Virginia to General Grant's Army of the Potomac in April, 1865. Which was the beginning of the end of the war.

There were 2 or 3 more armies that had to surrender before the war was officially finished which was in June, I think, of 1865.  

What better way to commemorate the 150th anniversary than by making a Civil War era quilt! I decided to offer a Civil War quilt to the guild as a monthly exchange.  Many of the quilters who expressed interest the Civil War Jubilee said they couldn't make it to all the meetings to do the exchange so we decided to make it a quilt along instead. We'll each work on our own blocks and make our own quilts, using the same Jubilee pattern.  It's not what I had in mind, but I'm okay with it.  I just want to use up some of my large collection of CW fabrics and get another quilt on the bed!

So, today, I hope to make up a few more of these blocks, but first, I'm in the garden. Don cleaned up the second half of our garden plot and spread horse manure all over it. Today I get to dig it in as I did the first half last week.  Then, my gardening chores will be finished except for cleaning up a little bit of flower bed that's left over from last week.  I hope you have a more exciting day planned than shoveling horse shit doodoo.