Hourglass Album Quilt, Quilting Update 1

Checking in on another long term project.

Elise dress fabric, Tracy dress fabric, Nancy dress fabric,
my work-dress fabric (×2), my wrapper fabric, and
a bunch of fat quarters from the Oregon City conference

Handquilting is a good activity for being home, especially in the winter (it's very nice to have the wool quilt thrown over one's lap), though it does tend to get pushed aside for whatever projects come up that have actual deadlines. This year, with no events, I ended up having few urgent historic garments and thus finally found time to work on it. 

The quilting the cascading hourglass album, ended up being my November/December and probably January/February/March/etc handsewing-by-the-TV project. I do like having something 'in hand' that can be picked up and sewed on at will. It was especially nice for this year to have this particular project, covered in the names and fabric of absent friends

Barbara Brackman's post about period quilting methods helped me decide on an approach.  As much as I love the intricate curved patterns seen on 'blank' portions of quilts, my skills are not up to the standard.  So, I opted for a triple-line diamond pattern, found in Ms. Brackman's Quilts of the Civil War. I'm using sets of three lines, spaced ~1/4" apart from each other, with ~1.5" between groups--just enough that they line up with the diagonals of the pieced seams. The original quilt I based the design on has a diamond quilting pattern, though I couldn't get a close enough view to tell if the diamonds were single or in multiples.

I'm aiming for ~8 stitches per inch, as reported of the original.  After the first couple of lines, I am consistently getting 8-10 stitches,  Measuring the first completed square, the triple diamond pattern is requiring 96" of stitching per square (so, about 322 yards 24" of quilting or 116,160 stitches for the blocks, excluding the border). The stitching is greatly compacting the batting, making a very dense and thin quilt, while the basted areas are thick and fluffy.

*For fun and future reference, in 1864, Godey's got rather flowery about autograph quilts. The description specifies that the quilting should go around the autographs. Considering some the text blocks I have, some compromise willbe needed on that score. So far, the writing is still legible when quilted through.

Picture

Quilted Silk Hood

Silk hood.

From Anna Bauersmith's quilted hood pattern. It only took three years for me to get started, after which it went together very quickly. The hand-quilting took a single weekend event, and the pieces went together in only a few more hours work. Using a machine it could go even faster.

Quilted pieces.

I used a silk exterior, polished cotton to line, and a single layer of wool quilt batting inside. The garment is hand-quilted, using one of the sample designs included in the pattern. The ties are self-fabric, with a rolled hem. Trimmed with white rabbit fur, to match my winter cuffs. I considered adding a narrow trim along the bavolet, but didn't like how it detracted from the quilting (I rather like how it turned out there).

Fur was mentioned as a trim option in the pattern, but my searches didn't reveal many antique examples to use as inspiration. I did find a written reference to a silk hood with chinchilla fur.

I found this hood comfortable to wear, and it kept the water off without crushing my hair. It was a little less warm than previous hoods I've made, as it didn't sit so close to the face. All in all, I am very satisfied with it.

Hourglass Album Quilt, Interlude

When I need reassurance that Victorians over-thought things just as much as I do:

In short, we think this autograph bedqullt may be called a very wonderful invention in the way of needlework. The mere mechanical part, the number of small pieces, stitches neatly taken and accurately ordered; the arranging properly and joining nicely 2780 delicate bits of various beautiful and costly fabrics, is a task that would require no small share of resolution, patience, firmness, and perseverance. Then comes the intellectual, part the taste to assort colors and to make the appearance what it ought to be, where so many hundreds of shades are to be matched and suited to each other. After that we rise to the moral, when human deeds are to live in names, the consideration of the celebrities, who are to be placed each, the centre of his or her own circle! To do this well requires a knowledge of books and life, and an instinctive sense of the fitness of things, so as to assign each name its suitable place in this galaxy of stars or diamonds.
--Godey's, April 1864 

Hourglass Autograph Quilt, Piecing

After some fun with the ink (always test for water-fastness), I have finally assembled all of the squares into a quilt top.  The inspiration is an c. 1830-1850 quilt from Pennsylvania (options considered here, first update here).

Cascading hourglasses just felt appropriate for this
(very meta about living history) quilt.

Mine is somewhat scaled down from the the original; I originally intended to make a 13 x 13 block quilt top, with striped border, which would work out to the full 105" square quilt.  When I actually started laying out the blocks, however, I realize just how overly generous such a quilt would be, and decided to scale it down to 11 x 11 with the border.  It's still quite large, and should prove comfortable when I next find myself sleeping on the ground at an event.

To start, I cut out sixty 6.5" white squares for the signatures.  I then cut some 244 4" squares (61 white, the other 183 out of reproduction fabric scraps, mostly dress left-overs).  These were each cut in half diagonally, giving the 488 triangles needed to make 61 hourglass blocks:

A sample block (sideways). This one is made from Elise's dress scraps, 
to accompany her autograph square.

As previously mentioned, the 'hourglass variation' here is basically a three-print broken plate with the white upper right and lower left corners merging into the background.  The trickiest bit was laying out the blocks to piece the top together--I kept shifting things around to avoid concentrating the darker or light prints in one area, or placing several blocks with the same print near each other.  Where I had dress fabric from a particular individual, I tried to put at least one piece of it adjacent to their signatures (and briefly tried to match favorite colors, though that endeavor was soon abandoned).  Of course, by time I actually started sewing the block together, all of the prints had migrated into clusters.

This block of text was written in one attempt.
My name required three.

I supplemented the autograph blocks with quotations from period songs and favorite novels. The block right below center has a Victor Hugo quote which I have adopted as my living history motto:

L'histoire néglige presque toutes ces particularités, et ne peut faire autrement; l'infini l'envahirait. Pourtant ces détails, qu'on appelle à tort petits—il n'y a ni petits faits dans l'humanité, ni petites feuilles dans la végétation—sont utiles. C'est de la physionomie des années que se compose la figure des siècles. (Les Miserables, 1.3.1)

There's also one anachronistic quote which serves as my cheeky alternative living history motto:

Le seul courage est de parler à la première personne.

After the blocks were joined, I added chintz border.  At the moment, all three layers are basted together, and the long process of hand-quilting has commenced.  This quilt is about three times the surface area of my quilted petticoat, so I would estimate 180 hours of hand-quilting...except that I chose a triple diamond pattern which is much denser than the diamonds and lines of the petticoat.

I pin with a little help from my friends.
Who happen to be books and/or bricks.

Quilting Patterns

Still a work-in-progress, but I might as well post it.  Last winter I started hunting up all the pattern names/descriptions I could find for period quilting; that is, the motifs used for the actual quilting stitches, not the patchwork or applique designs.  Here are the ones from contemporary fiction:

"Oak Leaves" and "shells" are named in an 1859 story--"The Minister's Wooing"--in The Atlantic Monthly.

In, "My Economy Quilt" (The Lady's Repository 1860) , a grape leaf motif is used.

Vines in the border and diamonds in the body of a silk bridal quilt "Stray Leaves In An Old Journal" (The Literary Garland, 1850).

Octagon (hexagon?) patchwork in calico, quilted in "rectangles". Recollections of a Lifetime (1856)

(Note: hexagons tessellate with themselves, but octagons would require squares to fill the gaps).

Half-circles traced with chalk around a teacup form a "shell" motif, in Cedar Brook Stories (1864)

In another story, the young quilters are apparently working the corners of a quilt in "hearts and arrows", at their own initiative. "Judging From Appearances" (1855)

I think the description of a quilt as potentially "composed of stars or stripes, rising suns or crescents" refers to the patchwork, but it could also describe the quilting pattern. Clovernook.

A story in the American Agriculturalist (1847) has discussion about whether a quilt is to be quilted in "shells or diamonds, waves or feathers".

The American Girl's Book (1854) gives instructions for hexagon patchwork, with the finished piece quilted around the hexagons.

Quilting patterns in
Arthur's Illustrated Home Magazine
October, 1858. Page 154.

Quilted Petticoat, Part 3: Finished

Continued from here, there, and everywhere.

Reproduction Quilted Petticoat, c. 1835-1860.

And voila!

My finished petticoat is slightly shorter than the original (35" versus 36.5"), because I have short legs; it is 87" at the hem circumference.  The quilted panels are knife-pleated into the waistband, with the batting cut away from the top edge seam allowances and the raw edges encased in the waistband.  It ties closed at the waist; note that these are ties attached to the fixed waistband, not drawstrings.

This petticoat is entirely hand-sewn; the quilting took about 40 hours in total, with another 5-6 hours in the hemming, seaming, and pleating.

Overall, I'm happy with how the petticoat turned out.  It's wide enough at the hem to allow easy movement, but stiff enough to keep away from my limbs (just like my corded petticoat).  It's also deliciously warm.  If I were making this again, I would cut back the batting even further from waistband, as the bulk at the hip makes it hang a little weird--stiff and jutting out directly from the top then hanging down straight, rather than flaring out as it goes.  I wonder if the top row of quilting on the original marks the upper boundary of the batting.  I was gratitifed to note, in reviewing the description from Sturbridge, that the placket is knife-edged on one side and has the lining folded over on the other--I ended up doing this to deal with the felling of the lining, and now feel vindicated in how that portion went together.

Quilted Petticoat, Part 2: Seams

After quilting the panels this summer, I finally started assembling the petticoat. First, I seamed up the panels.  This was slightly complicated by the multiple layers--I made the placket by folding in both fabric layers and top-stitching through them; the rest of the seam was made by sewing the print and batting right-sides-together, then folding the lining over the seam and stitching it down. 

Once the seam was done, I added a facing along the bottom of the petticoat.  This is just like the facing I put on my skirts, except that I let the facing go over the bottom edge, as with the inspiration petticoat from Old Sturbridge Village.

Quilted petticoat, hemmed and seamed.

Interior of petticoat with facing over the quilted lining.

Placket.

Now, to finished the upper edge and gather it all on a waistband.

The Quilting Bee

Elizabeth and Elisabeth had a quilting bee--or two--over the summer, so I did some reading about period practices. Here is my belated attempt to synthesize that reading into a coherent summary.

The short version:

1. A "quilting bee", "quilting party", or just "a quilting" is a favorite topic for reminiscences and historical fiction in the 1840s-1850s. They are considered to be old-fashioned and nearly extinct; after 1860, these mentions dwindle.
2. The quilt should be pieced and placed on the frame before guests arrive. With enough workers, it will be done in a single afternoon.
3. The order of events is: quilting, a meal (tea/supper), dancing or parlor games, optional snack. The first part is for women; men are added at either step 2, 3, or 4.
4. Common times to have a quilting are on winter evenings in New England, or when a young lady is about to be married.  Quiltings are not limited to these circumstances, however. 

 

A Quilting Party (1876) by Enoch Wood Perry

 

From the dictionaries:

BEE, a collection of people who unite their labor for the benefit of an individual or family, as a quilting bee.
--The English Language In Its Elements and Forms (1850)

The term 'Bee' although now almost obsolete, was but a few years since the fashionable title given, in the backwoods of America, to tea or scandal parties.
--Hogg's Instructor vol. VIII (1852) 

BEE. An assemblage of people, generally neighbors, to unite their labors for the benefit of one individual or family. The quilting-bees in the interior of New England and New York are attended by young women who assemble around the frame of a bed-quilt, and in one afternoon accomplish more than one person could in weeks. Refreshments and beaux help to render the meeting agreeable. Husking-bees, for husking corn, are held in barns which are made the occasion of much frolicking. In new countries, when a settler arrives, the neighboring farmers unite with their teams, cut the timber and build him a log-house in a single day; these are termed raising-bees. Apple-bees are occasions when the neighbors assemble to gather apples, or to cut them up for drying.
--The Dictionary of Americanisms (1848)

The second edition (1859) adds an additional entry to the above:

Quilting-Bee or Quilting-Frolic. An assemblage of women who unite their labor to make a bed-quilt. They meet by invitation, seat themselves around the frame upon which the quilt is placed, and in a few hours complete it. Tea follows, and the evening is sometimes closed with dancing or other amusements.

As many of these explanations indicate, the quilting bee is outdated by the 1850s. From a century and a half onward, it is an interesting experience to read so many authors lamenting the dissipated entertainments of their present day and reminiscing about the innocent amusements of their youth.
"The Spinning Wheel", an opinion piece that appeared in The Ladies' Wreath in 1852 asserts that: 

"We were as busy as bees to be sure, but then we were as blithe as a lark, and as merry as a cricket all the day long. We never even heard of the thousand ailments common now among young folks, and as to recreation, why we had more heart gaiety and frolic at a quilting bee, a sleigh-ride, or a paring match, than one of your fashionable belles enjoys in a whole year." 

These writers are quite explicit that the quilting bee is rare by the mid-century. A story in The Lady's Album (1846) exclaims: "Reader--were you ever at a Quilting Party--an old fashioned quilting party? If not--you will do well to read our description, which, of course, must fall far short of the reality--and this reality, as the thing is now nearly obsolete, you may never have the satisfaction of witnessing." 

Eleven years later, another short story refers to quilting parties as  "quite old-fashioned", and goes on to relate a story from fifty years past, in which a quilting figures prominently.

Another interesting note is how often the non-fiction references to quilting bees are explanations aimed at urban readers, especially Europeans.  The overall impression is that quilting bees/parties are largely a phenomenon of rural communities in early-19th-century America/Canada. Consider:

There are "quilting bees." where the thick quilts, so necessary in Canada, are fabricated... At the quilting, apple, and shelling bees there are numbers of the fair sex and games dancing and merrymaking are invariably kept up till the morning."
--The Englishwoman in American (1856)

The women have their bees as well as the men such as sewing been or quilting bees. A quilt is thus completed in a day that would otherwise be unfinished for months. The beverage of every meal, even of dinner, is tea; and how much better it is than whiskey or beer I need not say. I have heard in deed, that naughty things are said of the absent over the teacup; and I fear that sewing and quilting bees are not altogether innocent, but I am sure that a little female tea cup scandal is infinitely less than the evils of beer drinking and whiskey drinking. It may be necessary for me to hint that a ladies bee includes of course something nicer in the dietetic department than an out-door bee.
--Canada: Its Geography, Scenary, Produce, etc. (1860) 

Among the home productions of Canada the counterpane or quilt holds a conspicuous place not so much in regard to its actual usefulness as to the species of frolic 'yclept a Quilting-bee in which young gentlemen take their places with the Queen-bees, whose labours they aid by threading the needles while cheering their spirits by talking nonsense. The quilts are generally made of patchwork and the quilting with down or wool is done in a frame. Some of the gentlemen are not mere drones on these occasions but make very good assistants under the superintendence of the Queen-bees. The quilting bee usually concludes with a regular evening party The young people have a dance. The old ones look on. After supper, the youthful visitors sing or guess charades.
--Twenty Seven Years in Canada (1853)

The quiltings described by 1850s writers mostly look like this:
industrious amusements of a simpler time, ie, the writer's youth.
[The Quilting Frolic (1813) by John Ludwig Krimmel]

 

A few stories allude to specific quilting parties in preparation for a wedding, but the majority do not. Excepting one story in which fifteen "misses" aged 14-20 gather to quilt for a friend's wedding, most of the descriptions explicitly describe both single and married women holding and attending quilting parties.  That being said, the after-dinner amusements and flirtations are especially directed for the former.  The need for gentlemen to escort ladies to and from the quilting also lends itself to flirtation and gossip.

"Coverlids [sic] generally consisted of quilts, made of pieces of waste calico, elaborately sewed together in octagons, and quilted in rectangles, giving the whole a gay and rich appearance. This process of quilting generally brought together the women of the neighborhood, married and single and a great time they had of it--what with tea talk and stitching. In the evening, the beaux were admitted so that a quilting was a real festival not unfrequently getting young people into entanglements which matrimony alone could unravel."
--Recollections of a Lifetime (1856)

The quilting generally began at an early hour in the afternoon, and ended at dark with a great supper and general jubilee, at which that ignorant and incapable sex which could not quilt was allowed to appear and put in claims for consideration of another nature.      --"The Minister's Wooing", The Atlantic Monthly (1859)

Some of the quilting parties corresponded with a wood-chopping party for the men.  Their separate work concluded with the daylight, both groups then meet up for dinner, which is followed by parlor games or dancing, with copious flirtation in either case. While the quilting portion was largely the domain of women (and the odd helpful brother), men are often invited for the concluding festivities, even when not preceded by a working party of their own.

Not all quilting bees produced a completed quilt. "My Economy Quilt" in The Lady's Repository (1860) deliberately emphasizes things not going as intended, and has the namesake quilt only half-done after an afternoon's work, thereby requiring another week of the maker's time to complete. Putting the quilt on the frame before the party started was one way to help ensure that a quilt was finished by the end of the day:

Here we found a collection of women busily occupied in preparing the quilt, which you may be sure was a curiosity to me. They had stretched the lining on a frame and were now laying fleecy cotton on it with much care; and I understood from several aside remarks which were not intended for the ear of our hostess, that a due regard for etiquette required that this laying of the cotton should have been performed before the arrival of the company, in order to give them a better chance for finishing the quilt before tea, which is considered a point of honor.
--Forest Life (1842)

This and most other sources indicate that the quilting party was only for the actual quilting: any patchwork or applique was completed by the hostess well in advance.  One story seems to allude to patchwork being done as a group activity: "The 'old married folks' have 'quilting parties' occasionally. They meet to sew together little bits of calico, and at the same time take the characters of their neighbors to pieces." (Burrillville: As it was, and As it is, 1856)  However, this could just be a verbal counterpoint to 'taking their neighbors to pieces'.

In "My Economy Quilt", the quilters' evening meal ("tea") includes 'nice biscuits, boiled custard, cold tongue and cheese and  pickled peaches and preserved citrons and mince pie and loaf cake and sponge cake and tea and coffee', with a final serving of 'apples, and nuts, and raisins' before the guests disperse.' In another story, an afternoon's quilting ends with a "sumptous supper" served at dusk, which is then followed by dancing, and ends at 9 o'clock with cider and dough-nuts.  The 1853 book Clovernook describes the preparations for a quilting party, including the purchase of "calico for the border of the quilt, with cotton batting and spool thread, but we also procured sundry niceties for the supper, among which I remember a jug of Orleans molasses, half a pound of ground ginger, five pounds of cheese and as many pounds of raisins". It goes on to note that "...before the appointed day every thing was in readiness--coffee ground, tea ready for steeping, chickens prepared for broiling, cakes and puddings baked, and all the extra saucers filled with custards or preserves."  In a description in the American Agriculturalist (1847),  it is stated the "bread and cakes are baked and every nice thing made ready for the feast the day before" the quilting party; in this case, men are not included in the supper, but they are "allowed to partake of the cakes, apples, and cider before the party breaks up"

While I could find little information about the proceedings, it appears that even enslaved women gathered for quilting parties.

P.S. For those looking for quilting pictures, Barbara Brackman has compiled some lovely images of women quilting, with commentary; she also discusses quilt frames of the 1860s (twice).

Quilted Petticoat, Part 1: Quilting

The first (and longest) step is complete: quilting the petticoat layers together.  The outer fabric is a paisley floral stripe (#2829-0116) from the Old Sturbridge Village Anniversary line; the back is a solid green cotton, and the batting is wool.

The main source of inspiration a petticoat from the OSV collection (26.35.31). The quilting pattern used is 2" diamonds along the bottom 1/3 of the petticoat, with horizontal lines 2" apart above the diamonds, and horizontal lines spaced 3" apart nearer to the waist. This is a hybrid of the graduated horizontal lines from the OSV petticoat, and the diamonds on this petticoat in the Met.

With two of us working, it took three days (at approximately 6 hours per day), with one worker on the fourth day.  Admittedly, this was not without interruption.  I expect that a repeat of the project would progress much more quickly (I, for one, was sewing faster by Tuesday than I had on Saturday or Sunday).

Quilting under the locust trees.

The stitching is more visible on the back.

With thanks to Elise (stalwart sewing companion, keeper of lore, and mistress of the quilting frame), Quinn (vanquisher of the hunger-dragons), Jessie (slayer of tedium), and the various persons conscripted into snapping chalk lines.

Quilted Petticoat Research

For the upcoming petticoat-quilting weekend (ie, test-driving Elise's new quilting frame)

My inspiration piece is a c.1835-1860 cotton print petticoat from the collection of Old Sturbridge Village: (My inspiration experience is the really cold weather at Santa Train last December.)

Quilted petticoat, c. 1835-1860 from
Old Sturbridge Village (object 26.35.31).

Both this striped petticoat and another in their collection (#26.35.30, a wool twill petticoat c.1840) are quilted in horizontal lines, spaced closely together near the hem and further apart near the waist. From the given measurements (and taking proportions from the picture), I think this petticoat has a hem around 90" in circumference; it is 36.5" long.

I'm having trouble deciding between following the simple lines, or trying a more ambitious quilting pattern, like this one from the Henry Ford Museum done in overlapping waves (they also have a fun silk petticoat with much clearer quilting lines).

Perhaps a diamond pattern would make a nice compromise between an easy quilting pattern and a fun one?

Cotton petticoat with diamond quilting,
c.1860-1870, in The Met.

While the OSV petticoats have set waistbands and close with ties, the Met has about a dozen quilted pettis which appear to use drawstrings. [Er, had. The on-line collection has been updated since 2017, and none of those garments are now appearing in any search for petticoats, or underskirts. They were woven-striped/checked cotton, attributed to France, and (photographed flat) appeared to be quilted tubes with drawstring waists. On the upside, while searching for them, I found some more loveky quilted petticoats, including a suprisingly utilitarian silk petticoat, a bodiced petticoat, and a wadded down petticoat.]

The Met also has some lovely silk quilted petticoats, made very full.  From some references in my casual readings, I suspect these silk petticoat are meant as an outermost under-layer, to support a delicate skirt, as opposed to the narrower quilted pettis worn near the body for warmth.

Quilt Updates

I've been cutting scraps and seaming them for my autograph quilt (the winning design being the hourglass).  The block is basically "broken dishes", ie, it's a four-patch, with each of the four squares divided into two triangles.  Based on the dimensions of inspiration quilt, I'm aiming for 6" finished blocks: I've been cutting 6.5" squares for the white blocks, while the triangles are halves of 4" squares.

The general organizational scheme.

By my count, the original quilt is 15 by 15 blocks: 112 pieced hourglasses and 113 plain white ones. Now I just need to find 113 friends! And, maybe, cut and piece the other 96 blocks.

Sixteen down, ninety-six to go!

I've also been slowly whip-stitching my 3/4" hexagons, using all the fabric scraps that are too small for the autograph quilt (ie, less than 4" square).  This work is highly portable, so it's one of my favorites for commuting.

Many tiny hexagons. This is a long-term project.

Nisqually Album Quilt Ideas

I've had a few quilt ideas bouncing around in my head (like the wool one that I'll be starting on as soon as I get two more dresses cut out, and thus have some 'cabbage' to play with).  One quilt that I would like to make is another album quilt, this time with signatures from all my west coast reenactment friends--my first ever attempt at a reproduction quilt being a chimney-sweep album signed by my Minnesota reenacting circle. I like having it as a memento, and would love to do another incorporating scraps from my different projects.

Design 1: Crosses, 1840-1860 [tilted variation of the 'narrow X' album block with sashing in between].

IQSCM 2008.040.0165

It's an album block, and I like how the sashing and orientation have played with its visual effect. The narrow stripes of white would limit inscription length, but this could still be a fun design. I could also try a different setting of the blocks.

Design 2: Hourglass, c.1840-1860

IQSCM 2008.040.0037

This example fits my time frame well. Though not an album quilt, the many white blocks could be employed for signatures and verses, and I like the symbolism of the turning hourglasses for a reproduction quilt signed by reenactors.  The block is straightforward, but isn't one I've made before.  I will need to find a nice print for the border (maybe one of the large-scale designs from Reproduction Fabrics).

Design 3: Nine-Patch, c.1850

IQSCM 2003.003.0185

The unbalanced nine patch is a classic pattern, and easily executed. I like how this version created a unified effect through repeated colors and sashing. The white spaces could admit signatures. Unfortunately, only five fabrics are used, including the border, so it wouldn't be good for incorporating dress scraps.

Design 4: Eight-Point Star set in stripes, c. 1830-1850.

IQSCM 2006.043.0218

It's a little before my main years (1855-1865), but this one's pretty and the white triangles could be turned to signatures. I would need to find a suitably awesome period fabric for the vertical stripes, though.

Design 5: Birds in the Air, c.1845-1865

IQSCM 1997.007.0289

It's pretty, falls within my reenacting time span, uses a lot of small pieces, and can be machine-pieced. I am also seriously coveting some of those prints. The downside is that there is no obvious place for signatures.  While it won't fit my current needs, I'll have to keep this example for future consideration.

P.S. I'm still working on my hexagons, but the amount of hand sewing ensures that one will be 'in progress' for some time.

Original Wool Quilts

I've been very busy with school and work lately, but haven't given up on textile projects (in fact, I've made a lot of progress on the knit undersleeves I hope to be wearing next winter).  One project I would like to do before the summer reenacting season is another period quilt. Sleeping on the ground, as I often do, wool layers are indispensable for staying warm through the night--even in summer.  To that end, here are some original wool quilts from the International Quilt Study Center and Museum:

The two designs I'm most interested in are this mildly complex ninepatch (c.1865), and this
touching stars quilt (c. 1850-1870).  There's also a nine patch/Irish chain (c. 1820-40) that's simply elegant and would be easy to piece by machine.

"Touching Stars" wool quilt, c. 1850-1870

From the Ardis and Robert James Collection,

IQSCM object 1997.007.0422

Of the three, I'm inclined to try the stars.  It fits my reenacting year range nicely (1855-1865) and uses three different fabrics.  The diamond pieces give me a chance to try some trickier piecing (not all straight edges and right angles), while still admitting use of a machine.  Depending on how the fabric shakes out, I make omit the border or play with the design by incorporating additional fabrics.

As I already have a hexagon patchwork in progress (and it'll likely stay that way for sometime, considering the amount of hand sewing, and the fact that I acquire fabric for it by finishing other projects), I won't be doing my wool quilt in hexes.  There are, however, a number of lovely options: diamond hexagons (c.1855), Flower Garden (hexagon) (1850s), a hexagon mosaic (1860s), and hexagon star mosaic (1860s).

The beauty of these whole cloth quilts (and another one) is in their elaborate quilting.  I would love to make one, when I'm feeling on competent about my hand quilting.  Squares make a simple pieced quilt (Civil War Quilts also features an original wool quilt made up of different size squares, in that case cut from military uniforms.)

There are also two fancy wool quilts in the IQSCM online collection: an 1855 album-style "Crimean Quilt" and one only (aptly) titled "original", with diamond mosaic and applique (c. 1850-70).

Log cabin quilts made in wool also seem to be quilt popular after 1860, particularly after 1865. While this would be a great use for all the small pieces of fabric* left over when cutting out garments, the events I need blankets for are largely pre-1860, and wholely pre-1865. Still, here are two log cabins c. 1860-1880, and five log cabin variations from 1865 to the 1880s.

*The Tudor Tailor calls these left-over pieces of new fabric "cabbage", and I'm in love with the term.  "Scraps" is less elegant, and also allows for reused cloth.