Something new for me

[Rob Wick]

As promised in another thread, here is the Lincoln quilt I designed. To give you some details, the quilt measures 108 inches by 108, which would fit a king-sized bed. There are two parts to the quilt, the outer border and the inner square. Here is a block by block description of the outer border. Looking at the top left and going clockwise, the first block is called Kentucky Star, which is representative of Lincoln's birth. The first block after is called Log Cabin, an obvious choice. After that are Churn Dash and Nine Patch blocks. Basically, they would have been familiar to Nancy Lincoln and any other pioneer woman. Next is called Corn and Beans and represents Thomas Lincoln as farmer.

The block in the right corner is the Indiana state block. After that is Rail Fence, representing Lincoln's use of the ax followed by Bear's Paw, which recalls Lincoln's poetry. I chose as a floral representation the Rose of Sharon, which as I stated earlier was very important to pioneer families because of its religious significance. That's followed by Clay's Choice, which represents Lincoln's growing interest in national politics and his admiration for Henry Clay.

The block in the lower right corner is the Illinois state block. I really tried to find something that was representative of the New Salem years, and I finally came across the Broken Heart block, which represents Lincoln's love, and loss, of Ann Rutledge. Next is Mr. Lincoln's Log, which marks Lincoln's leaving of the log cabin and moving to Springfield eventually living in a frame house. After that is a variation of the Log Cabin block called Courthouse Steps, which is self-explanatory. That is followed by Union Star, which marks the growing agitation of North vs. South.

In the lower left corner is a block called White House Steps, which marks Lincoln's election to the presidency. There is a lithograph of Lincoln that represents his move to the White House in the block's center. After that is Jacob's Ladder, representing Lincoln's battle, both internally and nationally, with slavery and the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. The next block is called Gettysburg, and stands for all the Civil War battles. That's followed by a block called Lincoln's Platform, which marks the Gettysburg Address. Finally, representing the assassination is a block called Yankee Mourning.

The inner portion of the quilt will be comprised of pictures. The top row is early photos of Lincoln and Mary and a lithograph of the family in the White House. Starting down the right side are items from the 1860 election. At the bottom is a lithograph of the reading of the Emancipation Proclamation followed by Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. From there is the election of 1864 followed by Lincoln's murder. By the way, the center picture is actually a laser-cut die that I have in the quilt that Cheryl did several years ago. The lady who made it is still in business and so I got another one. I even found the background fabric for it, which is a reproduction of the Gettysburg Address. Thank goodness for the internet!

This is something that likely will not even be started this year. While I have much of the reproduction fabric in Cheryl's stash, there is a great deal more I have to get, and that will have to wait for a while. We went ahead and bought the quilt backing needed, which will be 7 yards of 108 inch backing fabric, because I found one I liked at a very good price. Once she gets started on it, it will likely take several weeks to do. As with the other pictures, you can click on it to get a larger image. Once you have it open, you can click on the picture on the website and it will get even larger.

Best
Rob