JT2 AND SOUTHERN QUILTS

Because I dislike the freezer paper method with hand stitching, I decided to find a block substitution for #23 Grandmother’s Favorite Compass for the Just Takes 2 quilt along.  After an Internet search and scrolling through my EQ5 Block Library I decided upon Southern Star.  Now that it’s finished, I think I could have found an easier way to assemble the sections than was instructed by EQ but it would involve a little re-drafting.  Only one seam rip out required on this one.  I can get myself turned around so easily for some reason – another piece turned the wrong direction.  Oh well .. .

The out of print book Southern Quilts by Merikay Waldvogel and Bets Ramsey was well worth the money!


The history and stories that accompanied each quilt were so interesting.  It mostly focused on those who were left back home to deal with the marauding troops from both the Union and the Confederate sides.  One beautiful applique quilt that the authors called The Poncho Quilt shows in the photo that it had been slit down the center to go over the soldier’s head to wear like a poncho.  You can see a couple of photographs of this quilt HERE. After this quilt returned from the war, the large hole was lovingly mended.  Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of that page to see a close-up of the patched area.  It’s a wonder that any quilt survived from that era.

That’s all for now so sew long,

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