Thursday, January 29, 2015

Richmond Quilt...

This is sort of a throwback Thursday as I'm going to write about a quilt I made almost six years ago!

It is the quilt I am carrying in the sidebar photo.  There were multiple inspirations for this quilt.  First, I had a vintage block tacked to my design wall.  It was maybe from the 1940's and I'd wanted to try it out for a long time.  The block goes under many names: Richmond, Pinwheel and Lucy's four and nine are just a few.  (since I used civil war fabrics I used the Richmond name!)  Second, I had a stack of reproduction fabrics, some only slightly larger than scraps, that I wanted to use.  Third, I was trying to put together some workshop quilts.

With ribbon at a local show in 2011. 

 It did meet the first and second goals.  The third...not so much.  I made the mistake of trying to stay too true to the vintage block so ended up with slightly bizarre measurements for the pieces.  (note to self...there is a reason some blocks become orphan....)

What do I mean by that?  To start with this is a 9 patch...so why do they finish at 10 inches?!  Who finishes a patch at 3-1/3 inches!  There is no good markings on a ruler for 1/3's of an inch.  I know...I marked one on mine using a wax pencil...

When I taught a workshop on this quilt I ended up redrafting the entire thing to make 12 inch finished blocks...which are easier.  The quilters were happy but I was exhausted...the quilt went back onto the shelf.  Then one of you asked about it...so....

Each block has a different set of fabrics so it emphasized my favorite part of quilting - playing with fabrics.  It also gave me permission to cut into some fabrics I had been holding onto for the "perfect" quilt.  Except for the sashing and borders not a whole lot of any one fabric was used.

Also, I used a stack of extra fabrics left over from other projects for the cornerstones.  A lesson learned here is how quickly cheddar and pink can take over a quilt!  Had to be careful with placement of these.

The blue for the interior sashing is all the same fabric (which of coarse I ran out of) while the exterior sashing uses three different "striped" blues.  These all finish at 1-3/4 inches wide.

The brown striped inner border finishes at 1-1/2.  The blue outer border finishes at 2-3/4.

Also, I wish I hadn't hurried and given this to someone else to quilt.  After being so "strict" with myself on matching the block and picking period fabrics the quilting just doesn't look right.  My bad for not communicating better with the quilter.  Another lesson learned.

There are many block program that have this block in them.  Just try the various names!  My color placement is a bit different than the blocks but not tough to figure out.  This could be a fun block to do in solids...maybe the Cherrywoods!  Or maybe 30's fabrics...which would get it so much closer to the original inspiration block!

5 comments:

Karen said...

I made a wall size quilt using this block many years ago. I do remember it not being the easiest to cut out and piece. I like your quilt very much.

Tonya Ricucci said...

gorgeous quilt - love the happy colors. Far too often repro quilts can be dreary... gah on the 10" measurement. Unsurprisingly, I would have gone for a 9" block...

Janet O. said...

In spite of all the grief this quilt gave you, it is a colorful treat for the eyes.
The 10" block is crazy. I made a quilt with this block pattern with different value placement so a star was created. I think my blocks were 9"--much easier to work with! : )

Chantal said...

So happy to see this quilt again and up close. I've always admired this one. It used to be your header. It is gorgeous and I ♥ it. Thanks for sharing so much info about it.

Cheryl said...

This really is a beautiful quilt! I presented this block for a BOM at my guild. I misjudged the guild's feeling about CW reproductions, however. I drafted the block to 12 inches, (phew!) since I had only ever seen a picture of the block in a magazine, till now. I encouraged the members to use a striped or wavy print in the center square. They really worked up nicely, the few who made them, that is. The lovely women who won the blocks gave them all to me to finish. I came across your post through Pinterest when I was looking for ideas for quilting my top. Thanks for the wonderful post, I'm so happy to have found it, and to see your lovely work!