Barbara and Georgann are co-conspirators on the guild's next six-month Block of the Month.
Without the border it will be 39" x 30".
Georgann is making the model and Barbara has chosen and drawn the patterns. It's all applique with a few pieced setting strips and a pieced border.
Our inspiration is Sue C. Cummings' research on a set of samplers
made in Ohio about 100 years ago. Darke County, Ohio seems to have been a center of the fashion. It's on the Ohio/Indiana border
in the Miami River Valley.
The dozens of samplers made in that area were done in red, gold and
olive green solids on white. Most have an eagle. Blocks finish to
different sizes but fit together with some extra pieced rectangles.
Block 1
Hearts & Darts
by Georgann
Finishes to 12" square
Note: This is what the block should look like. The pattern showed the wrong finished hearts and darts.
The pattern will make this.
The first block finishes to 12" x 12" and is a traditional Hearts & Darts applique. It didn't originate in Ohio but many quilters used variations in their samplers.
This pattern cut from folded red fabric is perfect for your winter applique. You could make two and give one to your Valentine.
Here's the cover quilt for Sue Cummings's book.
Notice the quirky Hearts & Darts in the
top left corner. More darts than hearts.
You might want to buy her book, Album Quilts of Ohio's Miami Valley, which pictures many variations and contains a good deal of local Miami Valley history. Click here:
And then click on the cover with the Look Inside note. You'll get a preview.
Barbara has chosen six applique blocks that were popular in the community. The applique is fairly simple so those of you who are appliphobic may want to try a few.
Look for the PDF in the digital newsletter or the printed page in the paper copy.
Detail of an antique sampler.
I'll be showing you some of these vintage examples
every month here.
A lot of the greens turned tan with time.
FABRICS
Georgann made the model in shades of olive green, bright red and a gold that is a little tamer than the chrome orange they liked in Ohio. You could get by with fabric you already have in your piles of reds, greens, gold and ivory.
Backgrounds
Georgann used a variety of ivory prints for the backgrounds.
The largest block finishes to 18". Mix and match six fat quarters if you want a scrappy background.
Border
You'll need a long half yard of each of the four shades to make a strip border, so set that aside before you cut up
Green Prints
You need three shades of green with some contrast between them in dark, medium and light. Three half yards should do it. You'll need a long half yard of one of the greens for the border.
Red
Prewash the red with some white to make sure it doesn't run. If it bleeds at all don't use it.
1 yard of a red. Georgann used plain but one or more prints would work.
Gold
1 yard of a yellow-gold print or plain.
Antique Quilt, Miami County, Ohio
The hearts and darts block is to the right of the center star.
The antique quilts were made between 1885 and 1920 in Darke, Miami and Montgomery Counties.
