Hello! Hello! Care to join in? Sarah and I are embarking on a quiltalong for the most wonderful quilt, the 1718 Coverlet as described in Susan Briscoe’s book, The 1718 Coverlet: 69 Blocks from the Oldest Dated British Patchwork Coverlet.
Let’s face it, an “along” in which I am co-responsible for hostess duties is pretty likely the only way I will ACTUALLY FINISH such a quilt. I will not relate my history of such (Dear Jane, for example…) for you to for shame. Today is a new day and February begins the quiltalong. Good intentions.
Sarah has posted in lovely detail many of the particulars which I will reiterate (steal and post) here. She has written it up so succinctly covering all the bases:
So with all that said, here is how I propose to run the Quiltalong, and some things you need to know.
*Instructions on which blocks we are making each month and pics of the blocks we have made, tips etc BUT NOT MEASUREMENTS will be on my blog and Sarah Fielke’s blog each month. Sarah and I will take turns to write the blog, month on, month off and we will both post on social media and our on blog when the new month’s block numbers are posted.
*Neither Sarah nor I wrote this book. We have no affiliation with it other than the desire to make this lovely quilt! As such we are not responsible if any of the measurements prove wrong or the instructions are hard to follow or any other issue like that! This is going to be fun, so everyone please leave their cranky at the door and embrace the project! 🙂
*Sharing is fun and thats what a QuiltAlong is all about! Please join the Facebook page Sarah has set up here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/640670909395252/
to show what you’re up to, your colour choices and chat to other members. We are also using the Instagram hashtag
#1718quiltalong
so please get involved, it’s great to see what others are doing and be inspired by it. Sarah and I are both happy to be your Facebook friends and your Instagram friends, so you can find us under our names on Facebook and as @sfielke and @alobsiger on Instagram.
*The Quilters’ Guild of the British Isles (QGBI) has a Facebook page for the book which I suggest you “like”:
https://www.facebook.com/1718coverlet?fref=ts
and the museum where the quilt is housed does too.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Quilt-Museum-and-Gallery/46864603169?sk=info
*Starting with February (i.e., right now!), the 1718 Quiltalong will run for 11 months. In February we are starting with only 9 blocks to give you an easy start (and seeing as February is already half gone!), and they are all pieced blocks not appliqued except for one. The other months will be broken down into groups of blocks (more at the end of this post). This is just how I’m proposing to do it. If you want to do it another way, slower or faster or anything else, that’s just fine and you can still quilt along with us and post your progress! All Sarah and I are doing is providing suggestions and a few tips, inspiration and encouragement.
*Everyone joining in MUST own their own copy of The 1718 Coverlet by Susan Briscoe. It isn’t OK to look on with your friend’s copy, or photocopy from their copy or from a library book. That’s a breach of copyright. You need your own copy, and trust me it’s well worth it because the book is lovely.
*Please feel free to chat about your blocks and your process and the quiltalong online or on your own blog – please link to my blog and/or to Sarah’s blog when you do. But PLEASE, don’t post tutorials or block measurements or any other kind of instruction other than little tips on what you found easiest or your colours, etc., because that’s a breach of Susan’s copyright too and that’s not OK.
Right! Now for the fun stuff! Sarah and I chatted about how to approach the quilt – it’s tempting to make it all in rows, or all the same block numbers first, but we felt that left us with months where EVERYTHING was going to be applique and no piecing, and vice versa. There’s a lot of blocks and a lot of applique so we wanted to break everything up a little more manageably.
If you don’t already own the book, there are loads of places online and in stores you can get it. There is a lovely shop in Sydney called Cottage Quiltworks who Sarah teaches for and she has picked out a starter bundle of pretty chambray solids and they are offering the book and the solid starter pack for 10% off normal retail for those interetesed, while stocks last. You can contact Chris or Jann on cottagequilts@hotmail.com, they will post anywhere including overseas. Here is the pack they are offering:
and they also will do the pack or the book on its own, and they have some nice woven stripes, etc., like Sarah is going to use too. Drop them an email and they will sort you out.
Some words about method: Like Sarah, I am making the blocks following the modern method. Too, I will make blocks by hand and by machine. I’ll machine piece the February blocks that are pieced and hand appliqué the one appliqué block. I’ll figure out my approach with each block. I am not averse to hand piecing and will use that approach whenever needed.
With that, here’s what Sarah and I are doing for February:
FEBRUARY BLOCKS:
For a friendly start in February we are going to start with the following blocks:
2, 3, 4, 5, 6
You will need to make two of block 2, two of block 3, two of block 4, two of block 5 and one block 6. The blocks sit here in the quilt:
Please remember that this is just our suggestion! If you want to start somewhere else or approach the quilt in a different way then by all means, go for it.
Here’s a bit about my (current) fabric selections:
I am sometimes a “top of the pile” girl. Oh, this lovely stack just arrived and is sitting on my sewing table. How about this (also noting that said new pile is very easy to get to without having to dig in the archive)? No, but really, I had one idea in mind and ordered some fabric. Then a small stack of Tokyo Train Ride arrived and it sat next to my coverlet book and looked like it fit right in. So I headed in that direction and came up with some additions:
So, I think I have a start here as far as fabric flavors go. It will be a mix-in-as-we-go thing, I suspect. But I will put this batch together in an easily accessible place and we will go from there. I’m already not positive about that light blue in the hourglass blocks. It was meant to be beige but I got a little over excited about the fact that is has an orange print….
In any event, we hope that you might jump on board with us in whatever manner you’d like. We’re doing it for fun and support. And fun.
With that, I’m taking my ginger tea and going back to the sewing room to make up block 5. It gets nice and toasty in there when the iron is on and I need that today.
Mrs. Schmenkman Quilts 