Gettysburg Battle Flag Quilt!

I can't believe I'm writing this - and so soon.  I'm FINISHED!  Yes, the binding is on, the label is made and it's actually sewn on!  DONE!  I do believe I've set a personal record on this.

Before I show you some pix, let me say a huge THANK YOU to all of you who are reading for your encouragement.  The comments left here, on FaceBook, and sent via email have been appreciated more than I can express.  You all make a big difference!

I'm also not sure how to say this but as I've said a few times, I had no plan when I started this other than some vague ideas and block size.  The fact that I completed the project so quickly and that it came together as it did tells me God had a strong hand in leading me.  Truly.  It couldn't have happened any other way.  So thank You, too.

Let's look at the finished quilt!

Different reds, different blues, some purple ... it just all came together.

Different sizes and shapes ... they just "work"!

Three different kinds of triangles, two blocks in one 9" block, squares and rectangles ... they all play together nicely!

Now... let's step back and look at the whole quilt:

I couldn't have done it without any one of you. (And really, I still plan to answer all of your questions!)

As to who this is going to ... it's actually a birthday present for my hubby - and I'm EARLY!

Thank you for letting me share this special project with you! I have a set on FlickR containing all the pix of the quilt; you're more than welcome to go through the photos there.

Thank you for reading!

Gettysburg Battle Flag Quilt - the Blocks!

Today I am showing you each of the blocks in the Gettysburg Battle Flag Quilt - in no particular order.  Just a little bit about each one.  This is as the blocks were, prior to quilting and prior to the borders being added on.

Ready?!!?  This is reeeeeeeeeally photo-heavy, so please bear with me!  Oh!  One more thing, before I get started ... if anyone would like to add any more info about a particular unit or has any corrections on my research, please leave a comment or email me at bagsbyKZK@gmail.com.  Thanks!  Oh!  And just a reminder that anything in a different colored font is a hyperlink; please click for more info!

First up - a Brigadier General's flag:

Click here to see an example of one of these flags in a historic photo.  These flags were the precursors to the General Officers flags in use today.

I added some miscellaneous fabrics around it - and a little saw tooth border there on the left, to echo the shape of the pennant.

Next up, General JEB Stuart's flag:

As I mentioned, it was the first block I made for the quilt.  Fitting, as the first high school I attended was named in honor of the Confederate Cavalryman.  I seem to have an odd connection to him - he attended West Point, I lived there as a kid when my dad taught there; prior to the Civil War he was stationed out here at Fort Riley, I've lived there 3 times (once as a brat, twice as an Army wife); the high school connection and living in Virginia; and during the War, he burned the town of Carlisle, PA down -- the second high school I attended was in Carlisle.  Just an interesting way of following a historic figure.  (I do not condone the burning of Carlisle, by the way...)

OK.  I added a few "logs" around the flag.  I was just warming up my creative spirit with that one.

Next, the 4/4 Cavalry!

For more info on the 4th Cavalry, please click here.

I did some framing around the guidon and added a few Hourglass blocks above.  Like with the General Officers Flag, I like how the shape of the Hourglass repeats the "V" notch in the guidon.

Next up, the 22nd Regiment, Arkansas Infantry:

I found some great info on this unit here.  The names of the battles in which the unit fought would have been added most likely after the War - certainly a good deal of time after they fought those battles.  Today, rather than embroidering the names of the battles won on the flag, units are awarded battle streamers.

I added the checkerboard beneath the flag and the equilateral triangle border around the corner of the flag. Note the change in the light blocks in the checkerboard.  Did you notice before I mentioned it?

Here is the guidon for the 11th Corps Headquarters:

According to my research, General Orders 10 of the Army of the Potomac instructed that all headquarters flags were to be changed to blue swallow-tailed guidons with white Maltese crosses and the corps number in red numerals in the center.

This block is actually one of my faves.  I added a couple strips of fabric underneath the guidon, plus that "triangle of triangles" in the lower right-hand corner.  Those parts were left over from the Hourglass Blocks up in the 4/4 Cav block.  Above the guidon are some Fence Rail blocks.  They're so messed up - and I think that's why I like them.  For any other quilt, I would have tossed them, or at least ripped out the stitching and started over, but I like them "wonky" for this quilt.  My thought with adding Fence Rail blocks was to represent the Split Rail Fences so often seen on the Civil War battlefields.  And... if you think about it, those fences certainly got a bit wonky, so err... that's why my blocks are.  (Is anyone buying that?)

Here's the mystery flag:

I've simply put it as an unknown unit guidon.  "Guidon" because of the notched "V".  "Unknown" because neither my husband nor I can find it anywhere.  I have my doubts about this being an actual battle flag, but that's the cynic in me talking  writing.  If anyone can help me out here, I would greatly appreciate it!

I added some "logs" and the checkerboard at the bottom.  And yes, I cut the checkerboard off over on the left because.  I was going to make it to fit, but this actually pleased my inner schnigglefritz.

Next up is a small Confederate battle flag:

In my research, I found the following about the Army of Northern Virginia Battle Flag or Confederate Battle Flag: Because the colors that different commands and regiments carried on the field were a major means of identification, local commanders designed special battle flags to distinguish units during battles. The most famous of these Confederate Battle flags was that of the Army of Northern Virginia. The famous "Southern Cross" design was born when Southern Congressman William Miles suggested the design to General Beauregard, who took it to the army's commander General Johnston. The first battle flag was made in September of 1861 by Hettie, Jennie, and Constance Cary of Richmond.

If I had a Bloodhound or perhaps even a Basset Hound, I would have to name him Beauregard.  I just thought I'd let you know.

I added a little 4-Patch above the flag and over to the right some Cotton Boll blocks, as I mentioned in an earlier post.  I like the connection between cotton and the South - plus the "X" in the Cotton Boll block repeats the Southern Cross.

This was General Lee's Headquarters flag:

This flag was used between June of 1962 and the summer of 1863. It has an unusual star arrangement that was believed to have been designed by his wife Mary to reflect the Biblical Arch of the Covenant. The original flag was allegedly hand-made by Mary Custis and their daughters.  Very cool!  It is similar to my "unknown" flag above ... so I wonder if that one is a guidon for a Southern unit?  Hmmm...

Simple borders around that flag - including my favorite bird on the right.  The look on his face makes me smile.

I totally mis-IDed this one at first:

I thought the crescent would represent a unit from New Orleans (The Crescent City) or maybe from South Carolina - they used the crescent and Palmetto a lot in their flags.  But no!  It is the flag from the 4th Missouri Infantry Regiment - also known as the Van Dorn flag.  According to my research, when General Earl Van Dorn was assigned a Corps in the Army of the West in the trans-Mississippi theater, he personally designed this type flag for his command. Known as a "Van Dorn flag," it saw use until after the fall of Vicksburg in the west.  When General Van Dorn became Commander of the Army of the West in 1862 his flag came with him. Arriving too late to fight at Shiloh, Van Dorn's troops began adopting this flag in June, with the first issues (with slightly different star pattern and fringed edges) going to the Missouri Brigade. In August, the rest of the army received these flags which first saw use at Iuka and Corinth where some examples were captured. The crescent is taken from the Missouri state Coat of Arms was was designed to inspire Missouri troops as they crossed east of the Mississippi River.

I added an Indian Hatchet block under the flag (on the right), some strips of fabric going every which way, and then in the lower left-hand corner, a Dutchman's Puzzle block.  You know - the name Van Dorn and "Dutchman"?  I get very strange ideas when I'm on the treadmill sometimes.

Just look at the center and right side of this photo (I should have zoomed in closer!):

That's the flag for the 47th Regiment of North Carolina Volunteers.  There is some great info about that regiment at this link.

That has the honors of being the last block I made for the quilt.  By that time, I was trying to work in little bits of some of the fabs that needed repeating.  I balanced the deep purple and the brownish prints with the medium blue and the light checked - I didn't want it to be too heavy of a block!  The lighter prints are playing together in the upper right-hand corner and came together as tiny Hourglass Blocks.

This flag represents the 9th Massachusetts Battery.

There is a little info on that Artillery battery and some photos of monuments erected in its honor at this link.

I added some stripes to the left and top of the guidon - and Cannonball Blocks at the bottom.  Yes.  Cannonballs.  Because it's an Artillery unit.  Blame that one on the treadmill, too, if you must!

Here is the flag from the "Florida Independent Blues":

There is a great unit history of the 3rd Florida Infantry, Company B at this link.  I found the postcard at the Haversack Store extremely interesting.  It so closely resembles the flag printed on my fabric that I have to wonder if that's the image they used in the printing process.  Right down to almost cutting the unit motto off at the bottom.

I put a row of Flying Geese along both the top and the bottom, and sprinkled in a little checkerboard along the right-hand side.

Does anyone else need to take a break?  Maybe go grab some coffee?  Iced Tea?  Diet Coke with Lime?  How about some jelly beans?  OK, I'll settle for Iced Tea.  And I'll try not to be so verbose.

What's next?

It's the 2nd US Artillery Regiment.  Here is a link to some great photos; the first one is the Regiment at Gettysburg!

I put an Ohio Star in the upper left corner.  I wanted something a little larger, as the flag is so small, and I wanted to work an Ohio Star in here somewhere, since my hubby is from Ohio.

Here is the guidon for the 1st US Cavalry:

Underneath the guidon, are two Kansas Dugout Blocks.  Since nearby (to me) Fort Riley was once home to the US Cavalry School, I thought it would be nice to group a Kansas-y block in with a Cavalry flag.

Let's move on.  Here is the battle flag for the 20th New York Volunteer Cavalry:

To read more about the unit and its service in the Civil War, please click here.

I built a Variable Star around the flag, then put a saw tooth border off to the right.  A tiny, baby-tooth saw tooth border.  What was I thinking?!?!

More artillery!

The flag above represents a battery in the 1st US Artillery.  It looks like L Battery to me, but in reading the history of the unit, it doesn't look like L Battery was at Gettysburg.  Don't get me started.

I got caught up in the "L", so I thought I'd repeat that form in the way of saw tooth borders.  On the Left there.

This next block contains two flags.  They are unrelated, except that they're both from New York units.  I just had to double up on one block -- you know, 19 flags don't really make for a good layout, but 18 blocks do.

In the upper left is the standard for the 13th New York Cavalry; beneath that is the battle flag for H Company, 1st Engineers, New York State Veteran's Volunteers.  To read more about "veteran volunteers", please click here.

The Cavalry flag has stripes off to one side.  I thought I should build something around the 1st Engineer flag, so I used it as the center in a Log Cabin block.  I thought it was a good fit.

This LAST block (is anyone still out there?) is built around the flag from the Commonwealth of Virginia:

Many units used their state flag to rally them into battle - as in this case!  Who was at Gettysburg from Virginia?  Maybe a better question would be "who wasn't?"  Click here to see a laundry list of the units there; you'll see what I mean!  That flag could have represented any of those units.

I told you a bit about this block in an earlier post.  The flag itself is surrounded by saw tooth borders and there is a partial checkerboard along the bottom.  Call them 4-patches if you'd like.

SO!  Those are all the blocks and either links to more about the units behind the flags or a little info about them.  Sorry to cram it all into one post, but I thought I'd save up and just put it all out there in one felled swoop!  Any more info, corrections, or comments are welcome!

To those readers I haven't lost - many, many thanks for reading!

Gettysburg Flag Quilt Miscellany

I'm still sewing the binding on the Gettysburg Battle Flag Quilt.  I love doing hand work, but it's slow-going.  I am plugging along on it, though - fear not!

See? I'm getting there.

I also spent a good deal of time yesterday IDing all the units that go with each flag or guidon and digging up links to more information on each.  Basically, putting all the research I had done in one place.  I was putting everything directly into my FlickR photo album, which seemed like a great idea.  Saving as I worked would have been an even better idea... and, oh, let's just say I lost it all and had to start over and really felt like my head was going to explode.  A good reminder to save as you go - and it did remind me of the "old" joke about "Jesus vs. Satan":

Jesus and Satan have an argument as to who is the better programmer. This goes on for a few hours until they agree to hold a contest with God as the judge.

They set themselves before their computers and begin. They type furiously for several hours, lines of code streaming up the screen.

Seconds before the end, a bolt of lightning struck taking out the electricity. Moments later, the power is restored, and God announces that the contest is over. He asks Satan to show what he has come up with.

Satan is visibly upset, and cries, "I have nothing! I lost it all when the power went out."

"Very well, then," says God, "let us see if Jesus fared any better."

Jesus enters a command, and the screen comes to life in vivid display, the voices of an angelic choir pour forth from the speakers.

Satan is astonished. He stutters, "But how?! I lost everything, yet Jesus' program is intact! How did he do it?!"

God chuckles, "Jesus saves."

Love that one.  Anyway, I'll post all the blocks tomorrow. In the meantime, let me field a few questions! I do save all the questions (there's that word again...) and will eventually answer them all! My friend Patty asked in part, "What are the layers of a quilt? What is the batting made of? How thick is the quilt and are all quilts about the same thickness?
Did you decide not to tea dye the quilt or was that a passing fancy?..."

The layers are the backing (in this case, a lovely quilt-weight cotton), the batting, and the top (what I've been sewing together). My preference for batting, unless I'm making something I'd like to be poufy (like a dog bed or perhaps a throw for a baby) is to use cotton. It has a low-loft to it (loft being "thickness" - or pouf, if you will ☺) and is a joy to quilt through - be it by hand or machine.

See how thin that is?  Just to the right of my thumb are threads hanging down.  That should give you a good idea of the scale.

Check out the batting:

It is 100% cotton with the thinnest of the thin polyester scrim to it.  That scrim basically helps bind the cotton together and means you don't have to quilt it every inch - you can space your quilting lines/design 4" or more apart and not have it fall apart when you wash it.  And wash it, I will, once it has been bound.  The batting will shrink a tiny bit - and will add the loveliest antique feel to the quilt!  You'll see!  If I had to give you a thickness to the quilt ... I'd guess 1/8".  Maybe.

All quilts are not the same thickness!  Batting comes in many different "lofts" (thicknesses) and is made from all sorts of things - right now, cotton or polyester are probably the most popular choices on the market.  It also comes in wool, bamboo, and there is even an eco-friendly batting made from recycled soda bottles.  I'm fairly certain they didn't have that one available during the 19th century.  Ha ha ha.  ... or the polyester ... or the bamboo.  They certainly had wool or cotton available.

Here's a trivia question for you:  you see two antique quilts made around the time of the Civil War.  Knowing nothing more about them, you see that one is thicker than the other.  Where would that thicker quilt most likely be from - the north or the south?

When I first got into the whole realm of Civil War quilts, I guessed "the north".  It's colder in the north, they'd need that extra loft to keep warm!  Right?  (insert buzzer sound here)  Not right!  The fluffier, thicker quilts were actually usually from the South!  Then it hit me - they had the cotton.  ☺  See... NOW it makes sense, right?  That's your Fun Fact of the Day.

The tea dying!  I keep thinking about it.  I'm very tempted, but my husband voted against it and I think I'm being swayed in that direction.  Basically, and I might will post more on this another time as Trace did ask about it, tea dying is just that - dying the quilt with tea.  You make a really huge batch of strong tea, then soak your quilt in it for a while ... then rinse, heat set with your dryer, and wash & dry.  That's the Cliff's Notes version of how I do it.  It is sort of like "instant antiquing" - but I'm not really sure this project needs it.

And here's something I probably should have posted at the very beginning of this project - the fabric that started it all:

Yes, of course I bought more than one panel! This is the "spare". You know ... in case I REALLY messed up or if I couldn't get all the flags cut out of one panel.  I have no immediate plans for this extra fabric.

That's it for today!  Thank you so much for comments, questions and for reading!

Gettysburg Update!

I've been working away on the Gettysburg Battle Flag quilt! My target was to finish quilting it by the end of the week - and actually (grab this!) I'm already sewing the binding on!!! I'm so stoked! Let's do a little miscellaneous photo flash back, OK?

First up, a few pix of block parts that I especially like.

It's all about the bird.  He makes me smile.

I like the sawtooth border meeting the little checkerboard.
I'm not sure why.

In many old quilts, you'll see similar colors/fabrics substituted in some of the blocks - like in the background of these Flying Geese:

Background change

It was usually because they were working off scraps and just plain ran out.  For me, it was partly that -- but also because I think it adds depth.

Another background change

Don't you think?  It's just more interesting, too!  Like with using variegated thread, it is similar to light playing across the quilt.

As I worked on the quilt, I got caught up in each and every one of the flags or guidons. I thought about the unit, its history, and as an Army wife and Army brat, felt a certain connection. Look beyond my machine in this next one:

2nd Infantry Division (2ID) Division Support Command (DISCOM) colors

When my husband relinquished command of his Brigade (2ID DISCOM), he was presented with "miniatures" of the colors that constituted the units under his command. This set hangs in front of my machine. I loved looking up at it while I worked on the colors from Gettysburg!  It was great inspiration!

That shot is from when I was in the process of sewing the borders on. After that, it was time to choose a quilting thread.

Dave, Guide Dog for the Color Blind, supervised the thread selection

As I mentioned earlier, I went with a King Tut variegated thread -- 920, Sands of Time for those who might be interested. As much as I love some of the bold, richly saturated, vibrantly colored King Tut threads ... the shades in this one are equally exciting. Think of all the colors in a desert - or in a latte. Seriously. That yummy.

After I chose the backing and binding, it was time to baste the quilt layers together.  That means securing the backing, batting and top together so they don't shift while you're quilting.  Traditionally, this would have been done with long basting stitches ... maybe pins ... but for me ...

505 Spray and Fix

Yeah.  If women in the mid-19th century HAD basting spray they would have used it. At least for smaller projects like this that they would have machine quilted. Don't you think?  Umm... and masking tape, too, for marking those long quilting lines.

I used masking tape (it leaves no residue!) a little bit to mark the lines - especially in those areas where my chalk just didn't show well enough.  But for the majority of the lines, I used my chalk wheelie thing.

Instagram app shot:

I was about 85% done when my wheelie thing ran out of chalk.  I could have sworn I had a refill somewhere but couldn't find it.  I was very happy that I have a spare wheelie thing in my hand quilting basket.  Whew!  (And yes, of course after I no longer was in the throes of a panicked "where is the refill?!?!" state, I found not one but three refills.  ☺ Of course.)

The quilting went faster than I ever would have imagined, and before I knew it, I was DONE!!!

Yea!  Quilting completed!!!

Next up, sew on the binding!

I machine sew my bindings to the front, then trim off the excess batting and backing.  After that, I bring it around to the back and start the hand-sewing process:

Sew... a needle pulling thread
(Sorry.  I was forced to watch way too many musicals in my childhood...)

I find this part very soothing.  Slow, but soothing.  I love doing hand sewing!

Oh!  And two things of note in that last photo:  First - you can see my backing.  That's another Civil War reproduction print.  I really like it.  I wish I had used some in the front, but I didn't think that far ahead.  Second - I left about 1/8" of the batting beyond my 1/4" seam allowance.  I wanted the binding a little more "filled", if you know what I mean.  Just to add a little more dimension to it.

So... that's where I am!  I'm also starting a new project - a very special quilt for a very special friend.  I'll keep you posted!

Thanks for reading!

Utility Quilting

I'm quilting!  Yes, the Gettysburg Battle Flag quilt is coming right along.  If all goes to plan, I should have it quilted by (no one is going to hold me to this, right?) ... let's say the end of the week.  Just to be on the safe side.  Then it's time to cut the binding and stitch that on.  But first...

I was going to show you each of the blocks prior to quilting.  And I will show you how they looked - I took a mighty good shot of each one - but I really want to finish researching each flag first.  That post will come.  Let's look at the quilting instead.

Action shot!  (Not really; I had to stop to take the picture.)

I decided to go with a variegated thread.  Oh, I know ... they didn't HAVE variegated thread back then.  On purpose, anyway.  I mean... if they left a spool or two in the sun they would have gotten the same effect.  (Besides, if they HAD King Tut thread, they would have loved it every bit as much as I do.)  The variegated thread (this is all sand-like colors), is giving me a faded look - and adds a little play of light across the quilt.  (The Guide Dog for the Color Blind helped choose it; he'll be happy to handle any complaints.)

After researching what type of quilting they would have done in the mid-19th century, I opted to go with a double criss-cross style of utility quilting, as you can see in the photo above.  Utility quilting is an overall pattern with no thought given to the pieced quilt.  They would often use double or triple lines.  This process has already given new appreciation for being able to sew a straight line (that is a challenge for me!) - and then to repeat it a quarter of an inch away.  (What was I thinking?)

Here's a shot from today:

Can you tell I'm making lots of headway!?!? I may be setting a personal record for getting a quilt done.

Here's another close-up:

That's a good example of how you don't pay any attention whatsoever to the quilt "pieces" in utility quilting!

More in the next day or two!  Thanks for reading!

The Top is Finished!

Sorry it's been a while!  I've been busy with the garden, the pups, and working on the QUILT!!!  The top is finished, the borders are on, and I'm actually quilting right now!  I've taken a ton of pix, so I'll start sharing some of those with you now.  Let's cut the chit-chat and get to it!

This block came out kind of ... wonky, shall we say?

11th Corps HQS

But I really like it and I'm leaving it that way!

Here's another block in progress:

I was trying to figure out a way to add in more navy, but in a small punch.  Here's what I came up with:

Yes, it repeats the shape of the Kansas Dugout blocks, but on a smaller scale AND when put together as I have it laid out there, it's a Cotton Boll block.  You know ... cotton and the South?  And the "X" shape echoes the Confederate flag.  ...moving right along...

I tossed these other blues in while my Guide Dog for the Color Blind was sleeping:

Since the whole concept is for this to not look like a collection of 8.5" blocks but an over-all collage of blocks and the battle flags, I thought it would work. They will look like different blocks - and frankly, Dave, if you snooze, you lose.

Here's how it looks all together:

It works, don't you think?

Here are the completed blocks, up on my design wall:

And here they are, all stitched together!

Husband accessory not included

I auditioned some border and binding fabrics and this is what I came up with:

The inner border has both blue and grey in it - I like that! And the binding will add a nice zip at the end. Edge. Whatever.

Before cutting my borders, I measure very carefully at each end and in the middle:

I average those numbers, then cut. It helps control those "wavy" border issues. That's my tip du jour.

I played around with a pic of one of the blocks with the Instagram app on my iPhone:

It really has me considering tea dying the whole thing when I'm done. Instant antiquing!!!

I'll post more tomorrow! For now, thanks for reading!