The Baltimore Bride’s Quilt 1989

A Baltimore Bride’s Quilt has been on my list of quilts to make for a long time, but procrastination has always taken first precedence.   However, one day I discovered a class was to be taught in Huntsville (60 miles away) once a month – making one block each month, so I signed up.  At least this would force me to get started.  The cost was sizeable and the drive long, but I felt the end would justify it all and I began classes.

At first I looked at pictures, read all I could find on the subject, struggled with color choices and beginning stitches; soon the first block was underway. My workroom looks like an airplane crashed there that had been loaded with fabric – so material was no problem.  The problem was which piece do I use where.  I treasure the pieces I’ve had for so long – such as the ones saved from the girls dresses along the way.   Even some scraps of smocks Donna wore from when she was pregnant with our 23 year old granddaughter.  Then there is the scrap from the dress Beth wore the year she started to school.  There is a saying in the quilt world that the one who dies with the most fabric wins — guess I’m in the running.

Each block of the Baltimore Bride’s Quilt is different but must blend, color wise, with all others.  The technique here is appliqué – turning the edges under and blind stitching them down – tedious to say the least.  The first block had 54 pieces in it and I remember well my frustration in trying to decide what to put down first.  However, after much diligence it was completed and I went on to the second assignment.  This one was even more involved and with far more pieces – a bouquet of flowers tied with a bow.  All the time I worked on this one, I wondered “why did I want to do this?”  The third block was the Weedon House, a historical Huntsville landmark.  The fourth assignment was a cornucopia filled with fruit – apples, pears, strawberries, cherries, grapes, blueberries, a lemon, plums and my favorite of all fruit – a banana.  Just completed it is a very colorful block, though busy.   I’m afraid I’m hooked on applique.  Instead of the 12 blocks expected, I hope to do 20 in order to make a full-size bed quilt.  Some extras may be a farm scene, my own house and possibly a fruit basket and/or bowl.

I cannot believe how fast the year is passing as I’m now ready for the fifth assignment and eager to cut, snip and stitch.  We seldom leave the house without a thread or tiny scrap clinging to our clothing – a result of this delicate undertaking.  When I started to bed recently I found a minute red scrap between the covers.  Somewhere I’ve read to “engage in activities that require patience, the rewards will be greater.”  I look forward to completing the project – there are others on the list of things to make.