Sunday, September 6, 2009

Lucinda's Facinating Window

Yesterday I finished piecing a quilt top for the shop called Lucinda's Window. The fabric is designed by Jo Morton for the International Quilt Study Center & Museum at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. This particular quilt was designed by Gail Kessler for Andover Fabrics and the pattern can be found as a free download at Andover's website. This fabric collection and the quilt are representations designed from the original quilt housed at the museum known as The Reconciliation Quilt. Made by Lucinda Ward Honstain and dated to 1867, the original quilt has 40 appliqued blocks depicting scenes from life during the Civil War and the Reconcilation era. My wallhanging above is not applique, but fussy cut squares from the "convenience cloth" piece in Jo Morton's Lucinda's Window collection ~ much faster to whip up! Mine is done in the blue/brown colorway that we carry at our shop.

The original quilt got it's name from a particular block that illustrated the release from prison of Jefferson Davis, the Confederate President during the Civil War. Releasing Davis was seen politically in the North as a huge step in reconciliation towards the South . For anyone who appreciates history, some great close up pictures of the original Reconciliation Quilt as well as a very comprehensive article with history of the quilt and the quilt maker (which I found very interesting), can be found here. Someday I want to make a trip to the International Quilt Study Center, it looks like my kind of place :)
Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

2 comments:

Jocelyn said...

That would be a most awesome place to visit. I've read so much about it. Hope you can make it to the Center one day.

Karen said...

I have some of the Lucinda's Window fabric but have plans for it. I may have enough left to do something like your quilt.