Getting Started On the Centerpiece

I'm so excited about all the unique eagle projects we have going on here! Love that they will all be so varied and different. As personalized as the quilters working on them! I started the prep work on my centerpiece earlier in the week. Still have a little more to get figured out, but the eagle has to be appliqued down first, so I consider this real progress!

Starting my centerpiece

I like to cut out tricky applique pieces like the eagle wings by tracing the pattern onto freezer paper, cutting it out and then ironing the shape directly onto the top of my fabric. I used to leave the freezer paper on as I stitched (around) it to the background, but no longer. Now I just pull the paper up and pin it into place.

Prep work for the applique

I kept fussing with the bottom of the eagle trying to get things centered, but then I realized my original isn't even centered. Okay, enough of that! I'm still crossing my eyes at the red center (shield) on my eagle too. Do I want it to look this patriotic or not? I think I'll wait a bit before I start stitching in case I change my mind and go with a different color.

Hi everyone, I'm Mary, and I think I like this Eagle Quilt from Piece O' Cake Designs: I think this is the one! Now to start on it!! Hugs, Mary

An Eagle Series?

I haven't started an Eagle Quilt yet, but 

I seem to be seeing eagles everywhere! 

I've always wanted to make this Jo Morton quilt.
(Banner Day book)

And I have the panel needed to make this Jo Morton quilt.
(Banner Day book)

This Kim Diehl pattern is also on my list!
(Simple Season's book)

My friend Julierose reminded me about this one in American Patchwork and Quilting magazine.
(October 2002)

Maybe a quilt of just eagles?
(Nancy Kirk collection)

And right outside my sewing room window, the eagle watches!!
(wish it was a better photo--taken through the glass window and it was raining!)

I think I see a series of Eagle Quilts in my future!

Appetizer - Still on the Menu!

I started this eagle embroidery project at the end of July as a warm up for my main Quilt Like An Eagle project.  I thought this would be a quick project, but that was an optimistic assumption!  I finished the embroidery last week, but did not have a chance to start the piecing aspect of the project until this weekend.

The postage stamp squares finish at 1 inch.  I plan to add two strips of 1 inch blocks to either side, creating a postage stamp frame.  I was originally thinking of hand quilting this, but I don't like hand quilting through so many seams.  I'm just making this up as I go along, so I'll make that decision later!

Ever Vigilant

I've been wanting to do a version of this quilt for years, so I'm happy to have the motivation of a sew-along! 

I was first drawn to this quilt when Quilter's Newsletter published this pattern in 2002.
It uses the center motif of an early 19th century quilt. 

In 2005, Quilter's Newsletter published an article about this quilt.
It was inspired by the previously published pattern, but this quilter did some research and based her version more closely on the original. 

This is a photo of the original quilt.
 The quilt is made from hemp, as so has become known as the Marijuana quilt!

Barbara Brackman wrote about this quilt several years ago HERE. As Barbara points out, Jan Patek has a version of the same eagle in her book Flags of the American Revolution--you can see it on the cover:

I have this book on the way--it was a Bobbins Bargain a couple weeks ago.

There is also some information on the quilt from the National Museum of American History HERE.

I'm not sure how my version will end up, but I will be doing the Eagle center similar to the Ever Vigilant version. 

The pattern from the magazine needs to be enlarged, so I am off to Office Depot!

Eagle Thoughts

One of the things that has kept me interested in quilting for the past 25 years is the relationship between quilts and history.  Not only do quilts have their own history, but they also reflect the life and times of the women who made them.

As I began to think about what type of eagle quilt I would make, I also started to wonder about the history and symbolism of eagle quilts.

I have been going through my quilt library, searching out eagle quilts with an eye for history and design.  One of my favorite resources is All Flags Flying, by Robert Bishop and Carter Houck.

 

The book was published in 1986 in conjunction with the Great American Quilt Contest.  The first half of the book is devoted to antique patriotic quilts while the second half features patriotic quilts that were created for a quilting contest sponsored by Scotchgard.  If you're interested in the backstory of the eagle quilts you've seen on Pinterest, many of them are here.

 

This eagle quilt is from the Shelburne Museum and is attributed to Lydia Stafford, who was thought to have made it during the first half of the 1800s.  According to the text in the book, there are other quilts similar to this one, so it is possible there was actually a pattern for the quilt.

 

Fast forward 150 years or so, and another generation of quilters are inspired by Lydia Stafford's quilt!  "Warrior Eagle" was made by Jean Pearson Stanclift and the pattern appears in Barbara Brackman's book, Civil War Women.

The eagle quilts that fascinate me the most are the four block quilts with mirror image eagles.  Barbara Brackman discusses them in a blog entry entitled Eagles and Eccentricities.   I am amazed by all the variations in the pattern - each quilter seemed to adapt the idea to her own tastes, interests and skills.  I created a Pinterest board dedicated to cataloging as many of the four block eagle quilts as possible.

 

My current favorite is from the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum.  I read about this particular version in All Flags Flying, where the description piqued my imagination:  "the eagles wear crowns and apparently smoke cigars".  The online catalog description of the quilt is not quite so fanciful!  

 

Quilters are still interested in making this pattern.  Karen is planning to make a version published by Barbara Brackman.  I found another version in one of my books, America's Heritage Quilts, from Better Homes and Gardens.  The "Eagles Union Quilt" is attributed to Sarah Winters, Pennsylvania, circa 1876. 

I think I have found my eagle quilt inspiration - now I just need to decide how I will personalize my quilt!

 

 

 

My eagle choice

I have decided on this lovely quilt from Lori Smith.  I am sure I have most of the wool and I think I have enough of the black for the backgrounds too.  I will use a cotton background and wool for the applique.  I ordered the pattern this morning so I will be stalking the mailbox for the next week or so.