#'s 10, 11 & 12

ok - here's the end of the Battle Series for those following along.  I didn't want to leave you in the middle when you are so interested.  I'm so very happy to have you all along; have enjoyed this blog hop so much.

Gettysburg

#10 - Gettysburg
  This design features the Lincoln block & reminds me of the open battlefield at Gettysburg with artillery lined up all around the outside.  Can't you just see the infantry running across that open field . . . 

I should explain to you that while I worked on these quilts, I didn't have a plan to make them look like a certain battle at all.  It just happened as I worked; many times after the whole quilt was done, I'd be reading & writing about the specific battles & then I'd see these signs within the quilts. That is what emerged with the Gettysburg quilt for me.  

 Surreal . . .

Chattanooga

#11 - The Chattanooga quilt uses the Going Around the Mountain block which is so representative of the Battle of Lookout Mountain in 1863. 

The zig-zag pattern also reminds me of the meandering of the Tennessee River Valley where much of the fighting occurred.

I love the coloration of this quilt; the golds, dark reds & blues are just my colors.  However, we have done a new quilt for the market booth in the large size with the blocks in shades of just brown & blue.  It is fabulous, too.


Atlanta

#12 - The Atlanta quilt features the Atlanta quilt block sequence found on page 143 of the Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns by Barbara Brackman.  That amazing book is where I get all the guidance for the blocks used in my Civil War designs; it is always a starting place for me.

In my narrative inside this pattern (included in all my series quilts) you will find this fictional letter from an army doctor to his wife -  "I am so weary from fighting the tide of bodies that stream in from the battlefields.  When the worst of it is over & I am able to walk around & look at the men, I tell you, with all the blood, dirt & bandages, you cannot tell a southern boy from a northern boy.  I stand in the middle of all this suffering of my countryment & pray for this war to be over soon.  Take care of yourself - your love keeps me sane in the midst of this madness."   Your loving husband, James