The Final Week - 53 Union Shield

This week's block is one that Barbara Brackman designed for this project. She explained that during the era, shields would have been appliqued. Perhaps she got too many complaints about applique, because she gave us a pieced shield to make.

She recommended a starry blue fabric for the upper portion of the design, but I didn't have a suitable one. I did have my Lincoln toile though! Since I only used him in a small strip in the Log Cabin block back in February, he was not quite given the place of honor he needed for a quilt by a quilter born in Illinois, made for family still living there. Here I get to use the entire Lincoln and the wreath that surrounds him.


I redrew the block at 9 inches in EQ to make it simple to make an uneven number of stripes, then I printed it at 8 inches for paper piecing. Staying with the florals I started this project with, I'm happier with my block that I thought I would be when I first saw the design.

And that concludes the blocks for the Civil War Block of the Week/2011. I'll be posting more pictures as I work on the quilt for Roger and Laurie in the coming weeks. One of the blocks will not fit in my 52-block layout. I thought I knew which one would be left out, but now I'm not sure. Decisions will come when I see how I like the blocks with the sashing and cornerstones.