As July wound to a close, I put the finishing stitches in a quilt that has taken eight years to reach completed status. On the other hand, the subject of the quilt - women's suffrage - took an equally long time to come to fruition in the United States!
Grandmother's Choice was a block of the week project created by Barbara Brackman to recognize the years-long struggle for women to win the right to vote. The BOW started well before the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment (June 4th, 1919) to illustrate the time and effort involved in passing that simple amendment:
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Most of the fabrics used in my blocks were from a collection called "Alice's Washday Blues" by Blue Hill Fabrics. I wound up adding lots of other fabrics, but Alice was my inspiration.
I wasn't gung-ho on sampler quilts when I started the BOW, but I learned to appreciate the fun of making just one block of a particular pattern.
I finely (finally) finished the quilt by using simple sashing and two borders - narrow and wide.
The long-arm quilting was done by Diane Knott of Butterfly Threads Quilting.
Finished size: 84 inches by 84 inches.
The label features one of my favorite prints from Alice's Washday Blues.
The label also includes the date the 19th Amendment was ratified by enough states to become law:
18 August 1920. I guess I finished my quilt just in time!
As you may recall from civics class, Constitutional amendments require approval by 2/3 of the states in order to become law. In 1920, Tennessee was the approving state that put the 19th Amendment over the threshold. Interestingly, my state, Louisiana, rejected the amendment in 1920 and did not (belatedly) pass it until 1970! If you're curious about when your state approved the 19th amendment, you can find out at this National Park Service website.
