So...Barbara Brackman is doing another BOM on her Civil War Quilts blog.
The theme for this BOM is Hospital Sketches - looking at the roles of women in Civil War hospitals.
I knew I would be participating, because - historical appliqué patterns AND a hospital setting!
I don't think I've really talked about my profession on the blog. Yup, I'm a nurse, and I originally trained at an old-fashioned hospital-based nursing school about 100 years ago. That's my graduation picture - we had finally given up wearing starched white pinafores and graduated to more modern nurses' uniforms.
While I waited for the first BOM block to be published, I debated over what type of fabrics to use. My love for blue and white quilts was my final inspiration, because I've never done a blue and white appliqué quilt.
I assembled a basket full of potential fabrics, some of which were leftovers from other projects and some new and uncut fat quarters. I also decided to keep my background fabric fairly simple and purchased yardage in a cross-weave type off-white fabric.
The first block, Periwinkle Wreath, was a tribute to Louisa May Alcott, who served in a Union hospital during the war. I won't give away her story, because you should hop over and read it!
As much as I'd like to be doing hand-stitched appliqué, I knew I'd NEVER finish the blocks in a timely fashion. I used freezer paper and starch to prep the shapes, and machine appliqué using invisible thread to stitch them in place. Yippee for finishing!
FYI, if you have a Facebook account, there is a Facebook group for the BOM if you want to see all the different blocks.
