Remember the other day when I talked about finding blocks from the Handbag Sampler? In addition to those blocks, I found several other orphan blocks. I almost gave them all to the BAM Community Quilt project, but I couldn’t quite do it.
These are two Baltimore Album Quilt blocks I started in a class with the most famous BAQ quiltmaker, Elly Sienkiewicz. I took the class at Thimble Creek when they still had a shop in Walnut Creek back in the dark ages. It was maybe 1994 or so and I was excited to take a class from the person who started the craze and did the work to bring BAQ quilts to the fore.
The first block, which looks like a snowflake, is Star of Hearts from Baltimore Beauties and Beyond v.1 and I used needle turn applique.
It is made like you make paper snowflakes. This one was easier to make as there were fewer thin lines to deal with. It was good practice for dealing with sharp points, I remember. This pattern could easily be done with machine applique’, though that was not discussed as an option back in the day.
This second BAQ block is pattern #13: Fleur de Lis with Rosebuds III (pg.34) from Baltimore Album Quilts: Historic Notes and Antique Patterns. I didn’t put the additional rosebuds in the corner. It was all I could do to finish this block as is.
I took the class with the intention of making a Baltimore Album Style quilt, but needle-turn applique’ and I didn’t get along. Perhaps if I tried it now, it would be better. Perhaps I didn’t choose the best patterns to try the technique? I don’t know. I never really did needle-turn after this.
I’ll write about the other lost and found blocks in a follow-up post.
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