Twelve Quilts of Christmas 2016 – #6

 

 

Made in 1858 by Esther B. Matthews, when she was 82 years of age, her quilt is a beautiful interpretation of the flowers that grew near her home in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia.  It is also filled with many of her sentiments about the coming conflict of the Civil War.  She made the quilt for her grandson Addison Blair Martz.  Addison, who served as a Confederate soldier, unfortunately died in 1863 from wounds suffered in battle.  Never used, it is in excellent condition and was donated to the museum in 2006.  How fortunate we are that so much is know about the maker and that the family valued the quilt, preserving it and it’s story and eventually donating it to the museum.  You can find out more about the quilt and it’s history here.  

 

I am in awe of the details in each of the individual blocks and am torn between the lily, mountain laurel and star in the east as to which one is my favourite.  Esther clearly had an artistic eye.  It is not just the pleasing composition and layout of the quilt, but the details in each of the floral compositions and her ability to interpret depth in her work through layering.  It is a wonderful light contrast to day four’s album quilt.  

 

The museum has issued a pattern for this quilt and some quilters have been participating in a quilt-along  (you can see their  progress here on their blog).     Are you tempted to join them?  If you were going to make just one block which one would you choose?