The diamond block quilt inspired by Martha Bingley

Well its looks a tiny result for a couple of weeks work doesn’t it? But when they are laid out it looks like this.

As I said in my post the other week this crazy quilt is going to be my big project for 2006 . It is inspired – or the shape of the blocks were inspired by a quilt made by Martha Bingley in 1883.

I chatter on about this quilt in my previous post about this new project for 2006 so I won’t repeat myself here except to say that I will set the quilt in the baby block or (depending where you hail from) tumbling block quilt pattern. If you look at this quilt there are braids and ribbons on it but very little lace. Normally I incorporate a good range of laces on a crazy quilt but this time I have not done so.

Every block has one or two paisley prints in it, which I hope will blend with the curved seams I have incorporated in the blocks. The Martha Bingley quilt has curved seams and I think it is the combination of straight lines and curved seams that attracts me to it. I have used a technique Allison Aller described in her blog.

Another extremely attractive feature of Martha Bingley’s quilt is the expert embroidery it displays. The hand embroidery is just delightful so I have been trawling through my vintage patterns and patterns online looking for suitable motifs to embroider.

On the Martha Bingley quilt Victorian motifs abound. Items such as fans, horseshoes, butterflies, floral motifs, dragonflies, wheat, birds, tea cups, Kate Greenway figures and the traditional spider web for good luck are all to be found beautifully embroidered. An unusual aspect of this quilt is that many of these motifs instead of being slap in the middle of a patch slide over the seams.

On another note Allison Aller has also started a large crazy quilt project for this year. Do check it out as it’s going to be a great quilt. It had me wondering who else is starting a large project such as a quilt?