Civil War Crossing Quilt Tutorial, Part Four

Putting the Quilt Together: The pieced section of this quilt (not counting the borders) measures 8" by 10 1/2".  The blocks are 2" finished.  The sashing is 1/2" finished.

Sashing cutting directions:

• Cut sixteen 1" by 2 1/2" rectangles
• Cut four 1" by 5 1/2" rectangles (for sashing cornerstones)
• Cut three 2 1/2" by 5 1/2" rectangles

Sew the rectangles with the 5 1/2" measurement together in strips as shown.

Cut the pieced strips into five 1" widths.  (Sorry I forgot to take a picture here but you’ll see them laid out in just a couple steps).  Press the cornerstones (brown strips) towards the wider (white) fabric. 

Cut the border fabric:

• Cut two 3" by 8 1/2" rectangles
• Cut two 3" by 16" rectangles
• Note that since I was using a directional fabric, I cut the strips so that the directions would remain consistent when added to the quilt.

Top Assembly:

1) Sew the 1" by 2 1/2" rectangles to the sides of the blocks creating strips.  Press the seams towards the sashing.  (Another forgotten photo that will be clear in the next step).

2) Layout the strips with the cornerstones.

3)  Join together.

4)  Add the top and bottom borders.

5)  Add the side borders.

Now, normally, I avoid hand work whenever possible, but I’m thinking I might try and get into the spirit of things and actually hand quilt this one.  No promises though.  I might hand quilt all of three inches, turnaround and say, “You know what?  Machine stitching is good enough!”

And I did just a little play in EQ with this pattern.  So, in red and white:

Or a little bit of Amish:

And, of course, you can make more blocks and omit the sashing entirely:

This has always been one of my favorite blocks.  Very bold and dramatic and beautiful in either reproduction or contemporary fabrics.  I have a full size quilt top that is done up in the same colors.  I have my reservations about it though.  I’ll take a picture and post it tomorrow.  For now, I’m off for a glass of pinot noir.  Honestly, typing up these directions took way longer than I anticipated!  I’m a tuckered pup.