The Emily Munroe Quilt

I have finally finished my 

Emily Munroe Quilt.

Years of hand stitching to complete this 

replica of a Civil War quilt.

Wool applique on wool backgrounds with 

yarn and specialty threads for embellishment.

Instead of quilting, I used the potholder method

to finish the quilt.

The original quilt is showcased in

this pattern from Francine Quinn

of Hoopla Patterns.

The Emily Munroe Quilt

Good grief, no seriously, five years and counting and I'm still

working on this quilt...

The good news is I have only one more row to go.

Since I'm using the potholder method to construct the blocks

there is no need for quilting. 

The design is an adaptation by Frances Quinn of Hoopla Patterns 

with the New England Quilt Museum staff as pattern consultants.

Emily...

 

A little more progress of my

Emily Munroe Quilt...

The blocks from row three have been

reconstructed using the "potholder" construction method.

 

The wool has been turned to the back and whipped

stitched down over the backing fabric.

I used a very thin batting to keep the

 heavy applique from sagging.

 

 

This is a detail of the back from the original quilt

 that Frances Quinn of Hoopla Patterns included in her pattern.

 

 The hardest part of stitching this quilt...

lining up the squares and stitching

 the wool blocks to each other by hand.

My fingers have been screaming...

 

 

Looking back at all the blocks...

only six more rows to go.

 

The original quilt was made approximately in 1865

by Emily Munroe and is currently owned by the

New England Quilt Museum in

Lowell, Massachusetts

The Emily Munroe Quilt...

My progress on the Emily Munroe Quilt...

Second row stitched using the potholder construction method.

Have I told you how many years I've been working on this quilt?

Four years...

 



 

For those that haven't seen the entire quilt

 with all the blocks basted together...

Wool applique on wool backgrounds.

 

The Emily Munroe Quilt

 

Emily Munroe's Civil War quilt...

 

This is where I left off last year,

all the blocks basted together.

I'm using the 'potholder' construction

method to reconstruct the quilt.

 



 

Row one...

 

 

I ended up using a very thin batting...no quilting

 

 Before whip stitching the wool over the cotton backing

and then whip stitching each block to each other.

 

Quilt back of the original showing the construction...

 

 

Courtesy of Frances Quinn of Hoopla Patterns...

The Emily Munroe Quilt pattern is an authorized adaptation

 from the historic collection of the

 New England Museum

in Lowell, MA

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Emily Munroe quilt

This is where I left off back in October of 2016.

All the blocks basted together.



 

Now I have separated all the blocks in the first row

so I can start the potholder method of reconstructing the quilt.

 

 

The back of one block with the wool front folded over to

a backing and whipped stitched down.

Only 53 more blocks to go.

 

Each block will then be hand stitched to each other

 in the same fashion as the original Civil War quilt.

 

These details are all documented by Frances Quinn

 of Hoopla Patterns who reproduced the quilt design.

 

 

 

 

The Emily Munroe Quilt

 

One last look at my Emily Munroe quilt before I take the blocks apart.

I wanted some photos of the entire quilt to

judge that last border...whether to keep it or not.

 

 

I like it, especially since it represents the original.

 

Now to take all the blocks apart and

 reconstruct the quilt using the potholder method.





The Emily Munroe Quilt

 

I've been working on this wool quilt since the Winter of 2014

 and I can finally say I finished all 54 blocks.

 

 Here's the seven rows that I completed and have shared before.

 

 

The last five blocks

 

The blocks are all wool applique on wool backgrounds.

I tried to duplicate the look of this Civil War quilt by using only wool yarns for embellishing.

 

 

This is the back of the original Emily Munroe quilt...

courtesy of Hoopla Patterns.

It shows the foundation fabric and 'potholder' construction of the quilt.

I'm going to finish my quilt in the same manner.

You'll notice the quilt was finished without quilting or binding.

 

The Emily Munroe Quilt

 

Sharing my progress on The Emily Munroe quilt.

Wool applique on the wool backgrounds.

I'm trying to duplicate the Civil War look of the original quilt

 with as close a match to the original wools

 as well as the same embellishments and couching.

Two more rows to go.

 

A close-up of some of the latest blocks.

The blocks are just basted together,

makes it easier to photograph 

and it keeps the blocks in order.