In the midst of personal tragedy, Pam Holland stumbled upon a picture of "1776," an amazing story-quilt made by Sorbian soldiers on the battlefield as Prussian troops marched into Bohemia. The quilt, constructed using an antiquated European technique known as Silesian quilting, incorporated an incredibly rich range of patterns and imagery. Captivated, Holland set out to replicate the quilt using faster methods of machine applique. This unique book recounts the story of the original quilt and describes Pam Holland's personal odyssey from despair to celebration, as her remake of 1776 sweeps "Best in Show" at quilt shows across the United States. The book provides six complete patterns inspired by the 1776, as well as directions for re-creating the original quilt.

• Fast and easy appliqué technique, combining fast-fusing methods and machine stitching
• Six new quilt projects inspired by unusual motifs in 1776
• Sensational photography of the original 1776 and Pam Holland's recreation

Contents

Preface

Part One: My Journal of The 1776 Quilt A Story of Heartbreak, Heritage, and Happiness

• Liseby's Gift
• A Journey of Discovery
• A Lost Technique Is Found Again
• A Passion Becomes an Obsession
• An Ending and a New Beginning
• Journaling the Quilt
• My Environment
• My Equipment
• And So It Begins
• First Steps: Try and Try Again
• Absolute Joy! From Applique Hearts to Deciphering Elies Block
• Checkerboards and Borders
• Time Marches On: The Hourglass Border
• Soldiering On
• Time Out and Back to Work
• Family Ties and the Applique Borders
• Hard Work and Deadlines
• Battling with Hundreds of Appliques
• The Final Push
• Flurries and Frustrations
• Help Is at Hand
• The End Is in Sight

Part Two: Recreating 1776, Section by Section

• Building Out from the Center Square
• Center Square
• First Pieced Border
• Second Pieced Border and Side Panels
• Nine-Patch Elies Blocks and Checkerboard Blocks
• Hourglass and Pomegranate Side Panels
• Horizontal Appliqué Panels
• Elies Block Side Panels
• Borders, Borders, Borders
• Cream Applique Border
• Narrow Three-Part Border
• Date Panels
• Narrow Cream Border
• Applique Block Border
• Pomegranate Border
• Final Border
• Finishing the Quilt

Part Three: Six Projects Inspired by The 1776 Quilt

• A Bounty of Inspiration
• A Gallery of Quilts
• Two More Offspring Quilts
• Quilt Patterns
• A 1776 Sampler, by Pam Holland
• A 1776 Sampler, by Liz Needle
• The King of Eagles, by Heather Bolt
• The Four Horsemen, by Dianne Assheton
• Soldier¿s Stories, by Elvira Richardson
• Claire¿s Way, by Claire Warby
• 
  

Afterword

Templates

Bibliography

Index