The Blue and the Gray: Quilt Patterns using Civil War Fabrics Paperback – April 2, 2013

Country Threads "Charm School" mavens Mary Etherington and Connie Tesene are at it again, this time with slightly larger projects. The Blue and The Gray is an easy 5-stars for me. (Although I preferred the earlier Charm School books a little more for their colors and modern blocks.)Lovely Civil War repro fabrics coexist alongside classic patterns such as Delectable Mountain, Log Cabin, Baskets, Ohio and Variable Star, and Pinwheels. There is just one project - "The Four Patch Star" - that employs applique. The overall coloration schemes are red, white, and blue, with the occasional insertion of cheddars and the exception of two small projects that use pinks and browns. Only one project - the autograph/signature pattern "Remember Me" - uses greens. The Country Threads allure extends all the way to the edges of these projects; some quilts have rounded corners and many have nicely coordinating pieced borders.All of the projects incorporate repetitive blocks, some much more than others. But the layouts are nice, and the finished dimensions can be reduced easily if your attention span is at all like mine. The smallest quilt is "Checkerboard Strippy Quilt" at 16.5 by 24.5 inches. It is one of two smaller strippy quilts, featured in my favorite pinks and browns. The largest quilt is "Battlefield" at 55.5 by 65.5 inches. It is also noteworthy for its daunting number of 143 blocks in 11 rows by 13 columns. (Make sure to use Amazon's Look Inside feature and click on the list of images to see all the projects.)I am learning a lot from this book. For instance, the use of Civil War repros can result in a rather muddy quilt top, due to the abundance of brows, grays, and tinted background fabrics. But the photos of the samples show perfect placement of the darks and mediums, achieving a scrappy look that is clear and colorful. My favorite use of color tone is the 30.5-inch square "Fruit Pie"; it is unusually vivid for a Civil war repro quilt with its blueberry and strawberry colors. And thanks to the brief intro to each design, I finally learned what the "dash" in Churn Dash means.Beginners, please note that there is NO methods section in this book, so you will want to have a good techniques book handy. Also, these 18 projects are not rated according to level of difficulty; my opinion is The Blue and The Gray is appropriate for any level. There's nothing too difficult here, just a few triangles and copious Flying Geese units. And as I mentioned earlier, this book is a great study in color placement and tone/value appreciation, which all levels of quilter can benefit from.My only wish is that the actual quilting was highlighted better. I need some ideas for adding life and sparkle to scrappy quilts. Log Cabins in particular and scrappy quilts in general are difficult for me to quilt. (And I sure could use some suggestions for how to use my growing stash of poison greens.) But I am so happy to have The Blue and The Gray at last, after waiting months for it to be released.Worth the wait, for sure.

I have always loved the quilt on the front of the book. There are many quilts I would like to make. These patterns come from their Civil War club that they offer in their shop. I was a member for a while, but now I have all the patterns in one book. There are many sized quilt patterns for ver;y small to large. If you like Civil War fabrics, this book is for you!

This is a wonderful book to just page through. however, it has good patterns, the instructions are excellent, and the pictures of the various fabrics (shown in the blocks) are very helpful in purchasing fabrics reflecting that era.I will be making at least one item from this book, well worth the price.

I can't wait to dig into these patterns and produce some beautiful quilts. I find this book very inspiring. The colors are beautiful and a little more vibrant than I'm used to seeing in a book of civil war period inspired quilts. I just think they're very exciting.

I have collected lots of civil war fabric over the years and have made a few quilts with it . I had some 9 patches I couldn't figure out what to do with them so this book has given me 2 ideas on how to use them.

I have done 2 projects so far and am very happy with how they have turned out! It has made me better at making stars and hourglasses. I am a returning quilter and the repetition has help me build my confidence in jumping back into it!

I truly this this book, which was recommended to me by my sister. I have a special interest in all things related to the Civil War era, and love the beauty of the small quilt patterns. I will definitely be making some of the quilts!

As a lover of 1800 reproduction fabrics and patterns, this book was hard to resist. While most patterns are for smaller quilts, they are easy to adjust block sizes and size of finished quilts. Newer quilters will have no problems making several of the patterns.