Help with a Civil War theme quilt.....
 

In making the blocks...is there an easy way of making them...meaning...the blocks on most CW quilts are all different so you can't cut enough same size sqs ouf ot the same fabric for all the blocks. Each block is a different pattern with different size sqs and different colors...so.. do you just cut per block and sew it up? Or is there an easier way of making so many different blocks?

anything else you might have to share woud be appreciated. This is for my son for christmas and in the "thinking" stage at the moment. I am currently working on a bargello...but find that if I think about other patterns when I can't sleep at night or while doing something else... I find that my ideas come together better and I figure things out!

I bought the book "Mix and Match Block..50 blocks, 250 projects" and have chosen some blocks I like and will start watching the Joann's sales and pick up "civil war" looking fabrics.

i don't think there is a faster way to make all of the different squares you want for your civil war quilt. to make it quickly, you could choose a few "easy" blocks and repeat them throughout the quilt.

Did you look at the Civil War Sampler at fabshophop.com? It has 16 different blocks with sashing and borders. I'm not sure if it is downloadable if you did not participate in the Sept shophop, but it might at least give you some ideas.

I suppose if you had a list of all the blocks you were intending to make you could list out all the cuts of various fabric to see if you can combine some cuts. I doubt though you'll find very many of the same size cut in the same fabric. Generally speaking, with sampler quilts it's easier to make one block at a time.

When I do sampler blocks I check to see if there is a generalized theme of strip widths in all of the blocks. Say you need 2 1/2, 3 1/2 and 4 1/2 blocks. I cut the fabric into these sized strips and put them in marked ziploc baggies. As I am doing a block I pull out the strip I need. Even if you do Eleanor Burn's way with flying geese I have at least a full strip of fabric cut for the correct fabric square, that way I can just cut the fabric into a square and then make my geese.

Others have cut all parts of each block and put all the pieces into a ziploc baggie then sat down and sewn the blocks. No matter how you do it there will be a challenge. One thought is to make sure you measure twice and cut once because it can be confusing when working with different blocks.

Even though they can be more time consuming and frustrating I love sampler quilts....

So true! Even though I took my time and was sure I knew what I was doing, I've had to make unexpected trips back to the LQS for more fabric because I got confused.

ppquilter, your quilt is beautiful, I'll have to try your pattern.

Look at the book Under Ground rail Road quilt by Quilt in a day. It has different blocks and a cut list for all blocks. It is a Civil War quilt with patterns from that time frame.
http://www.quiltinaday.com/shoponlin...lay.asp?i=1497

When I did my Dear Jane quilt I did each block on its own. I didn't cut anything quickly. I was able to concentrate on each block that way.

this is the way I'm working on Dear Jane... but i'm making three quilts at once, so i can repeat the same block but in different colors :)