Lancaster Diamond: The Idea
The "Lancaster Diamond" quilt is possibly the most intricate quilt that has ever interested me (that's right, I never succumbed [succame?] to the "Dear Jane" craze). I no longer remember when or where I saw the quilt pictured for the first time. But a year-and-a-half ago I saw a contemporary interpretation of it at the Oaks show and the memories came hurrying back. I heard there was a book about it and I had the seed of a notion that perhaps, just perhaps, I might attempt to make a version of that quilt. I've been on a quest, for some time now, to choose projects that are complicated and will take a fair amount of time to complete.
So I bought the book and promptly had the dreaded Second Thoughts. What kind of insanity would get me to actually undertake this undertaking?
What I didn't know was that my friend Bobbi, a prolific quilter for whom the word "dauntless" was likely invented, had also been captivated by the quilt and was secretly making a plan. Bobbi was serving as our guild's program chairman at the time and this was during that period of Covid when our meetings were held by Zoom. And one evening our guest speaker was none other than Ann Parsons Holte, the author of Making the Lancaster Diamond Sampler!
Bobbi had a scheme up her voluminous sleeve and enticing the guild's members was just a piece of it. To make a medium-length story more manageable, she is starting a quilt-along in January of 2023. She recognized that this was a project that would be more doable among friends (Of course it would! The original quilt was one of two apparently made by a pair of young women who were learning together how to quilt) and she planned a way for participants to share their progress via Instagram.
Now, if you've been harboring (a) a fascination with the Lancaster Diamond quilt or (b) a strange desire to start a complicated project or (c) some other peculiarity I haven't thought of, go to your Instagram (no, I'm not a fan of Instagram but that's where it's happening) and look for lancasterdiamondqal. Oh, an get a copy of the book.
And, if you're curious abut that contemporary version that caught my eye . . .
Comments
The book that has long tempted me is "Little Brown Bird" by Margaret Docherty, copyright 2000, published by AQS. The colors and fabrics are very traditional, but they don't have to be.
Hugs!