Strength & Glory using Waddington Road
If you need a little more fall in your life, check out Barbara J. Eikmeier's "Strength & Glory" quilt featured in the September/October issue of Love of Quilting magazine. This reproduction-style quilt uses Barb's rich Waddington Road prints in the traditional Oak Reel block for a gorgeous autumn wall hanging! We asked Barb to tell us a little more about her design, so keep reading:
"Strength & Glory" by Barbara J. Eikmeier; machine quilted by Denise Mariano; featured in Love of Quilting September/October 2018
Q. What attracted you to the Oak Reel block?
BE: It’s an old traditional block, and whenever I see it in antique quilts, I’m always attracted to it. There are many variations, but they all include leaves in a cross shape and some type of circular centerpiece. I like how the two different versions I used play together. The alternate block (green leaves) has larger leaves then the original.
Q. How did you choose which Waddington Road prints to use in your quilt?
BE: The Oak Reel often is shown in reds and greens, and these fabrics are a different combination of prints from the collection than I’ve used in other quilts. The red print ties the two different blocks and the borders together. I used two different Painter’s Palette Solids for the background to give the blocks a clean look.
Q. How did you choose your borders?
BE: The blocks are not large—only 9” square—so I wanted to add a few borders to make the quilt larger. I tried using borders all the same width and liked how it looked. I actually sewed the border strips together and then did one miter on each corner. It creates such a nice finished look!
Q. Tell us about the machine quilting.
BE: Denise Mariano quilted it. She treated the four borders as one, quilted feathers, using the seam in the middle of the borders as the spine for the feathers. I love how that turned out. The quilt center has a basic crosshatch pattern, which is common in antique versions of this type of quilt.
Q. Any tips for making this quilt?
BE: I made the quilt using fusible applique, and I used a die cut for the circles. To help place them in a circle, I cut out a paper template, centered it on the block, and then arranged the circles around the edge of the paper circle. I used a buttonhole stitch and matching thread to secure all the appliques.
See the entire Waddington Road collection here and ask for it at your local quilt shop.
Purchase the Strength & Glory pattern here.
Find Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting magazine here.
