Barbara Brackman, Quilt Scholar and Author

Quilts and women's history are central to all my projects. My special focus is dating antique quilts and an accurate history of quilts associated with the Civil War and the Underground Railroad. I view my webpage as a place to learn more about antique quilts, museum exhibits featuring them, and my projects.

See my Exhibits & Events Page for a list of museum quilt shows.

I've retired from teaching and lecturing. I realized I had a lot of books to write that weren't getting done while I was traveling, but I do continue to teach with online clubs. See my C&T eClubs below and click here for more information about my 2009-10 subscription newsletter Quilt Detective: "Prints, Colors & Dyes".

I've also started a blog: Barbara Brackman's Material Culture. The blog focuses on fabric---past and present. It's a place to give you more information on things like the sources for my reproduction prints, ideas that may pan out some day, short essays on fabric history, and pictures of my dog Dorothy Barker. Check it out here: http://barbarabrackman.blogspot.com.



Quilt of the Week


Fiesta Four-Block, by Barbara Brackman, 40" x 40". Quilted by Jeanne Zyck.

Here's a cheerful quilt for a snowy day. I made several quilts to match my dishes for the book I did called Women of Design: Quilts in the Newspaper. The flower is from Capper's Weekly in the 1930s.

Click here to read more about the book:

Pickle Dish Store.
















My
Reproduction Fabric

In Shops Now:
Civil War Homefront
from Moda


The star miniquilt top is by Roseanne Smith, who used two packages of the 1-1/2" precut HoneyBuns to strip piece the points, and two half-yard pieces of tan and a stripe for the rest.

To read more about the fabric collection click here: Civil War Homefront.

Or click here: Moda Fabric Matcher.

 

Free Patterns

Click on the red and underlined links to download patterns.
Vestibule or Morning Star is one of my favorite patterns to show off interesting prints.

SorghumTaffy.
This Nine-Patch set in strips makes the most of a Jelly Roll plus striped yardage from Civil War Homefront.

See the page Quilt History for more free quilt patterns for Civil War era reproductions and for Jane Austen era patterns for my Hartfield fabric.

I'll be posting more free patterns for The Morris Workshop. Click here for a table topper called Game Board.

The "Stepping Stones" pattern we did for the first William Morris collection A Morris Garden is still posted on Moda's Free Patterns page. Click here: A Morris Garden.

Click here for a 40" square quilt full of triangles that we are calling the Buffalo Sawtooth.



E-Clubs from C&T Publishing

The eClub for 2009 is Clues in the Calico: America's Earliest Quilts. Over the years I've been updating my 1989 book Clues in the Calico. This digital club features revisions of the chapters on fabric, dyes and quilt style, focusing on the earliest quilts. You get monthly articles and patterns for a border-of-the-month medallion.The cost is $19.95 for 12 installments. The last installment is November, 2009 but you can always enroll and download the dozen patterns and essays.

The star on the right is in the center of several border patterns in an 84" square medallion.

For a link to C&T Publishing click here: Clues in the Calico.

You can also access the 2008 club Barbara Brackman's Underground Railroad, which featured a block of the month design focused on an accurate history of the Underground Railroad and the people and places who were part of it. Click here for more information: Underground Railroad Club.

My Newest Book

Encyclopedia of Applique

It's not really new, but it's back in print! This index to 2,000 applique designs has been bringing prices of over $100 as a used book, so we've brought it back with a revised introduction and five full-size patterns illustrating the diversity of applique.

For more information go to the C&T Publishing website. Scroll down to the bottom of the page after you click here: CTpub.com

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Contact Barbara

Barbara Brackman
3115 W 6th St. #C-237, Lawrence, KS, 66049