I have to start by thanking everyone for their patience while I got all the pieces and parts of the Dear Daughter block of the month organized. I am absolutely blown away by your enthusiasm for this project and hope you'll have a wonderful time as we work together on the blocks.

 I have so much to tell you I'm not sure where to start. This is a long post with lots of pictures and information. If you haven't read the introduction post for this quilt you might want to take a few minutes to do that.  I believe the quilt was made for Sarah and Maxon Dunham by family and friends. 

I'm still working on getting us a full view picture of the entire quilt. I think hanging from the quilt stand in the garage might give the photographer enough room to capture the whole quilt in one shot. 

Oh my, the quilt looks so sad laying on the floor in the living room. This picture is of the upper left corner.  I've never done a block of the month where I presented the blocks in order. I've always jumped all over the place and given a layout to put the blocks together at the end. Because this quilt has a pieced sashing I thought you might like to work on that as we go along so you could assemble your blocks. 

When I drafted the first three blocks I got a little surprise? There are circles or donuts as I'm calling them, all over the quilt. Three of the first four blocks are donuts!

I looked around and realized how many there actually were. Some have applique around them. Most have broderie perse. At first I wasn't sure I liked them so I drafted a group of  blocks from antique quilts that could be used as substitutes. Before you decide, take a look at the cute broderie perse as we explore the first four blocks.

Block 1

Mary Ann Randolph

Ill

This donut block has a sweet spray of flowers in the corners and a cluster of leaves on the four sides. 

Block 2

Louisa C Randolph

Ill

Fussy cut teardrop flowers

Leaf clusters and an oval of flowers.

Block 3

Mary Ann Dunham

Piscataway NJ

1852

I'm in love with this green fabric. You might not think it possible but you'll see it fussy cut later in the quilt.

Block 4

Prudence Ellis

Ill

1850

Paisley leaves with an applique flower

Leaf and flower cluster 

More leaves and flowers from the same print.

Did anything jump out at you when looking at these first four blocks? The three donut blocks were all made in Illinois (the Midwest) and the red and green floral block was made on the east coast of the United States in New Jersey. So many questions! There were members of the both Randolph and Dunham families in Illinois, Wisconsin and  New Jersey.  Were Sarah and Maxom married? Perhaps, but as we continue on with the blocks you may begin to wonder about their relationship too. I haven't solved that mystery yet.

Many of the blocks have sentiments inked on them for the Sarah and Maxon. Some have just the name and date like the today's blocks. I've been writing down inscriptions as I come across them.  If you'd like to use them on your quilt, you can download a copy of the first group  - Antique Quilt Inscriptions 1     I may print some of them on extra pieces of fabric and sneak them under the center of a blocks motif so they're sewn in place when I do the reverse applique in that area (like under the center of the donut in the picture above.

I'm excited to get started on this quilt. We have lots of pretty blocks coming and I can't wait to go through my stash (or go shopping) for the perfect fabrics to use in the donuts and the broderie perse surrounding them. 

As I said earlier, I did think about substituting another signature style block for some of the donuts and went on a search for quilts made during the same time period. I put together a group of alternate blocks, all from antique quilts. I may use some of these in my own quilt. If you'd like to have them in case you aren't a donut fan, you can purchase the the set of 14 blocks for $5 - HERE.

• This first set of blocks (1-4) also includes the instructions for the sashing and 9 patch cornerstones. I've included a copy of the materials list so you can have all of that together in one file.
• This set will be free until May 1st so everyone has a couple of extra weeks to gather supplies and get started. 
• I'll post our second set of blocks on April 1st and we'll start our usual schedule of posting blocks on the 1st of the month and they'll be retired on 1st of the following month. To confuse things a little, April 1st is Easter Sunday so the blocks will be available early. 
• If you forget to download one of the block sets while they're free, you can purchase it for $5. 

Dear Daughter Blocks 1-4 / Sashing and Cornerstones / Materials List - Click Here

The link is directing you to the $5 Block of the Month web site. All you need to do is add the block set to your shopping cart and go through the checkout process. It's price is $0.00. A screen will pop up with your receipt and the link to download the pattern file. You'll also receive an email from info@5dollarbom.com with a link to download the pattern a few minutes later too.

Are you feeling a little overwhelmed? Me too! There's  a lot to take in and think about when starting a project like this. I can't thank you enough for joining me on this journey. Please email me, leave a comment or post your questions in the Facebook group.