It’s the first of April today! It finally feels a little bit like spring today and I’m determined to grill something outside for dinner. There are lots of things going on this week. I’m getting ready for Easter dinner, finishing up a new pattern and packing for the Just Takes 2 Retreat in Shipshewana next week. Brenda and I are so excited! I hope you can join us sometime soon.
Sarah S Biggs
Monoquacy (Monocacy)
Maryland
1848
Sarah also lived in District 5 of Frederick County Maryland. Born in 1834, she was 14 years old when this block was completed. Her sisters Emma, age 13 and Elizabeth, age 17 also made blocks for the quilt.
We talked a little about the town of Monocacy with Block 8. The town of Monocacy is thought to be the first German settlement in Maryland. It sits between the Monocacy river and the mountains and was first settled between 1710 – 1712. There was a large Lutheran church there which celebrated it’s centennial in 1848 but I haven’t tried to research the old church rolls to see if I can find any of the names on the quilt. It was certainly the most important settlement of Germans in the State until the establishment of Frederick county in 1748 when Fredericktown became the county seat. Anyone who lived in Monocacy had their address swallowed up and changed to a Fredericktown address. The exact location of the original log church is not known. It is thought to have been built on the west side of the Monocacy river near where the Virginia road crossed the river.
Because I love the history of things like quilts and families and all that stuff, it makes me sad when towns get swallowed up and addresses changed. It leaves so many unanswered questions. I’m grateful for what we do know about these quilters. I’d like to put pictures of the three sisters blocks together to compare style, fabrics and skill levels. It’ll have to wait until after the retreat!
I hope you enjoy this block. It’s nice to have an easier one this month to make up for all those leaves last month. Don’t forget to click on the block picture so you can see it really big. The quilting on this block is so cool!. You can close the big picture by clicking on the X in the lower right corner of it.
Be sure to visit Brenda at Dear Jane. to see what she’s been working on.
This year I just couldn’t resist having fun with April Fool’s Day. If you didn’t get the newsletter, there are random 41% discounts available on digital patterns today. Will you be one of the lucky shoppers or will you get fooled? The code to use during checkout for a chance at the discount is NOFOOL. Start shopping HERE
Just Takes 2™ Benjamin Biggs Quilt Block 16 – Click here
