CALLING ALL JANE AUSTEN FANS!

Fans of Jane Austen's novels will recognize Hartfield as the home of Emma Woodhouse, the matchmaking heroine of Emma. Barbara Brackman's new HARTFIELD collection reproduces early prints from the years when Jane Austen flourished. Each print is named for an English estate featured in her novels such as Emma, Pride & Prejudice and Mansfield Park.

Colorways echoing the natural dyes of the time are named for the novel's beloved character's -- Lizzie's Rose Pink, Marianne's Plum, Darcy's Biscuit Tan, Emma's Hedge Green and Knightley's Umber Brown. The Regency-era reproductions evoke the early 19th century, when fashionable cotton prints were called muslins and the Bennet girls could only be distracted from eyeing the handsome soldiers by "a really new muslin in a shop window."

The prints range from the small florals that the Austen characters called sprigged or spotted muslins to a chintz-scale fabric perfect for an English drawing room. All the prints have been drawn from period cottons, the kind Emma and her friend Harriet purchased at the dry goods counter at Ford's shop, where they tried to decide between plain or figured muslins.

Jane Austen pieced a quilt with her sister and mother about 1811. The medallion quilt can be seen at Jane Austen's House Museum at Chawton, in Hampshire, England. The original quilt is composed of diamonds and features a chintz basket in the center.

Between writing and playing the piano Jane often made time for sewing. Her niece Anna remembered telling Aunt Jane about the latest novels "much to her amusement, as she sat over some needlework which was nearly always for the poor."

More information about the Jane Austen Quilt can be found here.

The HARTFIELD QUILT FRAME from Moda, echoes the shades in Jane's quilt in a different format. It recalls the English taste of the early 19th century when soft colors defined patchwork coverlets. Pieced and plain borders frame a simple star, ending with a floral border, a particularly British touch.

This FREE pattern is available from Moda.

Barbara Brackman has also made available several free projects available here.
Hartfield products available at The Quilt Shoppe:
Charm Packs, Layer Cakes, Jelly Rolls, Honey Buns, Bundles and Yardage.

Leave a comment and one lucky winner will win a Hartfield Honey Bun!
Drawing will be held on Saturday, January 24.