In Progress Now.....

I have seen this quilt on display at the International Quilt Study Center in Lincoln, Nebraska. This photo does not do it justice but it is the image they have on file for the quilt. This week I'm working on a bed-size version of this quilt. For our guild challenge this year, one option was to make a bed-size quilt so I decided this would be my challenge. The original is a strip quilt made by Lucille Young in Tuscaloosa, Alabama around 1930. When you see it in person, you can tell it was made from old clothing. The light strips are very soft and inviting. I've collected shirts mostly to make this. It's part of the Cargo collection at IQSC - you can view it online.

Happy Kansas Day!

I have a deep and abiding love for my home state but it puzzles me too. I'm doing a Read Across Kansas to try to sort out my thoughts about Kansas. Does it always need to be so extreme? Seems so.....



 I was lucky to edit Linda Frost's new book celebrating our State's Sesquicentennial. Sesquicentennial is quite a mouthful so we called the book (what else?) Happy Birthday Kansas. Look at this cute bird Linda's daughter created in honor of this occasion, a party Meadowlark (state bird)!

Do check out Linda's book. It features a great Kansas-theme sampler quilt. An extra treat is her observations about Kansas - they make you chuckle. 

Today we'll toast our state as the KU-KSU basketball game begins at 6 p.m. central time. To Kansas! And may the best team win!!

Block Sampler

This is one of my favorite quilt tops. I found it in Manhattan, Kansas a few years ago. Fellow shopper the quilt historian noted all the fabrics seemed to be from about the same time period - 1920-1930. When I took the top to a guild retreat, an older guild member told me she remembered when sewing groups would make quilts like this one. She said everyone who had an extra block would give it to one person and that person would put together a top like this. That makes sense, look at how different all the blocks are. The quilt measures 65" x 65", the blocks are about 13" square. There's a detail shot of the quilt below.

My friend and fellow blogger Jenifer Dick is featuring this quilt on her Wednesday Quilt Show blog today, check it out.

Pat's informative pocket

My last post prompted my friend Pat Kyser to send this photo of the back of her fantastic Ancestor Quilt. Each block features a family member Pat has researched. Pat quilted and finished each block separately - they hang together as a group. That way, she can continue to add to the quilt as she collects more family information.

On the back of each block, Pat made a pocket that contains a laminated card giving biographical information about the person pictured on the reverse side. Note the ribbons to hold the cards, added after she realized when she took the quilt along for a lecture, all the little cards fell out.

Saving information with your quilt

Karen Hansen brought a wonderful quilt to guild this week. She made it using old blocks - cut from this Kansas City Star 1934 pattern, saved in a little candy box. She wanted ideas about how to keep the pattern with the quilt. I told her I had seen pockets stitched to the backs of quilts especially to keep special information with a quilt for safekeeping.

During show and tell, Karen asked all the guild members the same question. One member said to be sure not to put the newspaper clipping directly into the pocket, as the old document could stain the quilt over time. She advised placing it in a plastic bag. Another member wondered if laminating the pattern would work.

One of the things I enjoy about my guild is that I often learn something new. And now I'm sharing it with you.....

Karen does fantastic machine quilting on her regular Bernina machine. I can't wait to see this beautiful quilt hanging at our quilt show in April.

Arkansas Squares

 

 This is one of the more fragile quilt tops in my collection. I rarely take it along to show groups as it still has the newspaper foundation on the back (it's fragile and deteriorating). I found dates - 1927 and 1929, a fragment that says The Arkansas Farmer too. My friend Nancy Wakefield once offered good advice - photocopy or scan the newspaper back to save it. So here's a scan, below.

A little more about it - I found it in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is hand pieced and obviously never used. It measures 67" x 55".  If this quilt could talk, I would love to hear it's story.....

Tag, you're it

That is something we like to exclaim when we pass work on: Tag, you're it!!

This seems to be working with blogs too. I've been tagged by another blog - the rules are here. As usual in blog world, they are pleasant. We're acknowledging others who brighten our days and inspire us with our creative work.

So here goes:

1. Tell who tagged you--that would be Sujata. I can count on checking her blog and being so delighted with whatever she is working on -what a treat.

2. Add a link to their blog--here it is.

3. Award bloggers who you think deserve this award--

• check out Carol Jones' blog, you will not be disappointed.
• how about our guild blog? I'm always amazed at our local talent.
• Linda Frost's blog deserves it too.

I echo Sujata's sentiment: Thanks to each of you for inspiring me through your talents and your wonderful spirit.......

It is hard to stop at 3 blogs. I must say whenever I start noodling around and go from one blog to the next, I'm just amazed at it all.
Ok, gotta get back to work! Thanks Sujata, you always make my day!

p.s. Sujata said to mention 3 things I love:

Thrifty shopping spots

Fabric found at the above

Books

Bella posing on very thrifty fabric being cut apart....

1-11-11

Note the date - we can have a little Hail the Wale pre-party today! Please note the club is meeting in NYC if you happen to be in the neighborhood.

To celebrate in absentia, I'm taking my newest corduroy acquisition to the sewing room. This pink and orange faux herringbone fabric comes from a very gaudy pair of pants unearthed at my favorite thrift shop last week.

Note 6" ruler peeking out on top of truck.

This will be a good distraction from the outdoors today. As I came inside from shoveling, I heard the radio announcer say the temperature had just SPIKED at 9 degrees. woo hoo. There are 5 inches of snow blowing around......

But look at the landscape outside my office window! My husband keeps our birdfeeders there filled and the birds are plentiful, another pleasant distraction on a cold winter day.....that is a chokeberry bush in the foreground.

Obsession #2

Here's another look at the Obsession quilts and Marty too. I took a panorama photo with my camera, which works better from far away - this is pretty wacky..... But somehow that fits this situation and you can see a few more of the quilts. Check out more about Do's Deluxe on Facebook,

Obsession

I awoke from a long winter's nap in time to help put up a show of my things Monday.

You can see them at Do's Deluxe in Lawrence, an art gallery that fronts as a hair salon. Marty Olson is the proprietor and resident magician.

The theme for this year's shows is Obsessions. My quilts fill the waiting room (you've seen them all before on this blog). Small quilt Hot Mama is in a hallway with one other small improv quilt. And the face potholders (people only, we didn't have room for the pets there too) are in your face as you get your hair done.

I've never experienced seeing some of my collections in a new setting, it's pretty exciting. They'll be up through February.