Deb Rowden's Thrift Shop Quilts

Happy Jan. 15

2012-01-15T18:11:00.000-06:00

An email from blogreaderA jolted me out of my Happy 2012 revery today.

"You know, if you have a blog, your duty is to update it regularly.  :)  I'm sure that is implied in the contract or something," she wrote.

Ahem! Well - we HAVE been busy here.

Admiring sunsets (and that they are getting later and later every day now).....

Enjoying a little downtime with the kitty..... 

My life has changed. I got a Nook Tablet for Christmas. Now when I am reading a normal book, I find myself tapping on words (on the nook, you can look them up that way....).....

And tomorrow my life will change even more. I'm getting a booth at the local antique mall. Still downsizing, downsizing.....

More soon!

A Scrappy Thing

2011-12-21T08:42:00.000-06:00

You might remember a quilt we made this fall, the Crossroads quilt that went to the local AIDS project auction.....

Well, thoughtful stitcher A scooped up all the silky tie scraps after we finished putting the blocks together and put them in a bag for me to take home. You might remember I love scraps and proclaim there are no scraps too small to save.

I like to make little gifts for my friends this time of year. I stitched together the scraps and made a coaster for everyone in our stitch group, so we would have a little remembrance of a very good quilt.

I will give them out today - here is one I am keeping. It measures 5" square and is backed with a bit of upholstery fabric.

Ho Ho HO!

Just in time for the holidays.....

2011-12-19T06:43:00.001-06:00

If you have an extra quilt top laying around, you still have time to complete this gift for someone special for the holidays.

Make your quilt into a cozy robe. I found this one several years ago at an antique shop in Texas. Notice the simple kimono style. The front closure can be completed quickly too - just take a snap closure off an old robe and stitch it in place. Do some blanket stitching to finish the seams and voila! You have a dandy one-of-a-kind present. Mine is lined with a nice white sheet.

You probably will not believe that I had this out at several of my garage sale this year and it did not sell. I will admit I had a bit of a high garage sale price on it if someone really wanted it.

I think I wanted to keep it. It is a thing I truly love.

One More Thing

2011-12-16T08:37:00.000-06:00

I LOVE this thing. I love how folky it is, how unique it is and how incredibly thrifty it is.

It is a Christmas decoration, a tiny tree only 9" tall. A cardboard back is the base. Bottle caps were carefully arranged and glued to the back, then little ornaments are glued in the center of each of those.

I found it at an antique shop in Missouri, in a backroom filled with heaps of junk. It looked like one could find something wonderful there - and I did. I remember the clerk gave me a bit of a quizzical look (like do you really want that?) and charged me 25 cents.....it WAS a bit more bedraggled then, several ornaments were broken and the cardboard truck was bent - easily fixed! Martha Stewart will be all over this one, don't you think?!

Merry merry!

Thing #3

2011-12-13T05:00:00.000-06:00

Cats from Yvonne's Noah's Ark quilt

The work of Yvonne Wells = and anyone's whose work vibrates with creativity and energy.

Check out this quick video of her speaking at the International Quilt Study Center in Lincoln last month:

http://www.quiltstudy.org/exhibitions/online_exhibitions/yvonne_wells/ywells_video_tech.html

The thing I like most is her quote:
"I get energy from disarray."

Thing #2

2011-12-11T05:00:00.000-06:00

My newest face potholder! I love these wierd little potholders and they are small enough that my collection can grow forever.

This one was a surprise, a gift from someone who saw my display of these potholders at Do's Deluxe in January. It was passed on from an anonymous woman named Mary and isn't it wonderful. A lot of stitching went into making this one - I especially love the french knots and little stars in the bonnet. And she has naturally curly hair, like me.

Things I Love......a series to entertain you

2011-12-06T13:03:00.001-06:00

For me, so much of 2011 has been about THINGS.
as in

How did I get so many things?

Why is it so hard for me to throw out things?

and

What things do I want to keep enough to move to a new spot?

Right now I'm at the tail end of getting rid of all the extraneous things.

I still have plenty, don't worry. I thought I'd show you some of the things I love. Series style, on successive days.....

Here is #1. Looks like a battered tin box from our Germany days, right? It is. The contents are the things I love. I have kept photographs, many that came with Christmas cards over the years in this box. 18 years plus. Now it is full and the memories are one of my favorite parts of Christmas. Many very hilarious photos, and sweet ones like this from 20 years ago....

My Betsy and Kate in Germany, 20 years ago

In Cuba, Missouri

2011-12-02T16:56:00.001-06:00

Alert stringer Kathe noticed this wonderful quilt in an antique shop in Cuba, Missouri. Isn't it thrift at its best! I'll show you several views of it - this one is the top of the quilt.....

Kathe thoughtfully got a photo of the quilt's left side that was peeking out from behind everything. Good thing I was not along or furniture would have been moved and we could have gotten into trouble.....

Here's a detail shot of the ties. They look like string. And they look very close together. They are definitely a design element of this comforter.

One more detail shot - it's not perfect, right? And that is why we love it.......

Have you ever noticed how many towns in Missouri have odd names? Here are a few I love: California, Peculiar, a quick web search found these (and it doesn't include Weaubleau, one of the best):
Anutt, MO
Arab, MO
Archie, MO
Ark, MO
Bacon, MO
Beulah, MO
Blackjack, MO
Bland, MO
Blue Eye, MO
Boss, MO
Butts, MO
Chamois, MO
Clever, MO
Climax Springs, MO
Competition, MO
Conception, MO
Cuba, MO
Dagonia, MO
Dent Ford, MO
Dissen, MO
Doe Run, MO
Elmo, MO
Enough, MO
Fair Play, MO
Fairdealing, MO
Folk, MO
Gipsy, MO
Gobler, MO
Green Castle, MO
Grubville, MO
Gumbo, MO
Half Way, MO
Humansville, MO
Ink, MO
Jack, MO
Japan, MO
Knob Lick, MO
Knob Noster, MO
Liberal, MO
Licking, MO
Limberlost, MO
Lone Jack, MO
Loose Creek, MO
Low Wassle, MO
Moody, MO
Neck City, MO
Nile, MO
Novelty, MO
Oscar, MO
Peculiar, MO
Plato, MO
Polo, MO
Pumpkin Center, MORoach, MO
Sarcoxie, MO
Service, MO
Shibboleth, MO
Shook, MO
Skidmore, MO
Solo, MO
Strain, MO
Success, MO
Tea, MO
Tiff, MO
Tightwad, MO
Triplett, MO
Turtle, MO
Village of Four, MO
Vulcan, MO
Wolf Island, MO
Many thanks to KatheD, one of the best that Missouri has produced.......

Cat and Mice

2011-11-30T10:30:00.000-06:00

Here's another quilt that is more striking when I hang it to photograph.

Brackman's Encyclopedia* shows this block twice with the center being a square, not strips. Names for it include Beggar's Blocks and Cat and Mice (Finley), and Spool and Bobbin (Nancy Cabot 1936). It's also called the Roman Square by Wooster. I like Cat and Mouse so we'll go by that.

The quilt is almost square, measuring 68" x 72". The blocks are not consistent sizes. Some are 12" x 13", others are 12" x 12" and some are smaller. The sashing makes it all work...

It's such a simple pattern - and so strikingly different when it is shaded differently.

This quilt is machine quilted in long straight rows. There are some ties on it too, for some reason.

The cheery backing fabric is brought to the front to bind the quilt. I'm pretty sure I got this one in a mega shop (meaning I got carried away and bought several quilts at once) in Peabody, Kansas at a dream-like antique shop that is no longer there. Dream-like meaning heaps of stuff all over the place, run by an older gentleman who blended in with it all and sold fresh eggs too....

* Did you see Barbara's post about the Encyclopedia no longer being in print with AQS? I predict that situation will not last long, how could the Bible not be in print? Check out the prices on this book on Amazon.com right now, it will knock your socks off! IF ONLY we had a BOX of these right now......

Turtles

2011-11-26T05:30:00.000-06:00

This is one of the first quilts I collected. I found it in Camdenton, Missouri - I recall the maker had quilts on her clothes line and I bought the top. I also recall I took it to my quilting class and was heartily laughed at. The turtles are pieced in calicos and some dress fabric and a little pajama fabric. The background is sheet fabric. The hand pieced quilt measures 65" x 78", the turtle blocks are 13" square.

But I loved this quilt so much I paid to have it hand quilted. and that is a wonderful story too. My friend Pat Kyser knew of Rita Pierce in Winchester, Tennessee, not far from where I lived at the time in Huntsville, Alabama. Rita did hand quilting. She had a big frame that she could raise to the ceiling of her living room, and lower when she wanted to quilt. I remember she quilted standing up and her kids played under the quilt. I remember her husband was a truck driver and she liked having quilts there so she had something to do. I also remember she charged so little that everyone paid her more, they couldn't stand to giver her so little for all that work. She offered to embroider the information about the quilt on it....

It says pieced by Myrtle Layman of Camdenton, Missouri, 1978. Quilted by Rita Pierce, Winchester, Tenn, 1980.

I dug it out to photograph after seeing the calicos for Barbara's new fabric line. They sure look familiar, don't they?

I am thankful for.....

2011-11-23T12:38:00.001-06:00

This blog! It amazes me how sweet it is to be in touch with other like-minded creative folks. It is an outlet I truly appreciate. I have used it less the past few months as I went through the boring drudgery job of moving/downsizing. Who wants to hear about that?

You want to hear about a perfect name I noted in the NY Times:

Hans Shan

(A protester at Occupy NY)

You want to see this odd little business title:

I only know one of these people....the other just wanted to be in the picture.

I am grateful for all your inspiration and for your encouragement! It is great fun to be in touch with so many of you - all over the world! Thanks for being there. I intend to be HERE much more in months to come.....
Deb

Happy 11-11-11

2011-11-10T07:25:00.000-06:00

Today is the big day - Hail the Wale.

I knew I wanted my corduroy quilt to be impulsive and scrappy. I remembered this quilt by Anna Williams that Barbara noted was at the Brooklyn Museum.

I made a black and white copy of the quilt detail and commenced working. I made one paper pattern for the triangle shape. I cut out triangles and strips like Anna does, with scissors. And I made sure to ignore the nap so there would be variety with the wales.

In Deb Rowden style, it is not finished. But close! Close, and today I should have time to stitch the final seams of this start....

Hail the Wale. Enjoy the day, take a few moments to reflect at 11:11.......and many thanks to Nifty for taking the ball and running with this idea!

11-11-11 excitement builds

2011-11-08T09:13:00.000-06:00

You can probably feel the excitement building as 11-11-11 nears.
It's being noted in the media, although I'm not sure they are on to our challenge yet......

MSNBC is reporting the Corduroy Appreciation Day activities.
The Guardian notes 11-11-11 is a palindrome, something we watch for eagerly at basketball games (look! 24-42, palindrome!! high five!!).

To date, they have not reported on our nationwide preparations. Many stitchers are slicing apart strings of the nappy fabric to reassemble them into quilts for ringleader LeeAnn to display on the big day.

In the meantime, we are planning a hail the wale food gathering. We will snack on long foods: shoestring potatoes, celery sticks, strings of licorice, pretzels, long cookies. Fortifying ourselves as we stitch.....

I'm also noting quilts with corduroy in them. I stumbled onto the one above the other day. The description read:The fabrics are both cottons and wool, including corduroy, houndstooth, andplaid.

Note: Thanks to Sheryl for sending me the MSNBC news......

Crossroads

2011-11-04T10:04:00.002-05:00

Our stitch group has made a quilt for the Douglas County Aids Project annual art auction for the past few years. Here's our donation this year. It might look familiar to you, it's based on an antique quilt we admired this summer.

We pieced the blocks in one afternoon. We worked assembly-line style: some people made the muslin foundations, some cut strings from a pile of silk tie remnants donated by Carol. Some of us stitched, others pressed. It was amazingly efficient for our loosely organized group. Someone donated the just-right red silk for the centers, someone else quilted, someone else bound it and added the perfect label. The Little Red Hen would have been proud.....

The auction is tomorrow night.We're hoping it brings big bucks for this organization that does such vital work in our community.

Overstimulation continues......

2011-10-31T10:04:00.000-05:00

We are missing quilt market, a ritual most years. Barbara, aka the one who seldom runs out of ideas, dreamed up a virtual booth for us.....note fellow Sunflower Cooperative members Karla Menaugh, Barbara Brackman and I frollicking in front of god-knows-what southern mansion, sans several ribs each.....we do have fun, even when we miss market.

Georgann, Mary Lyn, Deb, Linda Frost

Look what we did instead. We took part in Final Friday, an art show scattered all over Lawrence's downtown. Another one who never runs out of ideas, Georgann Eglinski, dreamed this one up. She made this dandy SOFT ART sign outside our Social Service League Thrift Shop (where we find so many useful things).

We were excited to see Mary Lyn Farwell's work. She has been stitching up a variety of items from Natalie Chanin's 2008 Alabama Stitch Book (projects and stories celebrating hand-sewing, quilting and embroidery for contemporary sustainable style). Note the scarf she is wearing, skirts and bag - all are handstitched from t-shirt fabric.

Here's a detail of one skirt - I predict a run on large t-shirts at local thrift shops:

Linda Frost showed several projects,
including this bag made out of plastic newspaper bags:

I showed some quilts and rugs:

Thanks to Georgann for getting this all together and to Jean Ann Pike, for sharing your space and being so supportive to the arts.

Happy Halloween!

One of Those Weeks....

2011-10-27T20:14:00.003-05:00

This is one of those weeks when I am in textile over-stimulation mode.

I can hardly settle down to work after seeing the new exhibit at the International Quilt Study Center in Lincoln. The work of Yvonne Wells is being shown.

A photo of her Going Home quilt has been my laptop screen saver for years. Here's a detail shot.

I loved the faces in her quilts. Aren't they marvelous?


from Ugly Faces, 1990

Me, Masked II, 1993

Read more about it. Go see if if you can, it's heavenly....there until Feb. 26, 2012....

Oh yes, here's one more face - Michael Jackson's. Love the little musical notes:

Prepare for 11-11-11

2011-10-18T15:10:00.000-05:00

LeeAnn has prodded me out of my move/sort/move/sort mode. Thank goodness.

Yesterday I dug out the corduroy pieces I've been saving. It's time to put them together for the upcoming Corduroy Appreciation Day on 11-11-11.

I've got some shirts too.

I checked my inspiration quilt.
Look at how those wails go every which way. It's a home ec teacher's nightmare.

Now THAT is something to emulate.

Behind the scenes - Quilt Retro

2011-10-11T08:56:00.000-05:00

I was so pleased to be part of the team for this book - Quilt Retro by Jenifer Dick. This project was a happy convergence in several ways. I worked with Jenifer on her first book in 2005, Grapefruit Juice and Sugar, a tribute to her grandma, with plenty of memories from Jenifer's childhood: Lawrence Welk, grandma's garden and her lye soap, a sewing machine from Montgomery Wards, strings of bubblegum....

Jenifer designed wonderful bold quilts for that book. So when the Modern Quilt Guild came to town, her work had a home at last. Jenifer's latest work is bold and exciting. She incorporates the solid fabrics embraced by modern quilters, along with big prints too.

Many of her quilts draw design inspiration from classic patterns. But they are so fresh. Green Iced Tea is one of my favorites - especially the back! I love piecing together leftover fabrics for my quilt backs - this one gives me new ideas, to make them more improvisational.

I notice people love the Fried Egg Potholders in Jenifer's book - are they cute or what? Jenifer is hosting a book tour on her blog - you are reading one stop here.

She's giving away two potholders to lucky readers. To win one, add your comment below - tell me your favorite way to improvise with your quilts. Here are a few of her very fun potholders.....

Dragged and bragged

2011-09-25T09:52:00.000-05:00

I talked about my beloved thrift shop quilts at the Miami County Quilters Guild show yesterday - appropriately titled the Drag and Brag quilt show. What a fun show it was, with a little bit of everything: great new quilts, a few antique ones, vendors, lunch and finding a few old friends too. Here are a few quilts that made me think, "I'd like to try that."

Buttons on yo-yos, I need to make one of these. This is from a Christmas quilt made by Ruth Fladung and Dorothy Franzen.

We all have some doilies stashed away - look at the bold way Ruth Fladung used them in this quilt she made with her granddaughter Leslie Franzen.

More bold vintage big stitch! This quilt was worked on a silky whole cloth in 1971 by Marilyn Davies. Her daughter-in-law Sarah Davies showed the quilt, in her memory....

I was pleased to find a memory quilt with a good story. Annarose Hart made this quilt for her brother Gus - from jeans, including some worn by their father when he was in a roping accident (good news, he survived.....).

I promised the Drag and Brag crowd a bibliography of my talk:

Gee’s Bend: http://www.quiltsofgeesbend.com/

http://www.auburn.edu/academic/other/geesbend/explore/catalog/slideshow/index.htm

Anna Williams: http://www.equilters.com/annawilliams/index.html

International Quilt Study Center collections: http://www.quiltstudy.org/collections/

Lucille Young: http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/ideasv52/fryb.htm

Rosie Lee Tompkins: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/11/AR2006121100083.html

Eli Leon: http://www.elileon.com/

Robert Cargo essay about African American quilts: http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/7aa/7aa748.htm

An improv project: http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/2010/04/improvisational-quilting-tree-improv-placemats/

Pepper Cory: http://quiltflapper.blogspot.com/search/label/strange%20and%20wonderful%20quilt

http://quiltflapper.blogspot.com/2008/11/wahoo-back-on-blog-again-googles.html

Denyse Schmidt: http://www.dsquilts.com/

Modern quilters: Jacquie Gehring http://tallgrassprairiestudio.blogspot.com/2009/01/project-improv-wont-you-join-me.html

Bought to copy #2

2011-09-14T20:43:00.000-05:00

We rescue quilts like this because we want to study them a bit. I've so enjoyed this raggedy piece. How I would have loved to have seen it in it's pre-washed and bleached-to-death prime.

Let's examine the structure of it. It is a medallion quilt - and the piecing is fairly regular, despite the profusion of fabrics used. Although even those blend together in an amazing way, thanks to a common colors used: lots of white, red and blue - mainly Hawaiian fruity style.

The center is a mix of nine-patches and 4" blocks. A 1 1/2" inch border surrounds it. Next comes a 5" pieced strip, then a wider border. That pattern continues. There are 2 pieced strips, and then a border of all the same fabric - the design is just so choppy you think it is more piecing. It works.

I love the bright bright colors. it measures 63" x 86". It is hand pieced and machine quilted.

Bought to copy #1

2011-09-14T08:34:00.000-05:00

I acquired this quilt with the intent of copying it.
The border especially. I like the way the use of only two colors works.

Again, this is a quilt that was used and loved. There is considerable wear in some areas. I added a sleeve so I could hang it to photograph it. As I stitched, I admired how fine the stitching is on this quilt. It is hand pieced and hand quilted with tiny stitches.

The quilt measures 64" x 81". The pieces are 1 1/2" square.

A dandy pair of potholders

2011-09-10T16:10:00.000-05:00

Obviously, as one who is downsizing, I am not acquiring quilts with the gusto I once did. But there is still something I will continue to collect - my beloved face potholders. It is nice to have an excuse to stop at an antique shop. We travelled across Missouri yesterday on highway 36, a trip we've been making for years. A sign of the times is that several of the antique malls we used to visit are now shuttered.

Luckily, one that has long been chock full of quilts remains open in Macon - The Weathervane. We stopped to stretch and take a quick look and - lo and behold - I found this pair of face potholders. Aren't they wild? The embroidery is done onto a crocheted potholder. I was very pleased to find them.

I found one more, but was satisfied with just snapping a photo of it - the eyes are so wierd. Now I wonder, was that admirable restraint or a mistake?

Sparks Double Wedding Ring

2011-09-09T22:39:00.001-05:00

There is a Huge flea market in our region in White Cloud, KS. But to get to White Cloud from my town you have to pass through Sparks which hosts another huge flea market on the same day. One year I didn't get any further - and that's where I found this quilt.

It's appeal to me was the vivid colors in the fabrics used. It is quite lively, thanks to the use of some bold colors: orange, black, white. It's in good shape except for the chin whisker wear on both ends - someone clung to it fiercely as they went to sleep.

It is hand pieced and hand quilted, measuring 64" x 81". The rings are large, measuring 19" from side to side....another one going in the pile for the sale next weekend.

Quilted with embroidery floss

2011-09-04T15:47:00.000-05:00

I bought this quilt at an antique shop in Peabody, Kansas a few years back. I know it's raggedy and a fairly traditional pattern but I was fascinated with how it was quilted. I have not seen this before in an antique quilt.

It is quilted with embroidery floss (4 strands), using what we call today the big stitch. The quilting follows the fan shapes, then rows of stitching run from the top to the bottom of the quilt - all 1 1/4" apart. Rows of quilting also run on the diagonal so the stitching forms diamonds. It's all stitched with varying shades of blue floss.

The fan and bow are machine pieced and appliqued onto the 12" x 16" block with machine stitches. I'd date these fabrics to the 1940s..... The entire quilt measures 70" x 80". It's been well used and well washed. I'll let this one go at the upcoming garage sale too, now extended to run 2 days - Sept 16 and 17 (weather permitting)....

Here's one more peek at some of the interesting fabrics....

Moving the quilt books

2011-08-25T15:43:00.000-05:00

You are all probably smart enough or motivated enough to straighten up and organize your quilt books once in a while.
Not me! Oh no, i have to wait 18 years until I move to do that.
Which is what I did this week. And here you see the fruits of my labor.
I'm impressed! Why didn't I do this long ago? I found some wonderful books on my book shelf. And now they are organized. I have a lot of Kansas City Star books, so they are all together (and sorted by year published).
I have a lot of C&T books and they are all together - and alphabetized!
I have a plan to collect all the state project books, so they are together, as are my museum books. And all the rest are on the entire bottom shelve, alphabetized. With room left over......
There is a substantial pile ready for the garage sale - some duplicates (!), some I know I won't use anymore.
I feel better. And you wonder how many there are, right? I counted 370...

A comfy quilt

2011-08-07T19:08:00.000-05:00

As you look at this quilt, can't you make the argument that simple, rather unplanned or quilts of necessity are the best?

If all the blocks on this quilt were planned and the same, it would be a lot more boring. The design is simple and familiar - 9 patches (the squares are 1 1/2" - 1 3/4"), with varying sashing. It's the scrapbag of 1930s fabrics used that make it interesting - for the initial user and for us now.

This quilt measures 65" x 79". A blanket serves as batting. It is well loved and well used.

I remember I took it home with me because I liked the colors. It will be for sale at the September garage sale.....

I can look at this for a LONG time

2011-07-27T06:22:00.000-05:00

I've made a good dent in cleaning things out of our house. Now I've moved to the basement where many quilts are stored. I am finding ones I have not show you yet. Here's one.


Where block corners meet

Isn't it spectacular? It's a scrappy crazy quilt, made primarily of silks, with lovely embroidery of many colors around every piece. And ornamental stitching on a few of the blocks - especially where corners meet.

The pieces really are small - larger pieces measure only 5" x 3". I think you can see the quilt was assembled in blocks - they measure 10" - 11" square. The entire quilt measures 62" x 62". I do think the current back (a quilted synthetic fabric) was added later. The edges of it come forward to make the binding, roughly stitched in place using a feather stitch. It is tacked to the new backing through all the pieces in just a few spots.

Some of the wool is shattered, leaving only the stitching at the edges. And notice how the use of black gives the quilt some nice drama and depth. Wich I knew the story on this one.

Defying definition

2011-07-21T07:26:00.000-05:00

Brave members of my stitch group helped me brainstorm names for this quilt today. Drumstick Dan, Lacross Larry, Rugbeater Ronnie, Jai alia Harry, all good. However, we are fortunate to be surrounded by ukelele players here in Lawrence, Kansas. This quilt could also be Sam Gives Up the Ukelele for Good, don't you think?

Not only are the figures mysterious, strange and slightly menacing, but they are all different. I've included details of a few. Some have claw-like figures extending from the one armed creature, some do not. Some have an odd bit of embroidery on the torso (pocket?) others do not. All are arranged slightly differently. The pattern is definitely not in the Encyclopedia.

Quilt details: it measures 65" x 79". The blocks are stitched together by machine, it is hand quilted in straight rows. Each figure is appliqued with a blanket stitch. The maker meant this to be viewed from several directions (from the foot of the bed and from the person in the bed) but it has barely been used, perhaps because the little person in the bed was too frightened by it to sleep.....

I found this quilt at a garage sale last summer. I actually left it behind when I first saw it, but when I came upon it at a garage sale at the same residence a few weeks later, I figured it must be fate and took it home with me.....

Garage Sale #1 Report

2011-07-11T08:18:00.000-05:00

Having your own garage sale is a lot of work. But on this Monday after sale #1, I can report it was worth it. What you need to do (and what I have NOT been doing for years), is look at your stuff in this light - do I want to move it? That helps me. Things with limited sentiment that I have not used for a while went on to new uses.

The people who came by were so nice! And they seemed quite happy to carry away our stuff, we loved them. Guitars, a treadle sewing machine, a canoe, my entire collection of Quilters Newsletter Magazine - they are gone.
We enjoyed visiting with people who stopped by. A little girl arrived in mid-morning and I declared she had on the best outfit of the day - a pink sundress and PINK boots! Turns out she/shy Celia and her mom Theresa were people I'd been on the lookout for. Gillian, who reads my blog, emailed them from Sydney, AUSTRALIA about the sale (after she read it here).

Here's my textile tip from the sale. Take a yard sign left behind by a politician or a contractor and make a fabric envelope to slip over it. I like to put signs at each end of our block to point the way to the SALE. This did the trick AND we can use them in upcoming sales too. I stitched the letters and arrows in place so we can use them for a while....

Looking ahead: we plan to have a TEXTILES garage sale in September when it is cooler. We'll have quilts, fabric, more books from the bookshelf, ephemera..... now you know what I will be doing the rest of the summer!

Deaccessioning

2011-07-05T20:53:00.000-05:00

I have a big basement. That is how I got to collect so many thrift shop quilts.

This summer, i'll be deaccessioning some of my textiles. I'm moving! To another house - in the same town - that I like very much. But the basement is smaller.

Which is probably a good thing. My collection will need to shrink accordingly. We'll enjoy seeing some of my things together as they leave the house.

Like this. I love little tea towels with inanimate objects that become alive. Mr and Mrs. Pot and Pan with their friends, the old Potatoe Head twins. Who thinks these things up?

We ARE having a garage sale. This Saturday. It will be the first of several. There will be some textiles.....come by! Look in the local newspaper for the ad that says Collectors downsizing/moving....

I think they are ties

2011-06-28T08:46:00.001-05:00

A friend brought this quilt top to sewing last week and it knocked our socks off! The top was in Lawrence briefly with another fellow quilter, who had offered to bind it. It belongs to her sister-in-law Kay in California. Kay believes it was made by a cousin of her mother, Mary Ann Black, who lived from 1852-1930. The family reports she was never married, was known to make quilts, and is buried in a cemetary a few miles south of Girard, Kansas.

We are lucky that Kay does the family genealogy - she plans to see if there was a tie factory in Crawford County, Kansas that might have generated the fabric.

Here's a detail of a few blocks. They do seem to be pieced with strings of silk. The corners are velvet embellished with some embroidery. It's in perfect condition.

It is pieced on a fabric foundation, and being able to see that really helped date the quilt. It seems to match the years when Mary would have been quilting....

It is good to know a wonderful top like this has a good, appreciative home.

A First

2011-06-25T16:20:00.001-05:00

I don't dress up to go to the grocery store. I am usually on the run, grabbing a few things I need. I don't often see people I know. But today, for the first time, someone recognized me from my BLOG.

I had checked out and was bagging my groceries. The next shopper caught my eye and said, "Mary?"
"Nope," I said. "You must be thinking of someone else."
She persisted, kind of talking to herself a little. "Mary? I could have sworn it was you." And then she said something I couldn't totally hear, but I heard quilts and blog.
"I do have a blog," I admitted. And she looked at me and said, "Thrift Shop Quilts."
I was stunned! She did recognize me from the blog.
"Do you quilt?" I asked.
"No," she said. "Maybe I will someday......"

Her name was Lydia (I hope I remembered correctly). She was younger and engaging. In the parking lot, she waved as she drove away in a groovy car.

This blog continues to surprise me. I've written for publication before. I felt pretty anonymous, really, even though my name was on my stories and I had a desk, in an office, with coworkers and everything.

Now I work and write at home. My coworkers have four legs (my dog and 2 cats). I try to stay somewhat on topic (quilts of a thrifty nature). But I continue to be a little surprised at how PERSONAL blogging is.

I'll try to get over that.

Here's the quilt top

2011-06-16T09:27:00.003-05:00

Here's the entire Oklahoma top, thanks to Martie. We've got lots to examine.
Obviously, this top is a mishmash of blocks and techniques. There are a few sweet little 9-patches near the upper right. The blocks below them are a variation of the Cracker block (Women's World 1931 per Barbara's Encyclopedia). One immediately notices several nice Dresden plate blocks on the left and the ubiquitous Sunbonnet Sue blocks on the right (note one Sue is surrounded by a blanket stitch, the other is only partly finished). A string of diamonds runs along the right side. there are several blocks of squares and several string pieced blocks.

Note the tiny wierd bunny in the
purple strip, and the feedsack at the top

The quilt measures 75" x 82". It's all hand pieced, mostly with string. It is thrift at it's best. Besides cotton, the quiltmaker used dress fabrics, a few lineny fabrics and a little flannel, plus a few feedsacks. Rectangular fabric samples are used too. And it was likely never used, as there is still a great deal of newspaper foundation attached to the back.

I've included a few of the quilt details I love. I'll do a separate post about the back, it reveals plenty of information about how this quilt was put together.

We'll explore the back next.

My sharp-eyed sewing buddy Kathe noticed that the plaid is perfectly matched in this patch.

Oklahoma treat

2011-06-10T07:25:00.001-05:00

We are all in for a treat now, courtesy of Martie in New Mexico, with a story that might be familiar to many of us who rescue quilts. Martie wrote me this note:

About 10 years ago, I worked part time in a little mercantile store near my home outside Taos, New Mexico. The owner is from Norman, Oklahoma, and purchased a lot of the inventory from estate sales. Sadly, quilts, blocks, and tops came into the store and no one had much interest. I bought what I could, when I could, out of respect and love for the women who did so much work. Many of those items were hand pieced.

One top I purchased held a surprise for me when I got it home...it was hand pieced on newspaper from the Daily Oklahoman, in 1942. You can still read little snippets about Roosevelt sending submarines into the Atlantic, advertisements, etc . The top has never been put to a back. Each block is different, like a sampler...all hand pieced. It makes me want to weep for whoever did this work, because the fabrics are so very worn, I’m afraid it wouldn’t have had a very long life if it had even made it to a backing and gotten used. I can envision its maker, doing her hand work at night, listening to the radio for news of a loved one...using whatever she had on hand just to keep herself busy.

Last summer I wrote to the museum textile curator in OK City, thinking it should go home, and they had no interest. I just want to see it get into the hands of someone who will love it and perhaps, as you do with your students and blog readers, share it, teach from it, or learn from it...... I know that it is deteriorating more each year and if I die, my kids will probably just toss it or, at best, donate it to another thrift store. I would be honored to see it join your collection.

Of course I said yes, the quilt top just arrived! Let's enjoy Martie's treat and examine this very original quilt.

Here are a few sections that were paper pieced and their backs. I think about what it must have been like then. Pearl Harbor had just happened and the nation was mobilizing for war, after struggling through the Great Depression......more to come.

Scary Twisters

2011-05-26T08:35:00.000-05:00

It's time to get back to work. The recent devastating tornadoes have everyone rattled. Tornadoes are something Kansans watch for and respect, but we have never seen an outbreak like that of the past few days. Storms break out and we can't concentrate! My coworkers are all cowering in their basements! And then we watch the news and cannot believe the damage we see in Joplin and elsewhere.......If I keep drifting, I will have to give in to my tornado fixation and stitch this block from Linda Frost's Happy Birthday Kansas book.

Luckily, the weather cleared for a while this afternoon and stitch group met. Cutting up shirts helps. Carol produced this, which may be the neatest, most precise cut up shirt ever.....

Dress Remnant Medallion

2011-05-20T08:05:00.001-05:00

Here's another quilt I found in deep Missouri last month.

I kept thinking of leaving it behind, as it is all silky dress weight fabrics. But they were all in great shape. And it is just the scrappy style quilt I adore.

Upon closer examination, it seems clear these were some kind of fabric samples. There are same-size pieces in many colorways (as in the detail shot right).

The quilt is tied and it is big - 77" x 104". It is backed with muslin - the front is turned to the back to bind the quilt.

A Thrift Shop Quilt Bibliography

2011-05-17T20:13:00.008-05:00

Fabric in a quilt I'll post next....

I'm finding this blog to be so helpful. I'm talking to several groups about Thrift Shop Quilts this week. Instead of making up a paper bibliography and hoping to have enough copies on hand, I can just refer you here so you can explore more on this topic yourself.
Here's a list of some spots to learn more about improvised quilts:

Gee’s Bend: http://www.quiltsofgeesbend.com/

http://www.auburn.edu/academic/other/geesbend/explore/catalog/slideshow/index.htm

Anna Williams: http://www.equilters.com/annawilliams/index.html

International Quilt Study Center collections: http://www.quiltstudy.org/collections/

Lucille Young: http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/ideasv52/fryb.htm

Rosie Lee Tompkins: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/11/AR2006121100083.html

Eli Leon: http://www.elileon.com/

Robert Cargo essay about African American quilts: http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/7aa/7aa748.htm

An improv project: http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/2010/04/improvisational-quilting-tree-improv-placemats/

Pepper Cory: http://quiltflapper.blogspot.com/search/label/strange%20and%20wonderful%20quilt

http://quiltflapper.blogspot.com/2008/11/wahoo-back-on-blog-again-googles.html

Denyse Schmidt: http://www.dsquilts.com/

Modern quilters: Jacquie Gehring http://tallgrassprairiestudio.blogspot.com/2009/01/project-improv-wont-you-join-me.html

Dear Daughter

2011-05-16T09:58:00.000-05:00

I was contacted by a young woman named Lindsay a few months ago. She wanted a small quilt made for her mother for Mother's Day - made from fabrics of her grandmother's clothing. A co-worker who knew about my Making Memories project and book sent her my way.

Lindsay brought an armful of her grandma's clothes. Some were made from silk, some synthetics - of varying weights and mostly bright colors. There was a pink/gold from a dressy suit, an orange chiffon from a top/pant suit, white floral silk from a beautiful dress, a turquoise Hawaaian shirt, a dark skirt. I puzzled over how to pull them all together. Then I noticed how many of the prints featured large flowers. Would it work to use those as the centers of log cabin blocks?

It did. The log cabin design allowed me to use different size centers. I used the same striped fabric from a jacket around each center to unify the design. But after that, I let them each be different. I used interfacing to give more weight to some of the flimsier fabrics. And I stitched each block onto a fabric foundation to add more stability. The fabrics varied widely.

One more surprise: we added her grandmother's handwriting, from a sweet message on a greeting card. I stitched in those words in a few spots around the quilt, then buttons in the flowered areas after I quilted it all in the ditch. The final quilt measured 26” x 26”.

And I got it done on time! Lindsay wins the prize for the nicest Mother’s Day present ever, don't you think? I hope her mom thinks it is as sweet as I do.

A Vegetable Garden Rug

2011-05-14T11:39:00.000-05:00

My friend Frances needed a rug for her kitchen so I made this one for her. She likes the color black and we decided to add colors you would find in a vegetable garden. It measures 49" x 34".

I love making these toothbrush rugs, You can use up the most oddball fabric of all and it looks so good when you are done!

Shopping in Pinkville

2011-05-11T12:15:00.000-05:00

I've been traveling again. On the way home, we stopped in a little town in Missouri - Stewartsville, home of the Quilt Shoppe.

We were lucky to catch owner Kathy Runyan was there, getting ready for a trip to market. She showed us a quilt created for the last market by her daughter, known by many as Tula Pink.

Look at her help - little daughter Jo was happy to assist (you can just barely see her golden shoes). Her twin Jane was off hiding in a basket.....

We loved the shop! It's at 118 Hill Street (you can see it from highway 36).....p.s. the town water tower doesn't really say Pinkville.

Tic Tac Blocks 5

2011-04-29T14:26:00.002-05:00

More pinks and more directional fabrics.

The big prints make this one fun to look at.

Ok, I've got to stop. There are 39 blocks on this quilt, I've shown 15. So imagine how fun it is to just sit and look at the whole quilt. One more thing - my Dad loves this one too. I'm always surprised when he reacts strongly to one of my quilts, for the longest time he hardly noticed them. He thought this one was great. He thought it was really old too. I don't, I think the fabrics are from the 40s or 50s. What do you think?

Tic Tac Blocks 4

2011-04-28T14:21:00.001-05:00

This group features blocks with pink fabrics.

I love how the stripes go all different directions on this one.

The one red piece really sings, doesn't it?

Tic Tac Blocks 3

2011-04-27T14:16:00.000-05:00

I love the background on this block.

The background of this one is wild too! And I love how the center is pieced.....

Three wild backgrounds!

Tic Tac Blocks 2

2011-04-26T14:11:00.001-05:00

Boy fabrics, for sure. Note the tiny piece added to one corner.

I love how the middle square is pieced on this block.

Somehow they all fit together!

Tic Tac Blocks 1

2011-04-25T14:11:00.000-05:00

Here are more blocks from the Tic Tac Toe quilt. I love how the stripes pull your eye around and around this block.

Something about this one looks like a child-drawn stick figure to me.

This one looks person-like to me too: the body is the striped part, the light part is the head, the rest arms and legs.....

Tic Tac Toe

2011-04-24T09:51:00.000-05:00

This quilt isn't perfect but I think it did have my name on it. I found it last week in an antique mall near Columbia, Missouri and paid $35 to bring it home to admire.

I found the pattern in the Encyclopedia. Block 2770: At the Depot (Clara Stone), Railroad Crossing (KC Star 8/21/35) - I'll bet my maker used that Star pattern....

It measures 68" x 82". The blocks do vary in size - one measured 9" square, another 7 1/2" square. So putting the blocks on point with setting triangles between makes sense (and is a good way to deal with different size blocks we might want to set into a quilt....). It is assembled in columns.

I love looking at this quilt. No blocks are alike - the fabrics are mostly worn clothing. Some have worn away and the binding is worn. This quilt was well-loved and well-used.

So here's my plan: I am loving the uniqueness of so many of these blocks, I will post a couple per day for a while so you can see the wildness too.

A Rosy Rocky Road

2011-04-22T10:41:00.000-05:00

I bought this thrifty little quilt because I thought a Kansas quilter should have a Rocky Road to Kansas quilt. And this one is in such UN-likely Rocky Road colors. Pink borders? Who puts pink borders on a Rocky Road to Kansas quilt?

Well, someone did. Many of the blocks look like they were assembled in the same time frame and same low-contrast values, with pastel stripes and a few old feedsack prints thrown in. And then there is that one row. With reds! plaids! navy blue prints! Those 4 blocks look like they arrived from another planet to me.

This quilt measures 77" x 87". The blocks are ~15" square. It's machine pieced and simply hand quilted.

Garage sale season is here

2011-04-17T20:29:00.001-05:00

It SHOULD be warm enough to have a garage sale on April 16 in Kansas. But you never know......

The quilt historian nearly froze yesterday morning. It just didn't warm up much until afternoon. But look how pretty her garage sale was. I always love to go by because there are quilts on the fence.

I don't notice many other sales like it.

Seeing quilts on buildings

2011-04-08T08:52:00.003-05:00

Do you ever look at a building and see a quilt? Look what I saw when I came out of the post office the other day.

I had seen the Dakota Theatre in downtown Yankton, South Dakota before. But I hadn't noticed what so clearly looked like a quilt design on it's facade before.

The Internet reveals that the theatre opened in 1902 as the Yankton Opera House. New owners in 1921 renamed it the Hess Theatre - a grand reopening then featured a $10,000 pipe organ, cushioned opera chairs and large pendant chandeliers. Looks like it became the Dakota in 1929. It closed in 1987 but was reopened in 1993. Renovation continues today.

I like the dots at the top. You can read more about it here.

Sweet Baskets

2011-04-02T17:21:00.001-05:00

I found this quilt a while back and could not pass it up because it is so sweet - and a little unusual, I think.

It surely was made to cover a very specific bed, as it measures 42" x 75". Each basket block measures 8 1/2" square. It is hand-pieced and hand-quilted.

The wear fascinates me. Some fabrics have completely worn away (second block from top, middle). Some fabrics have completely faded away (top middle block). And some are off (top right block). Hmmm, maybe a child pieced this....

Note that there are side borders that finish in a knife edge with tiny prairie points showing. When the quilt historian saw this, she opined that those might be commercially made prairie points, once popular like manufactured binding was. Of course, she is likely on to something here. It came from Ottawa, Kansas.

Come Play!

2011-03-31T19:39:00.000-05:00

Saturday morning (April 2), I'll lead a class on improvisational quilting at the Kansas City Museum.

I have just learned we can open this class to kids of all ages. Originally, it was a class for kids only. But the last time I taught it, Moms begged to join the fun. The museum guards even stopped by on their break and made a quick impulsive quilt.

We will work in my beloved improvisational style. I will bring a suitcase of scraps and backgrounds to fuse on. We'll watch a Quilts of Gee's Bend tape and play. Kids "get it" and have no problem putting together these quilts.

If you'd like to recapture that freer time in your life, join us. 10-noon. The cost is minimal, all materials supplied.

To sign up, call Rebecca at the museum, (816) 483-8300 ext. 1402. You can also call the museum visitor center at 483-8300.
See you there.

Sue makes an appearance

2011-03-29T17:39:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I spoke to our University Women's Club History group. The second Sunbonnet Sue quilt, Death Becomes Her, has returned to Lawrence so she went along. The label on the back of the quilt says it was made by The Seamsters Union Local 925 in Lawrence, Kansas in 1997.

Several people at the history meeting remembered her last public appearance in Lawrence. Apparently she was on display in the public library, much to the consternation of some librarians.

Sue went on to frighten on an even larger stage - the Ronald Reagan Library in California. If you google sunbonnet sue reagan library, you can read all about it. Sue was on exhibit there in 1998 when she was removed for being controversial. Full of violent images, they said. Sue stabbed by scissors? Burning in a fire? Sucked up by a twister, those images?

I loved the LA Times headlines that chronicled the saga:
"Needled by Complaints of Nazism and Violence, Library Pulls 2 Quilts"
and
"Quirky Quilts Don't Leave All in Stitches"

Death Becomes Her measures 77" x 94". Each of the 20 blocks is 13" square.

If you'd like to see the well-documented first Sunbonnet Sue quilt made in 1976, check out the Quilt Index. Could it be time to make another? As the quilt historian says, disasters keep happening.....

Here's a link to the red and white quilt show that everyone is talking about. My friend Stevii went and she reports: "...we finally got to see the red and white quilts. A once in a life time experience. Wish I could see it again. The show will never travel because it was a birthday gift for the 80 year old lady who amassed these quilts. She wanted to give a gift to the city, so the exhibit was free."

Quilts with little pieces

2011-03-24T07:28:00.000-05:00

Caroline Searls spoke to our guild the other day. She showed us many quilts she has acquired over the years. I really perked up and listened when she said she keeps all scraps that are 1 1/2" square.

Here are close up shots of some of my favorites. The squares in this one measure 2". This quilt was fairly large.

These blocks were in an even larger quilt! The strips are 1/2" wide, each block is about 5" square. Caroline said she named it Spaghetti and Tomato Sauce because she thought that was what it looks like.

At the close of her program she showed this little doll quilt. She pointed out that one end was narrower than the other. She said one day her mother found her dipping this quilt into wash water and stopped her midway - and the wool quilt shrank from that dip in the water. Look at her great label - and a label from registering the quilt with the Kansas Quilt Project in 1986.

Caroline spent 61 years in Rawlins County, Kansas - the last 41 years in Atwood. When her husband died, she remarried 2 years later and moved to Bella Vista, Arkansas, where she lives today.

Faded Flower Pots

2011-03-22T08:20:00.000-05:00

My mom inherited this quilt from my grandmother. I would expect that someone in her family made it but it is unsigned and undated. I don't think Grandma would have kept it otherwise, she wasn't very attached to handmade things.

The quilt measures 72" x 91" - each block measures 13" x 14".

Notice the applique was stitched on by machine. It's machine quilted too. I checked Barbara's Encyclopedia of Applique, this block is named English Flower Garden (McKim), English Garden (Capper's Weekly); and Old English Flower Garden (Kansas City Star).

I suspect the quilt was washed with bleach, speeding the facing of this well-used quilt. Peeking inside the seams shows the sashing was once green. I would love to have seen the quilt before it was so faded.....

Happy Spring!

A Kansas Quilt Bibliography

2011-03-19T17:02:00.001-05:00

I'd call this block an adaptation of
a colonial ladies design, circa 1930s. This
little quilt measures 16" x 22".

At my talk about 150 years of Kansas Quilts today, I promised an online bibliography. To learn more about Kansas and quilting, check these online sources.

Visit the Kansas Museum of History exhibit:
http://www.kshs.org/news/pressroom/press_kit_150_things/150_things_list.pdf

Kansas 150 quilt information from the State Library of Kansas:
http://kansas150slk.blogspot.com/2010/09/kansas-quilters-and-kansas-quilts.html

Spencer Museum of Art (look for Carrie Hall collection):
http://www.spencerart.ku.edu/

Kansas Quilt Project quilts (search for Kansas):

http://www.quiltindex.org/index.php

Happy Birthday Kansas by Linda Frost:

https://www.pickledishstore.com/productDetail.php?PID=1242

Linda's blog:
http://www.13thstreetstudio.typepad.com/

Barbara Brackman’s blog:
http://barbarabrackman.blogspot.com/

Quilting in America 2010 survey results:
http://www.quilts.com/announcements/y2010/QIA2010_OneSheet.pdf

Kansas Quilts & Quilters, Brackman et al, University Press of Kansas, 1993:
http://www.amazon.com/Kansas-Quilts-Quilters-Barbara-Brackman/dp/0700605851/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1300454705&sr=1-1

It Happened in Kansas: Remarkable Events That Shaped History by Sarah Smarsh:
http://www.amazon.com/Happened-Kansas-Remarkable-Events-History/dp/0762758627/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_1

Timothy Egan's book The Worst Hard Times about Kansas in the dust bowl days:
http://www.hmhbooks.com/readers_guides/egan_worst.shtml

Barbara Brackman's book debunking the quilt code myth:
http://www.barbarabrackman.com/faqs4.aspx

A blog about kit quilts:
http://www.quiltkitid.com/

Information about the Kaw Valley Quilters Guild upcoming quilt show:
http://www.kawvalleyquiltersguild.org/quilt-show-2.html

Thanks to the Topeka Public Library for hosting this event, and to Pattie Poe for making it all possible!

March Madness

2011-03-17T10:00:00.001-05:00

We note a growing trend of trees with decorations long after the Christmas holiday. My friend Roseann keeps this tree beside her driveway decorated. She does update it for the current holiday (note the shamrock for today).

My front yard pine tree is decorated also. We put the ornaments on in December - in honor of basketball. We love basketball, following our favorite teams keep us going through the long Midwestern winter. We hope to continue to celebrate our teams success for a few more weeks. Go Wildcats! Go Hawks!!

National Quilting Day Talk

2011-03-14T21:19:00.000-05:00

I'll be speaking about 150 years of Kansas Quilts for a National Quilting Day event next Saturday, March 19.

I'll link quilts with the turbulent (and not-so-wild) events through the decades since Kansas became a state in 1861.

The talk begins at 10:30 a.m. Afterward, Linda Frost will show her sampler quilt, the inspiration for her new book Happy Birthday Kansas!. There will be quilts on display and demonstrations of different quilting techniques all day.

All these events take place at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library. The library is at 1515 SW 10th Ave | Topeka, Kansas 66604-1374
(785) 580-4400

My Modern Guild meeting report

2011-03-11T08:08:00.000-06:00

The Modern Quilt Guild in Kansas City is celebrating it's first anniversary. And it's just outgrown another meeting space. I arrived a few minutes late for last night's meeting and overflow chairs were being set up. There are more than 100 members and 10-20 guests were there for the first time last night.
It is a quilt guild meeting like other guild meetings but with energy bursting from the seams.

First, you note the sea of heads is not all gray heads. Second, it's clear much of the framework of this guild is on the internet. Third: joy and affirmation dominate the group interactions.

The highlight of this meeting was not a speaker but a show and tell by members for a Kona solids fabric challenge issued a few months ago. The quilts shown ranged in size from small to throw size. There was the usual oohing and aahing from the crowd as quilts were shown. But when one member admitted this was her first quilt, someone yelled, "Standing ovation" and everyone lept to their feet and applauded. And that continued for every first quilt shown....

Many of us are trying to describe the Modern Guild aesthetic. I note quilts tend to have light backgrounds and solids are popular. They are not traditional quilts and often created without patterns.

What struck me most from observing this group is the lack of judgment about what quilting should and should not be. I might be a bit prickly about that, as my quilts have always strayed a bit outside the mainstream. To be part of a group that embraces the concept that there do not have to be rules is refreshing, invigorating. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh....
Way to go, Kansas City Guild.

Giant Cookies!

2011-03-09T08:33:00.000-06:00

I"m catching up, it's been awhile since it was Girl Scout cookie time. But I still love this idea so much. It's not unusual to see sales tables at our local grocery store. It IS unusual to see scouts dressed as COOKIES! I had to stop and get a picture of these big felt cookie outfits, aren't they cool? They were made by Laine Delfelder, leader of these fine Brownies from Troop 1917, Quail Run School, Lawrence, Kansas.

Linda figured it out

2011-03-02T19:58:00.002-06:00

Look! Several members of my stitch group have opined about how the Log Cabin-ish quilt I posted a photo of on Feb. 16 was put together. Linda Frost made this sample, we think she's got it.

Here is the first block. All the logs are 1 1/2" wide. Here's how it goes together:

1. Start with a yellow center square and one long red log (Linda's center is 1 1/2" square, the strip 5 1/2" long).

2. Attach 2 blue logs (same size as the first log) aligning them with the yellow center. Stop stitching 1" from the end.

3. Attach a light strip (the first is 3 1/2" long, the rest are progressively longer).

4. Continue those steps. The block is complete when you have 1 center, 9 dark logs and 4 light logs.

5. Notice how Linda has attached the center of the next block on the left side.

6. To continue: make rows of these strips, then join the rows together to make the quilt.
Also note: Linda stitched hers completely by machine.
p.s. be sure to visit Linda's blog, you will enjoy her work!

A Book of Days

2011-02-27T19:55:00.001-06:00

We just put the finishing touches on Maggie Bonanomi's latest book. This one is a Book of Days that I am eager to make myself. Maggie tells how to put together a book, then you get to fill it up with memorable events. Her model for this book is inspiring. I plan to make mine as gifts, family momentos filled with birthdays and other events to remember.

Maggie and I always have fun working together. She used to live in Kansas, but now resides in Lexington, Missouri. She understands the Missouri-Kansas divide as well as anyone but look - she sent me a Kansas Day card! It's made of scraps - both paper and fabric - all familiar to me from other book projects. Thanks, Maggie!

We are stumped

2011-02-16T18:54:00.000-06:00

Look at this quilt! Yes, you will note hands at one end of it, I did photograph it over the owner's head at quilt guild the other day.

Can you figure out how to make this block? So far, we are stumped about that here in Lawrence, Kansas....... If you don't know, we just may have to arrange another viewing and see if we can figure it out!

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-13T20:59:00.000-06:00

I work on a fund-raising project every year with a very creative friend. She sends out Valentine's greetings every year - when I got mine in the mail the other today, it reminded me of these blocks. As we worked on the project last fall, she said she found these crazy quilt blocks at a sale years ago. She threatened to take them to our local thrift shop if I didn't want them. So now they are mine. There are 15 blocks, each is 18" square. Most have elaborate embroidered flowers on them. They are worked on a foundation, made mostly of silks, and are in excellent shape.

This is the back side of the block shown above.

Here's a detail of another block.

In Progress Now.....

2011-01-31T13:37:00.001-06:00

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!

2011-01-29T08:14:00.001-06:00

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

2011-01-26T05:43:00.001-06:00

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

2011-01-24T19:24:00.000-06:00

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

2011-01-23T16:10:00.000-06:00

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

2011-01-18T15:33:00.001-06:00

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

2011-01-13T12:20:00.000-06:00

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

2011-01-11T14:36:00.001-06:00

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

2011-01-08T09:21:00.000-06:00

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

2011-01-06T09:14:00.000-06:00

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.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T06:17:00.000-06:00

All month I've been wanting to make a pile of Christmas tree postcards. Yesterday I got a little time and made this one, it's for you.
Merry, Merry Christmas!

Quilt #9: Last but not least

2010-12-22T03:26:00.001-06:00

Here's the last finished quilt we're taking to our little friends. Notice I say last FINISHED quilt, of course, mine still needs to be quilted. But we've got enough done to cover our Christmas gifts. This quilt was actually created for a book. I wonder if its young recipient will ever know that. I do think they could spend a while looking all the patterns as they fall asleep. It measures 37" x 37". Look at the quilt back: it's wild too.

Ok, time to vote. Which quilt would you choose to nap with?

Quilt #8: a sporty quilt

2010-12-21T04:19:00.001-06:00

These wonky squares-in-a-square each have a sports theme fabric in the center. Polka dotted and striped fabrics wrap around them. It's all tied together with a narrow striped border. This little quilt measures 36" x 36". Look for the last quilt tomorrow!

Quilts #6 & #7: Theme Fabric

2010-12-20T07:27:00.000-06:00

ElfK contributed 2 quilts that are the same pattern. She chose theme fabric: firefighters/primary colors for one (with cool chicks on the back), and flowery pups/pinks for the other (look at the lovely floral fabric on the back). Both are made of 6" squares (42 per quilt) and measure 37" x 42". Her friend ElfN plopped them on her long-arm quilting machine side by side and quilted them quickly. One little boy and one little girl will really like these!

Quilt #5: Nine Patches

2010-12-19T04:20:00.001-06:00

Elf C claimed she was using up fabrics for this quilt. Doesn't she have exquisite fabric taste? She also said not to show a closeup of the quilting but you know, this quilt is sturdily quilted and I would not be surprised if it is a lifelong good memory for the recipient. Someday they will think I don't know why but I love those vivid colors of red and turquoise blue together.....Anyway, this one measures 42" x 41". Remember, you can cast your vote for your favorite quilt after you see them all!

Quilt #4: Batik

2010-12-18T05:08:00.001-06:00

The quilter who donated this quilt divulged that she had found this great batik fabric on a sale rack and couldn't leave it there. And suddenly I remember one of my girls when she was little telling me so earnestly about sharing and caring. What a good memory. Elf B is sharing and caring. Now some other sweet little kid will enjoy this quilt. It measures 44" x 44". We all admired the stitching detail for the quilting.....

Quilt #3: Hearts

2010-12-17T04:59:00.001-06:00

You know, one of the most fun things about this donation project was seeing what people had stored away AND feeling like our small quilts are going to a very good home. This Hearts quilt measures 34" x 35". It was a top - industrious ElfA quilted it and added a wonderful flannel back. We should vote at the end of all this - which quilt would you choose? Two more small quilts were donated today!

Quilt #2: A hungry caterpillar

2010-12-16T05:51:00.001-06:00

Here's the second donated quilt for the lucky kids at First Step. Do you think the kids might try to take this one away from each other? I do, this caterpillar will be popular! It measures 31" x 34" and also has a flannel back.

Boys in Wonderland

2010-12-15T21:32:00.001-06:00

I made this little quilt (8" x 12") to test a product for C&T's Creative Troupe. And today it appeared on their blog!

The product was Lesley Riley's TAP (Transfer Artist Paper). The challenge was to use it in a creative way. I'd been scanning family photographs and found an old photo postcard in the pile. Isn't is a wacky photo? I called it Boys in Wonderland because the back says "Wonderland Post Card Studio, 1206 Grand Avenue, Kansas City, MO." But that is all! There is no other identification, so I have no idea who these fellows are.

After I transferred the photo, I framed it with silks from a box given to me just last summer. I hadn't tried transferring many photos to fabric - I liked how TAP worked!

Quilts for Kids

2010-12-15T12:16:00.000-06:00

Our stitch group has taken on a seasonal project. The local alcohol treatment facility called and wondered if we would make quilts for kids whose moms are there undergoing treatment. They wondered if we could make some as Christmas gifts. Our small group responded to this challenge with amazing speed - they dug into their quilt top piles and voila! I have 6 quilts so far. They are so darn cute I'm going to post them, I think you'll enjoy them.

Elf #1 made this first quilt. It measures 30" square. It's machine stipple quilted and backed with flannel. And look - someone can fall asleep counting their numbers.....

Seasonal Improv #1

2010-12-12T19:45:00.000-06:00

Here's the first little quilt I made from the pieces I started out with a while back....I started out with little scrappy centers and cut strips to add around them log-cabin style. Some are batiks, some are lovely quilt shop fabrics, some are old shirts......this little quilt measures 24" x 24" and will be hanging in my mom's kitchen when the binding is on (soon!). More to come, I'm working lots these days but this piecing is making me so so happy!

The sesquicentennial and more.....

2010-12-09T07:10:00.003-06:00

A treat always waiting in my morning inbox is A.Word.A.Day by Anu Garg, courtesy of Wordsmith.org.

I see words I know and words that I do not know. I learn something most every day. Yesterday's word caught my eye as we are busy putting the finishing touches on a book that celebrates the upcoming Kansas Sesquicentennial (150th birthday) by Linda Frost, a fellow Lawrencian and quilt guild member.

The word is sesquipedality. Anu explains: "Literally speaking, sesquipedality is using words that are one and a half feet long. A related word is sesquicentennial (150th anniversary). Nothing wrong with using a sesquipedalian word once in a while, if it fits, but it's best to avoid too many long, polysyllabic words. This dictum doesn't apply to German speakers though, as Mark Twain once observed, "Some German words are so long that they have a perspective." "

I'll show you Linda's book cover soon. You'll note we steered clear of the LONG S word.....we are lobbying to have the felt sunflower included. Maggie Bonanomi acquired it when she was a Kansan. Now that she is a Missouri resident, she passed it on to me........

Behind the scenes with Maggie

2010-12-06T21:01:00.001-06:00

Photo courtesy of B.Grubb

We're putting the finishing touches on a new book by Maggie Bonanomi. I'm eager for it to be ready so I can tell you all about it. Today we photographed some items for the cover. There's always a little down time in a photo shoot. As we visited during a lull today, Maggie mentioned that she had recently been working on a small drawing for a tattoo.

I was fascinated. Maggie can draw! If the book business folds, there could be a new career waiting for her. Get your favorite primitive tattoo, by Maggie! We tried out a few designs, what do you think?

A great quilt seen at guild

2010-12-03T05:28:00.000-06:00

Our last quilt guild meeting of the year was a fun one. Some people bring things to sell and other people do quick demonstrations of things we like to make. I showed several people how I make toothbrush rugs. One woman watched and told me her mother used to make them.

When it was time for show and tell, that woman showed us a quilt she had finished for her mother. Marilyn McClure's mother, Ruth (Seal) Chapman of Wakefield, Kansas, allegedly never threw anything away. She had a quilt top she was meaning to finish and Marilyn loved the top so she kept an eye on it. When her mother was 85, she admitted she would probably not get to that top. So Marilyn took it home, hand quilted it, and brought it back for her mother to use. And she did use it. When she moved to assisted living, Marilyn brought the quilt home. I love the story and I love the quilt! It is so totally scrappy.......I had a hard time identifying the block in the Encyclopedia, so I made a lifeline call to Barbara. She . thinks "it's an Ocean Wave with a nine patch for the square. I was fascinated by it too. Here's a picture from BlockBase. It's actually not in the book Encyclopedia. It's something Penny added to BlockBase. Seems to be KCS 1942."

Happy December

2010-12-01T06:13:00.001-06:00

There have been years I have dreaded December, with all the expectation and busyness. This December is starting out more relaxed than some past, to my delight. I always stop by our local Festival of Trees, a creative fundraiser for our local Shelter. Our beautiful Liberty Hall in downtown Lawrence is filled with trees and other creative holiday projects - they were auctioned last night.

I saw several trees that I loved this year. Here's my favorite: Weaving is Believing, made by wonderful art teacher Laura Torres Porter and her students at Bishop Seabury Academy. It's a woven ribbon tree. And look at the topper!

Happy December to you!

Locked stove epidemic

2010-11-29T15:03:00.000-06:00

On occasion, you know, I have to report about life here in Lawrence. What follows comes right from one of my favorite Dave Barry lines: "I am not making this up......."

For some reason, we have had an epidemic of stoves locking and refusing to open among our stitch group buddies. Thankfully, I am so instruction-challenged that I gave up trying to self-clean mine (which leads to the locking) and sprayed it with chemicals (yum). But my friends are smarter and braver. They read the instructions, set the self-clean options, threw the lever and locked theirs. And then the ovens would not UN-lock! This has happened to 2 stitchers so far.

Stitcher A gave up trying to solve the dilemma herself quickly and called the appliance guy, who came by the day before Thanksgiving and fixed it "in about 5 seconds," she reported. "We felt like idiots."

Stitcher B was breaking in a new stove for the holidays. Here is her report:
"Turkey day went pretty well, over all. I/we had used the new stove's oven 3 or 4 times, and each time it STANK!!!! So, I read the manual, and it said that "the smell will resolve with the first cleaning, if not before," so I decided to use the oven cleaning feature. So, the night before Turkey Day, I throw the latch to lock the oven, and hit the button for cleaning. I then realized I hadn't removed everything from the oven, so I hit the off button, released the latch, opened the oven, took stuff out, threw the latch to lock it and hit the "clean" button again. And I went to bed.

The next morning, I released the latch, and the oven wouldn't open. It was still locked closed. Hard to cook a turkey if you can't get it in the oven. So I read the instructions, which were not helpful. Then got on line, and found a few more things to try. Tried those things, it was still locked. Tried them again, same result. Called some appliance repair places, no one was answering.
So, after jumping through several more hoops, we (by this time more of my family was here) decided to order turkey at Dillons. We wandered over to do that while my brother-in-laws were serially contemplating the locked oven door.

We successfully ordered a turkey breast to be cooked for us at Dillons, and wandered back home to find that my more mechanically minded brother-in-law had managed to unlatch the latch. So we could have Pumpkin Pie and Turkey!! As well as Ham, Grouse, and now the Turkey from Dillons. So, after that, all went well, everyone got along well. We wound up eating at 3:30 instead of 2:00, but had lots of snacky stuff, and the day was fine...How was yours?

By the way, one of my daughter's friends was here just now, and she was telling him the story, so he had to try the latch. It locked the door AGAIN, but this time I was able to get it unlocked after about 5 minutes of trying. I bet I'll be faster next time. Or maybe I'll just get it fixed."

Thanks to ace stringer Roseanne Smith (aka StitcherB) for sharing her story..........

A best day of the year

2010-11-27T14:46:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite days of the year is today, the day of our Bizarre Bazaar. It started years ago and I've been in attendance for years too. My kids too. They remember the old days when it was truly a bunch of alternative artists (also called hippies). Today there are many many more artists, in a much larger venue. It retains it's very creative ambiance and I do think this year was the best ever.

This year my daughter Betsy went with me. We show each other things we like. Then we buy them for each other. We buy gifts. We occasionally buy something for ourselves. And we are so inspired by all the creative ideas. Here are a few I liked that I think you might too.

I looked at these aprons for a while, wondering how they came to be. Marilyn Pilkey of Ottawa told me she works with the local theatre company and that the painted backgrounds came from the backdrops of earlier shows. They are sturdy canvas, just perfect for aprons. She also used quilt blocks for apron tops.

I bought a present for my husband (the surprise in the sack) from Boho Girl Creations. They also had piles of crocheted rugs, all made from recycled t-shirts. Aren't they cool?

Our quilt guild buddy Sammie Messick got creative with recycled t-shirts too. She stitched the bottom hems together, cut the tops of the shirts into straps and sold them to use as shopping bags. She recommends putting meat you buy into them, as they are so easy to wash. She used child size shirts to make smaller bags that could support what you put inside. Betsy picked some out.

I was happy to see Sandra Fos there. I've admired her quilts so much - today she offered punked out pillows, hand sewn scarves and enlightened recycled lampshades. Her daughter Laura came along to help. When I asked if I could take a picture, she said no but relented if she was in the background (you will note I complied.....)

Best of all, I came home inspired to get to work on a few holiday presents. Ho ho ho!

(Note: you can click on the Bizarre Bazaar link in the first paragraph to contact these artists.)

Things People Say

2010-11-26T11:39:00.000-06:00

My weekend project

Many of you can probably identify with this. People say doubting things to me all the time about how I work.

I am not making this up, I have heard:

"Don't encourage her."

A shrieked, "Oh no, you're not going there (while I was checking the fabric store trashcan for scraps after a class)." (I calmly told ShriekerA that a number of somewhat famous authors I've worked with confess to doing that...)

"What are you going to make with THAT?"

And perhaps my favorite, shrieked while I showed an old quilt with knots tied on top: "Didn't they know the RULES?"

I am thankful for all of you, for being there and understanding and supporting my unconventional ways of working.........Happy belated Thanksgiving!

Hail the wale

2010-11-20T19:44:00.000-06:00

Plan now to celebrate National Corduroy Day next Nov. 11, 2011.
That date - 11/11/11 - is especially chosen as those numbers are most like the wales (the raised ribs) of corduroy.
I learned all this thanks to a piece on the Corduroy Appreciation Club by Bill Geist on CBS Sunday Morning. You can see more about his report here.
To celebrate: I propose that we incorporate SOME corduroy into our scrappy work. Adding different texture makes a textile project more exciting.
A total corduroy piece is probably NOT ideal. I do have one, this improvised quilt I featured back in January. It's fascinating to behold but HEAVY!

Doesn't this bring back memories of all the corduroy clothing you've had over the years? I've always loved corduroy. In the story, they showed bolts of it that brought back sewing project memories. Paisley corduroy! Striped corduroy. I remember having to buy extra fabric to make sure all your wales ran in the same direction. My sewing teachers usually banned it (to my dismay). They were timid (and probably rightfully so, wanting to avoid advising us on the intricacies of working with fabrics with nap). I had many corduroy jumpers - I found a picture of one from the 1960s.

Anyway, start collecting your corduroy scraps now. Be ready for 11/11/11.

My new Trip Around the World quilt

2010-11-17T16:49:00.000-06:00

You know I'm a sucker for a bargain. So when I found this quilt on my recent trip to the Wichita antique mall and price tag said $35, I sighed and knew it was going home with me.

I have no regrets! I love it. It's condition is good and the fabrics are 1930s lively. It's a fun one to look at on the dining room wall. The light sections especially are quite scrappy, with many fabrics of the same value worked into the rows. The maker used her scrap bag well and didn't shy away from using plaids and stripes going every which way.

It's hand pieced and hand quilted, bound with red bias. It was assembled in blocks - slightly different reds in the corners of the middle block helped me see that. And I do note a few machine stitched seams where the blocks came together. It measures 70" x 70", the blocks are 23-24" square. Individual pieces are 1 1/4" square.

There are a lot of names for this classic pattern in the Encyclopedia and I like them all: Mosaic Block, Squares Around the World, Postage Stamp, A Trip Around the World, Sunshine and Shadow, Grandma's Dream and Sun and Shadow.

My favorite market product: new needles for big stitch

2010-11-14T09:00:00.001-06:00

I've tried the big stitch, quick quilting with perle cotton. I wrestled with my needle and wondered what would be good to use. So when I noticed a schoolhouse presentation by Pepper Cory on that topic, I joined a line of quilters to file inside and learn more. I was hooked when Pepper started her pitch by saying one of the roots of the big stitch was poverty. 1930s scrap quilts that were needed for bedding were purposely quilted with a big quilting stitch to get the quilt onto the bed quickly. Other roots were 1920s sashiko quilts, and 1930s mail order quilts that used larger stitches in contrasting thread so hand quilting would show. She also said today's modern quilt guilds (boasting 10,000 members in just one year) have been known to favor the big stitch on solids.

Here's the product, slated for an early 2011 release. There are 6 needles in 3 sizes - good for using both #8 and #5 perle cotton.

Pepper has a blog too, check it out.

By popular demand

2010-11-12T15:30:00.000-06:00

Keiko quilt detail.

I've been helping Barbara teach a class on improvised quilts this year. We met last night and I showed the group a slide show of improvised quilts on display at market in Houston. A class member asked me to post a picture of Keiko Goke's spectacular My Double Wedding Ring quilt so she could look at it again and again. On the quilt label, Keiko explained that she began quilting using traditional patterns. She turned to contemporary quiltmaking and then found herself recreating traditional patterns, but without patterns and on this grand scale.

Kathe goes for it with one of grandma's blocks.

We've all been a little surprised, I think at the fun we've had in this class, challenging each other to try new ways of thinking about quilting. We've tried several sewing projects. Last night we took quilt blocks and cut them apart then put them back together in an improvised fashion. Here are some of our starts.

It was fascinating to see castoff blocks now making new shapes. I have blocks we found in my grandmother's estate. We'd never seen her sewing them but I recognize some of the '70s fabrics. I'm going to start slashing!

I met Gee's Bend descendants

2010-11-09T18:42:00.001-06:00

A little more from market - we stayed for the very last schoolhouse presentation of the day to hear two Gee's Bend descendants talk about their lives and their new project.

Loretta Bennett (left) and Louisiana Bendolph were both born in 1960 in Gee's Bend. Louisiana recalled watching school busses go by as she stayed behind to pick cotton as a child. Today they both still live in Alabama, but away from Gee's Bend. They've created Gee's Bend inspired quilts that will be kitted by Windham Fabrics. A portion of the profits will be shared with the Gee's Bend Quilters Collective.

I liked this bright design by Louisiana.

Fall improv

2010-11-03T12:17:00.001-05:00

It's finished! I set out with a bag of scraps a few weeks ago and now I have a small (27" square) improvisational quilt in fall colors. That is a pocket near the top - from the best boy's shirt ever.

The quilt goes along with the swiss chard we still enjoy from the garden and the celosia still blooming on the front porch.

Happy fall!

VOTE

2010-11-02T11:02:00.001-05:00

Today's election day. Be sure to vote. Do it for the suffragettes who worked so hard for us.

These great patriotic quilts on display at market in Houston will get you in the proper mood.

This flag quilt top was made by Ralph Syverson of Cordell, Oklahoma in the 1940s - 48 stars are embroidered on the flag.

And this detail is from a crib quilt made only of these stars, quiltmaker unknown, circa 1930s, also acquired in Oklahoma......

I'm off to cancel out this NO vote for our library expansion! See you at the polls!
(Thanks to ace stringer Roseann for spotting this memorable sign.)

At Market 2 - Fun Stuff

2010-11-01T20:41:00.001-05:00

Here are a few things I liked so much I got a picture:

A fabric covered bike frame, courtesy of Wild World by Jenean Morrison (her husband Joel bikes in Memphis when he's not at quilt market).

Here's a closer look at the bike, I loved it.

The over-the-top display at Michael Miller fabrics. Look where the shop owners got to sit down and make their orders.

In a booth with a Marilyn Monroe lookalike!

Here's Annie Smith signing copies of her new book, The Ultimate Applique Guidebook, at the C&T booth. Note the line of people in the background - they are waiting for free books... And note Annie's coat, it's featured in the book (that I enjoyed editing).

My shop owner friends from Quilting Bits & Pieces in Eudora, Kansas can stitch anywhere! Here they are demonstrating twilling at the Pattern Peddler booth.

And - big surprise - I bumped into my sewing retreat buddy Sharona Fischrup from New Pieces quilt store in Berkeley, California. Market is so much fun!

At Market 1 - Schoolhouse

2010-10-30T07:21:00.000-05:00

As retailers set up their booths the day before market, shop owners arrive and attend a day of presentations called Schoolhouse. They are very serious about learning all they can, here they are gathering their things and checking the schedule for what's next as they leave Maggie Bonanomi's presentation.

At some markets I have helped with these and several times I have made a presentation. This year I was happy to study the schedule and see what I could see.

Some presenters have good ideas, clever tips about marketing this or creating that. You see products that will help you work. You hear about new books. I wandered in to the presentation about a new C&T book, Quilts Made Modern. I loved the quilts, you will too. Bill Kerr has a great color sense and a plan to follow for making some of the improvised quilts we love. And good quilt names.The one behind him left is Big Dots, the other behind right is Beach Glass. I didn't get the name of the one he's holding up, we'll just have to get the book. He mentioned using strip piecing and cutting, being efficient.

I seldom stay at schoolhouse all day but yesterday the last session included a presentation by several quilters from Gee's Bend, Alabama - Loretta Bennett and Louisiana Bendolf. Windham fabrics will offer kits for several quilts they designed. I'm looking forward to stopping by to see them at the booth this morning.