I'm a Cover Girl!

Exciting news!  Sue here.  I'm honored and thrilled to announce that my quilt, "Red Bird and Berries", is on the cover of the summer issue of Quilting Arts magazine!  

It is a detail of the full quilt which appears in the Invitational Readers Challenge published in this issue.  Below is an image of the full quilt.

The Invitational Challenge was a special challenge to artists who have been published in Reader Challenges in the last 2 years.  There was no particular theme, just submit your best work.  The piece includes cyanotype prints, indigo dyeing using shibori techniques, thermofax printing, machine and hand stitching.  I was thrilled to be selected to be published; never in my wildest dreams did I anticipate being selected for the cover!  

There is a page up on the Quilting Daily website with more info about the summer issue and there is also a video interview I did with Kristine Lundblad, Managing Editor of Quilting Arts.  Digital copies of the magazine are available now at the link above or print copies will be available on newsstands June 18.  If you have a subscription, your copy should arrive about mid-month.  Looks like lots of great articles to dive into.  Enjoy!

Pattern and Paradox: The Quilts of Amish Women

If you are a quilter, or quilt lover, RUN, don't walk to the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) to see the current exhibit "Pattern and Paradox: The Quilts of Amish Women".  The exhibit continues through August 26; if you are in or plan to visit DC this summer, make sure to put this exhibit on your agenda.  The 50 quilts on display are part of a collection of 130 Amish quilts donated to the museum by Faith and Stephen Brown who started the collection in 1973.  

The Broken Star quilt above, circa 1930, is from Holmes County, Ohio by an unidentified maker.  The quilts in the collection are from Amish communities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois and Iowa. The Amish are plain people whose religious beliefs bind them to communal groups. There are many sects, from the strictest Amish in their solid color clothing who eschew electricity and choose horse & buggy for transportation to Mennonites who blend in with the general population, and many levels in between.  The quilts in the collection were made between the 1880s and late 1940s.  The Amish adopted quilt making in the late 19th century, creating them as bed coverings; they were never intended to be viewed as art.  But their quilts combine the plain with the spectacular, and tradition with innovation.  It was a way that the women of the community could express individuality and showcase elaborate stitching as well as original designs and color choices.

The 2 quilts above are Tumbling Blocks, a pattern using 3 diamonds to create a hexagon, but as you can see here, color placement makes a huge difference!  The quilt on the left is by an unidentified maker from Holmes County Ohio, made about 1940-1950.  The quilt on the right is a Stairway to Heaven variation also from Ohio, made about 1935 by an unknown maker.

Bar quilts are common in Amish culture; the quilt on the right shows 9-patch blocks in the bars.  Both are from Lancaster County, PA by unknown makers, the left from about 1930, the right made about 1915.

This distinctive Lone Star quilt is from the Lapp family in Lancaster County, PA, made about 1935-45.  Even without formal training in color theory, careful color placement creates eye popping designs.  The border here is certainly unique and took careful planning of color placement in the 9-patch blocks.

Another unique quilt is this original design that at first glance resembles an Oriental carpet, but upon closer inspection, you'll find the 9-patch and Monkey Wrench blocks that create the pattern along with 8 pointed stars at the sashing intersections.  From Holmes County, Ohio by an unknown maker it was made about 1920 of cotton and silk. 

    

This 1920 Ocean Waves quilt is two-sided, with concentric rectangles on the back.  It is from Holmes County, Ohio, again an unidentified maker.

These two Center Diamond quilts are both from Lancaster County, PA.  The one on the left by Barbara Fisher about 1920, the other by an unknown maker about 1930.

A unique (to me) design is the 16-patch quilt, also known as Tartan.  It is from Mifflin County, PA, 1930, by an unknown maker.

Finally, this Trip Around the World quilt (for which I neglected to get the source information).  A one-patch quilt, the design is created though careful color placement.  

Now, you may think you've seen enough and don't need to visit the exhibit in person - BUT - this post included only 12 of the 50 quilts on exhibit!  And the impact is so much greater when seen in person. One thing is very clear to me for those of you who are quilters - document your quilt by putting a label on the back, so those who see your work in the future will know who made it, when, and where you lived at the time.  It is so important for those who will study these textiles in the future!  I hope you thoroughly enjoy this exhibit, and we would love to see your comments afterward.

Swartz Creek Scrap Quilt with Pepper Cory

Sue's second day class was the complete opposite of the first day - the replication of a vintage scrap quilt.  This was a quilt that teacher Pepper Cory found in Pennsylvania which she dubbed the Swartz Creek Scrap Quilt.  Below is Pepper showing the original quilt.

Below are some additional versions of the quilt, some with larger blocks.

We spent part of the time choosing our fabrics, making half square triangles and 4-patches, and then beginning to assemble rows. 

Of course, we didn't get a whole top done in a 6-hour class!  Sue managed to get enough pieces together for 2 rows.  There may be some changes to this plan as one fabric may be too overpowering for the solid squares.  All the fabrics are Civil War reproduction fabrics.

Here are some other students' works in progress.

Both of the above are using 6" blocks instead of 4" blocks as in the original.  Though Sue does mostly art quilts these days, it is still fun to go back to traditional piecing.

Paint on Fabric with Kevin Womack

 Sue's first day class was Improv Paining on Fabric with Kevin Womack.  This was a "play day" to transform fabric with various surface design techniques.  We had various items like old kitchen utensils that could be used to create designs, stencils, bubble wrap and other items to create texture, objects that could be placed under the fabric and painted over for design & texture.  We also used color washes of diluted paint to transform a background.  Most students worked on white "new" fabric, but Sue used pieces that were previously dyed.  These were mostly pieces that didn't turn out well - too much white and/or blah colors, so this class was an attempt to make them more interesting.

work space

Image printed with a thermofax screen

Designs added with various mark making objects, a light blue wash colored in white areas

Design printed with a thermofax screen; original design is from a spiral masher/mixer (kitchen utensil)

 

This texture is from a length of cording placed under the fabric, and then flicking the paint brush over the raised area

Paint over a stencil created these images

It is fun and freeing to work improvisationally without thinking too much about what you are doing - just create!

Celebration Show & Tell & Challenge

Every Celebration starts off with a Show & Tell of projects from past Celebrations that participants have finished and brought along to show.  It's always fun to see the finished quilts, and some folks are very good about finishing the projects from the last event, while others may get to the finishing a little more slowly.  Here are some of the show & tell quilts from night 1, all from 2022 classes.

Left - Brimfield Block (Taught by Brimfield Awakening) 

Right - Kisses & Hugs (Taught by Barbara Black)

Glorified Nine Patch (Taught by Gyleen Fitzgerald)

Modern Improv (Taught by Heather Kojan)

Over and Under Rainbow (Taught by Gyleen Fitzgerald)

In addition to participant show & tell, there is a preview by the teachers of the projects they will be teaching over the next 2 days.

Here is Paula Golden with her Feathered Star quilt.

This year also featured a Ruby Challenge in honor of VCQ/s 40th anniversary.  There was an overwhelming amount of participation with members submitting red & white quilts for a viewer's choice vote.  Here are a few pictures of the ruby quilts.

Karen Brewster, VCQ president, also shared a red & white family heirloom quilt.  What a lot of eye candy!

VCQ'sCelebration 2024

Virginia Consortium of Quilters (VCQ) sponsors a 3 day retreat every 2 years that includes 2 days of workshops with nationally known teachers.  We meet at the 4-H Center at Smith Mountain Lake near Roanoke, Virginia.  What an idyllic setting!  It's a great place to get away for a few days to pursue our quilting hobby, enjoy comradery and long-time friendships, and appreciate the outdoors.  A bonus is that there is no cooking involved - just go to the dining hall for buffet meals!  This year's event was held April 18-21, and this is the first of several posts.  This one is dedicated to sharing photos of the facility.  Other posts will feature show & tell and challenge quilts, and the 2 classes that Sue participated in.  Elizabeth was unable to attend this year because she was otherwise occupied on a 30-day cruise to Fiji and other stops in the Pacific!

Looking from the patio of the activities building towards the lake.

Building on the right is the Taubman Conference Center and Hepler-Jamison dormitory.

View of the activities building, which includes the dining hall and auditorium.

At the lake; the gazebo is new since we were there 2 years ago.

Chairs along the shore.

An area of the grounds I had not visited before - a 3-hole golf course.

We also had some very lovely sunsets.

Wouldn't you like to join us in 2026?

Burke Quilters Unlimited Spring Retreat

In March Sue was fortunate to attend her local guild's spring retreat. (Burke chapter of Quilters Unlimited)  It was held in Winchester, VA at a Hampton Inn - we take over the ballroom to set up for approximately 50 quilters to come and sew for 3-5 days, depending on schedules.  It's a great way to make progress on multiple projects without having to stop for housework and other tasks.  (of course, those who are still gainfully employed get to take a few days off from work.)

Sue worked on several projects - one finish, one make progress and a new start.  The "finish" was a Hunter Star quilt, approximately 30" square.  This was started in an online class with David Sirota in February in which he teaches his method of foundation piecing and also his trick for matching points.

It is quilted with concentric circles.  These are 1/2" apart, using the machine's seam guide to keep the circles even.  Maybe next time she will space the circles further apart?  Not difficult, but a bit tedious.

Another project was a quilt top called the Harrisonburg Quilt, so named because the pattern is based on an historic quilt owned by the Virginia Quilt Museum in Harrisonburg, VA.   The Virginia Consortium of Quilters sponsored an online sew-in over the winter holidays on making this quilt, and Sue has been working on it ever since.  Of course, she decided to make the queen size version which is why it is still a work on progress.  But, all the rows and sashing are now joined, and the next step is making and adding the border.  Then find a long-armer to quilt it!

The fabrics used are almost all batiks, with a few commercial prints mixed in as well.  The background is mostly Moda Grunge.  

A third project that she got started on is in response to a challenge from the Virginia Quilt Museum.  The project is called Stitching together History and commemorates the 250th anniversary of the state of Virginia in 2026.   The museum wants to select 250 quilts from all submissions and feature them in an exhibit as well as a book to commemorate this anniversary.  Quilts should fit into one of four categories - Unfinished Revolutions, Power of Place, We the People, and Virginia Experiments.  Sue chose as her topic Loving v. Virginia, the Supremes Court decision that made interracial marriage legal in Virginia.  A portion of her original design includes foundation pieced Virginia Reel blocks, and that is what she worked on at the retreat.   More on this project in another post.

Here are a few more pics of the group with quilters hard at work.

Next retreat will be in fall.  Does your guild do something similar?