In the late 1990's I went to the Houston International Quilt Show and took a class on Hand Piecing given by Candy Goff. She had one of her hand pieced quilts selected as One of the Best 100 American Quilts of the 20th Century. Her class and handouts were brilliant, and her explanations of how to hand piece and make and mark templates went far in improving my techniques. Up to this point, my quilting was very basic. The project she taught us on was a color wheel.
About this time, I also began to watch Simply Quilts on cable TV. I am almost certain that the block for my Mom's quilt came from one of these shows. I don't remember the name of the block, but it is pretty basic, sashed, and then bordered. Flying Geese, and Squares in a square. There are at least three different color combinations used. I think most of the fabric for this quilt came from the quilt show in Houston. I didn't have a car then, so I know my shopping was limited. By this time I had graduated to an Olfa Mat and rotary cutter. I remember I carried the blocks around in baggies, and worked on the quilt in the Bahamas the spring of 2000. I remember that clearly, because a piece of the quilt block I was working on blew overboard at Highburn Key while we were in the marina ridding out a storm. I was sitting in the cockpit with pieces spread out around me on the combing rail, and the wind caught one piece and off it sailed. Luckily I had extra.
Mom loves her quilt, uses it in the winter and will often call me and say, guess where I am sitting and what is in my lap?
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Mom's Quilt
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
My First grown up Quilt
This is the first quilt I made as a grown-up! It was cut with scissors, and I started it in the mid 1980's. It was to be for my son't new trundle bed, but it became a joke that he might get it in time for college. The quilt was finally finished sometime after my marriage to Eric, in late 1999 when we were in Florida. I had brought all the pieces with me and finally finished getting it together and machine quilted. Russell was married by the time he got this qult! He still loves it though, and curls up in it on the couch. This was all before Olfa mats and cutters. It is a miracle it got finished, and that there was enough fabric and I didn't loose half of the pieces as it had quite a journey from it's beginning in Lufkin Texas to the end in Florida.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
My Very Very First Quilt
When I was around nine my grandmother was very busy with her church making quilts. I decided I wanted to learn to sew, so she and my mother set out this project for me. All the fabric in this quilt is clothing that either my mother or I wore. I sewed this on my mothers Singer, not a treadle, but an electric single stitch machine, forward and reverse only. I was always facinated when my mother would sew, and I remember standing on the back side of the machine and watching. I sewed the majority of this quilt, I don't remember if anyone helped or not. The seams are now crooked and don't always match, and some of the fabric has dissapeared. I think my grandmother took the top and had in tied, i surely don't remember helping with that part. The back is flannel, and in spite of it's age, nearly 50 years old not, it is still full of fond memories for me.
it is in such bad shape, that i am considering taking it apart and making small doll quilts from it's pieces for my granddaughters. So far, I have not cut into it.
