-
A Closer Look   (3 of 3)

An expert could examine the fabric patterns and its condition in order to date the center of this quilt accurately. I believe the original quilter had sewn on a machine, so it can't date too far back... 

A lot of these four square blocks contain a plaid, and I would guess that they are all cottons.



But my teen-aged self didn't really seem take that into account when I chose scraps to construct new blocks. Apparently, I just used what was on hand in the scrap box. (I don't think I even considered fiber content.)  I may not be able to say when the quilt was started, but, because I recognize fabrics from my clothing projects, I have a pretty good idea of when this was finished. 


I remember having to problem solve when the pink ran out- it was impossible to match exactly. So, I switched to white solid blocks for two rows. The remaining original squares were interspersed with the new four square blocks.

It is a "tied" quilt, which means that the front and back are simply held together at the corners of the squares with little ties, instead of quilting the top.


I think of this as a baby step in my quilting journey. If I were presented with this project today, I would do things a bit differently. My goal might be to preserve the vintage feel and authenticity of the quilt by trying to find similar colors and patterns to match the original fabrics. On the other hand, I did stay true to the scrap quilt genre. It's kind of a time capsule of fabrics from different points in the 20th century. And it represents one family's multi-generational effort in quilting.


Comments

  1. AnonymousJune 28, 2018 at 9:00 PM

    Amazing to see how far you have progressed and a cool insight into an amateur’s attempt at quilting!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lauren Klementz-HarteJune 29, 2018 at 4:14 AM

    Wow, you just helped me pull together some ideas for future posts! I had been examining this quilt in terms of its history, but I love the concept of the progress made as I continue to pursue this activity... it puts the quilt in a different context altogether.
    Honestly, I'm grateful for the reminder that those first faltering steps (and missteps) pave the way to the next level in any creative journey.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Ooops, I did it again

-
Image
You know when you make a mistake and you end up thinking " Man, I really should have known better!"? I recently experienced that moment when I took my latest finish out of the wash, hung it to dry, and later found that the backing I used had bled through to the front of the quilt. Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if it had covered the entire quilt, but in this case I have a strip of a stronger color on one side of the back: Heartbreaking to think that after all that time and effort, the piece was ruined just because I forgot to turn to the cold/cold setting for the delicate cycle on the washing machine. But then it occurred to me to "put it out there." I posted the problem on Instagram and got back several suggestions. The most popular solution was Dawn dish soap. And I'm happy to report I've met with success!!! It did require some persistence though. First, I tried applying Dawn to the affected areas and then putting it through the wash with a bit of ...
Read more

A Follow Up

-
Image
Shifting Contour When last you heard of this quilt it had been saved from the scourge of fabric bleeding. But I never posted the whole quilt. So here it is.  I have called it Shifting Contour because, in my mind, the patterned fabric plays the role of the background on the left side of the piece. On the right side, the patterned fabric moves to the foreground and becomes a solid shape against the cream background. It is an experiment with the concept of negative space. This year our local guild has taken the lead from our parent organization, the Modern Quilt Guild, and focused on a specific topic each quarter. They covered categories which can be found in the annual QuiltCon quilt show: modern traditionalism, applique, negative space, and minimalism.  I found defining these terms has been really helpful, as sometimes it's difficult to identify why a certain quilt is in a category, in which category a quilt "belongs" when entering it, and even how to deliberately incorpo...
Read more

Q=A=Q 2025 Opening

-
Image
  The first weekend in November was the opening of the annual Quilts=Art=Quilts show at the Schweinfurth Art Center in Auburn, New York.  Q=A=Q Opening Night The show includes seventy quilts created by fifty three artists from around the world, including  Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Hungary, Kuwait, Switzerland, and the US. This is the second year that I've been honored to be juried into Q=A=Q.  It requires a bit of effort to get to upstate New York on opening night; there are no direct flights from our location. So I'm doubly grateful for the support of family who joined me to take in the experience.  This is very different from a large quilt convention. While you can get up close to the work at any kind of quilt show, the more intimate setting of a gallery brings a unique perspective. The environment elevates a quilt to the status of art. I love that there are so many ways to present my work. I know this is a relatively new phenomenon and it reflects c...
Read more