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Debbie Johnson (left) and Kim Suleman (right) dressed in their shawl and hat 'for out in town'.

A Step Back in Time
By Lilo Bowman

The first visit in our Around the Globe tour is with co-authors Debbie Johnson and Kim Suleman (writing as "Betty" and "Florrie"), who charmed everyone at the show in Houston with their warm personalities and their dress, typical of the clothing worn by middle-class women from a colliery village in the North East of England during the early 1900s. Debbie and Kim's book, Colliery Days: A Fabric Project Book, includes beautiful photography shot in miners' cottages, and features old patterns inspired by the Beamish Open Air Museum interpreted in updated designs. The book also includes childhood memories, recipes, and poems shared by "Betty" and "Florrie," who grew up in a nearby colliery.

The Beamish Museum, rebuilt and set in 1913, is a living, working museum dedicated to sharing the history of North East England by allowing visitors to step back into another time. (Think Williamsburg, VA).  Come along as we share stories and a few of the many fabric projects from Colliery Days inspired by the rich heritage of the Beamish Museum.

Interior of a Pit Cottage home.  Photo courtesy of the Beamish Museum

Life in a colliery (mining) village home was filled with lots of activity from sun up to sun down.  A typical family might have as many as 10 to 12 children to feed and clothe, which meant that all able hands were busy working in and around the home while the older male members were off working in the mines. When daily chores were completed, the woman of the house would work on quilts which--when completed--would be sold to the more affluent families of the village. Girls as young as four or five years old would help their mothers with sewing and quilting as a way of adding to the much-needed family income. 

Debbie and Kim's charming Pitfield Street Quilt design was inspired by the stone floor pattern found in the typical cottage. The applique buildings represent the various buildings of the village. 

Due to their close living quarters and communal water sources, pit communities were close knit, and families relied heavily upon each other. A typical row of connected cottages included a large garden with a 'nettie' or earthen closet (toilet)--emptied weekly--at its far end.The garden provided space to grow food for the family. Items not grown in the family garden could be purchased in the village co-op, which offered everything one might need to run a household, including mining equipment, which pitmen were expected to provide for themselves.  It was said that the co-op could provide everything one might need from birth to the death.

Along with stocking necessities, the co-op also operated as a bank, building society, and provided reading rooms and meeting rooms for social functions, including events supporting the women's suffrage movement. As with many political movements, messages often were passed secretly so as not to arouse suspicion. The adorable fabric corsage shown below harkens back to the days when the women of the time would make corsages in suffragette colors to let others "in the know" see that they shared a common cause. "We have made a couple of the corsages in the suffragette colours, using a subtle Green-(Give), Violet-(Votes), White-(to Women)," the co-authors note. Debbie and Kim's fabric versions would work equally well on a quilt, a lapel, or hat brim.

A Bold Corsage from Colliery Days: A Fabric Project Book

With little extra money, a family made use of every piece of cloth available. Fabrics that had outlived their use as hand-me-down clothing would be cut into strips to be used for "proggy mats." These fabric mats were a working-class home's alternative to carpeting during the mid-20th century, protecting feet from cold stone flooring. "The basic requirements to make a mat were a frame and a hook or progger (which looks something like a short, fat, knitting needle)...made by the local men. The backing material was hessian (burlap), from old sacks...Trousers, jackets, and coats made from hardwearing tweeds or worsted were best, navy blue, black, or brown were the commonest colours available." The fabric strips were pushed and looped through the hessian (burlap) backing. All members of the family would help with the cutting, designing, and construction. Debbie and Kim's nod to history is the adorable Proggy Tea Pot Mat shown below.

                                                                                                                     Proggy Tea Pot Mat from Colliery Days: A Fabric Project Book

While life in the colliery village was hard, dangerous, and often tragic, there were times when the day-to-day grind was suspended, if only briefly. The Fair, loved by all, offered treats, sweets, and rides to delight both young and old. Electric and motorized vehicles were still relatively new at this time, so a ride on a merry-go-round was a special treat for the youngsters of the village. The redwork Merry-Go-Round Cushion shown here brings back memories of the colorfully painted horses that delighted those village children.

Merry-Go-Round Cushion from Colliery Days: A Fabric Project Book

Through the vision of its founder and first director, Frank Atkinson, the Beamish Open Air Museum offered--and continues to offer--visitors the unique opportunity to experience a time and place that was very quickly changing. With the disappearance of the coal and shipping industry, so too were the history and traditions of this part of England being lost to time. Through Atkinson's dogged determination and community outreach, what began with 22 huts and hangars filled with items donated by the local residents now is a "living museum" set on 300 acres. "Unlike many museums, the idea at Beamish is not to store objects and then to occasionally put them into exhibitions; it is to save, store, and then permanently display the objects in the context or buildings in which they would have been originally seen." (excerpt from Beamish The Living Museum of the North)

Tour the Beamish Museum in pictures.

To learn more about or to visit the Beamish Museum, visit their website here.

Thank you to Debbie, Kim, and the Beamish Museum for sharing this little bit of North East England with us all.

References:

Beamish The Living Museum of the North available here.

Colliery Days Fabric Project Book, available here.

Debbie Johnson at Letters tied with blue click here.

Kim Suleman at The Fat Quarters shop click here.

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Linda French, is a Gammill longarm quilter extraordinaire. Linda's quilts have taken Best of Show in Knoxville, the Midatlantic Quilt Festival, and the Machine Quilters Showcase as well as many other awards. For TQS she is sharing the story of how she became a quilter and also gives insight into her process for designing one of her most celebrated quilts, Circles of Life. You'll want to read every word and examine every stitch, as TQS features, Linda French. 

You can visit Linda's website at Longarm Finishing Touches. Thank you Linda for sharing your story.

Linda French

I was born and raised in a NJ suburb, traveling south to the University of North Carolina where I graduated in Nursing.  I worked in Intensive Care and Pediatric Emergency Services for the next 30 years.

I married in 1978, and to get to know my mother-in-law better, I visited her every Wednesday morning for coffee.  During these visits, she pulled out a box of quilt blocks she was working on in a beginning sampler class.  She had such enthusiasm while showing me the blocks, that I thought I would give it a try.  I signed up for a class at a technical institute in NC (all handwork).

In 1981, after our 1^st daughter was born, we moved to Dayton, OH where I started teaching beginner quilt classes.  I went to the charter meeting of the Creative Quilters Guild where I am still a member today.  In 1983, we were transferred to Melbourne, Australia for 3 years, where our youngest daughter was born. While living in Australia, I taught quilt classes and joined the Waverly Guild.  I made wonderful friends there.  The first quilt that I took graph paper out and designed myself was for Susan, as I was preparing to leave the country and say goodbye.

Upon returning to the USA, with 2 little ones in tow, we moved to Centerville OH where we still are today.  While working in pediatrics and raising two girls, I quilted every opportunity I could.  At this point, almost all my work was done by hand, even the piecing. Then I suffered an arm injury that put my arm (thumb to shoulder) in a cast for 2 months.  I had no use of my hand, and this total withdrawal from quilting was unacceptable.  So I called a group of my quilting friends, and they came over armed with rotary boards and cutters.  They cut squares (a lot of them) from a pile of fabric I provided.  I spent the next couple of months as I went tough Physical Therapy to get the use of my arm and hand back, working with those squares, learning about gradation, watercolors, and just playing with color.  As miserable as my recovery was, it was also a blessing in disguise, for it started my transformation into design, color and as quilters say “jumping out of your box”!

A couple of years later, a new neighbor moved in.  Margaret is a mural artist who has done murals on the walls of homes.  We became good friends and she would frequently visit, look at my neutral walls, and comment, “you need more color in your life”.  A fter painting all my walls, I had an even greater respect for how color changes everything.  I have, and will always love traditional quilting, adding color and design to give it more excitement.

I am currently retired from Nursing (and from helping my husband run a corporation).  Both of my daughters are married (no grandchildren yet!). 

After retiring, I met Doug and Martha from A Touch of Thread at a quilt show and purchased my longarm. I fell in love with machine quilting.  I spent most of the first year doodling and playing with feathers. The freedom of freehand was addicting.

I started Longarm Finishing Touches LLC after purchasing the Gammill (Statler) and began doing quilting for customers.  Most of my customers came to me for custom work and my freehand feathers.  So, most of the quilts I did had more freehand on them than computerized quilting.  My specialties are feathers and background filler designs.  I love doing tiny feathers.  My key to success – Play a Lot.

I don’t feel I have a particular style to my work.  I find inspiration from anywhere.  A photograph from a trip to Hawaii was the inspiration for the Penguin quilt.  Yes, the penguins are a warm water species from Hawaii.  (That was why I put the flowers in the sky, but most people believe it looks like snow!)

Marblemania’s inspiration moment was a TV commercial.  Our guild challenge was “lesser known holidays”.  Members drew their holiday out of a basket, and had to make a wallhanging about it.  I drew “Knuckles Down Month-In Celebration of the Game of Marbles”.  I admit I was stumped for a while, until I saw an M&M commercial one evening and got the idea.  I didn’t know how to do perspective, so I went to the library and took out a couple of books – drew the room, then added the marbles.   It was my first comical quilt I have done and it was a lot of fun (once I got the idea!)

“Circles of Life” started before I owned a longarm.  After seeing a black and white picture of an old window from a historical source, I was intrigued by the way the curves came together to form a circle.  So I drafted one quarter of the basic outline (took all day) and decided to make a quilt with it.  When designing the quilt, I used a design as you go methodology.  When I started sewing, I had NO idea what the finished quilt would look like.  I started with the space creating the circle and decided to use a sawtooth pattern.  After drafting the sawtooth I couldn’t make a decision on the color, so I thought I would try using all of them.   I took my stash one evening and put all of it on the living room floor.  Sitting in the middle, I started laying out all the fabric into a color wheel.  Then I started pulling towards me the colors that I liked until I had a circle that graduated around the color wheel.  I will admit, I was up late that night and my husband would walk by shaking his head.  After the fabrics were chosen, I had to number them to keep them in order.  On the quilt it is not a circle, but a series of arcs that come together to make the circle, so there are a lot of separate pieces. Keeping the colors in order was a challenge. The biggest OH NO moment I had was while constructing this part. I didn’t stop to think that the colors had to meet at the correct color to complete the circle.  With ¼ to go, I did a lot of manipulating of the colors to get them to match (if that didn’t work, I was starting over!).  Today I can’t find which area was the problem.  After finishing the sawtooth areas, I planned to appliqué the pieces to a background (which I hadn’t picked out yet).  To make this more stable, I applied bias to the edges of the pieces in black, which outlined the colors nicely.  The next few weeks were spent trying to find a background color.  After accomplishing that; I appliquéd the body of the quilt. It was a challenge keeping it square.   Once this was done I tackled the center.  I sketched a lot of options and threw a lot of basketball shots into the trash can.  After the center appliqué was completed, the rest of the quilt design became easier, for the designs primarily came from what was already done. 

Then came the border. Most people (including instructors) that saw the quilt at this point told me to quilt and bind it, that it didn’t need a border.  But I just felt it needed more.  I did not like the look of a vine around the quilt, so I changed it to the small circles.  It created the same effect, without the harsh line.  Adding the circles in the black squares was last – and the difference before and after even surprised me.  It was worth all the stitching to add them. 

For me, design as you go gives you the flexibility to allow the quilt to develop.  It is more exciting as you go to watch it grow, and encourages you to play with options which is not only the fun part, but you learn a lot along the way.

In the entire process of making this quilt, I only had to purchase one piece of fabric (other than the backing).  All of the fabrics in the color wheel were from my stash.  I purchased the background, a Kona Cotton.  I keep in my sewing room a bolt of black and white, so I had enough of the black to complete the project.

I had only owned my longarm about 1 year when I loaded this quilt.  I disconnected the Statler for I wanted every stitch on this quilt to come from me.  I started with the feathers, and thought it would be fun to feather them too.  Although I did test a couple of options on a practice piece one afternoon, did not decide what went into the space until I reached it.  I still work that way today.

The background filler in the corners, the swirls, was created while doodling one evening.  I do use a stitch regulator and for detailed swirls, circles, etc, I increase the stitches per inch for a smoother curve.

Very little marking was done on this quilt.  I used a purple air erasable marker in the small designs in the center and four corners area as I reached them.  I did not need to mark the vine of the feather border, except where it curved over a flower, which I marked with the air erasable as I reached it.  No feather was ever marked on the quilt.  For the feathers in the small triangles, I marked the vine by using a circle template. 

The entire process for making this quilt took 2 ½ to 3 yrs.  Most of this time was spent looking at what I’d accomplished so far and deciding what to do next.  For me, the joy was in the process.  I enjoyed creating this quilt so much, that I was sorry to see it completed.

For myself and others, I recommend creating a quilt for yourself, based on your likes, strengths and willingness to experiment and play.  If you do this, your end result will be what you like.  Do what you love, please yourself first, then share the results with the world.  Enter a show.

Awards for Circles of Life:

Best of Show: AQS Knoxville 2009

Best of Show: Midatlantic Quilt Festival 2010

First Place Solo Artist: MQX Rhode Island 2010

Best of Show: Machine Quilters Showcase 2010

Second Place Mixed Techniques: Quilt Odyssey 2010

First Place Mixed Techniques: NQA 2010

Best Machine Quilting, track mounted: NQA 2010

Awards for Marblemania:
Honorable mention: NQA 2010

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Meet TQS Member Lorna Westfall (Lorna1021)
currently living in Schertz, TX, USA.

A video of Lorna’s quilts is available here:
daily-blog/106-website-features/13992-member-spotlight-lorna-westfall

When did you start quilting?

I grew up in Lakeside, California, which is just east of San Diego.  Mom taught me to sew, embroider, knit, crochet, etc, but I don’t remember any quilting.  It wasn’t until 1974, a couple years after high school, as I was getting ready to go into the Army that I picked up quilting.   I had to wait a couple months before starting in the Army so I took some adult education classes—fiber arts, quilting and guitar.  I didn’t get to finish the classes before leaving, but I was hooked on quilting.   For one of my first projects I started making a Rolling Stones quilt.  I couldn’t do any of this while I was in basic training but later when I started my advanced training in San Antonio, Texas, I brought my fabric with me and kept sewing away on growing quilt top.  Most of the fabrics I was using were chicken feed sacks from my great grandmothers, but I also used scraps from clothes and muslin.   I used cardboard templates and pieced and quilted it by hand.  The problem was I didn’t finish the class so was blissfully ignorant on what I was doing.  I had a blast making it.  I must have done okay because the quilt has been well used over the years and has held up amazingly well.  I have a picture of laying the blocks out on the floor of the open bay barracks I stayed in for those 4 months of school.  Then later the quilt is on the quilt rack taking up most of my dorm room.

Who were your biggest influences when you started?  Have you any new influences?

My only influence early on was from the few classes I took and what I could read.  My first book was Better Homes and Gardens Patchwork & Quilting.  I also started getting Quilter’s Newsletter and any other quilt magazines or books I could find.  While I was stationed in San Antonio in the mid 70’s, I saw an ad in a Quilter’s Newsletter magazine from someone wanting to start a quilting bee.  I responded to that and met several delightful ladies who took me under their wings and taught me much more about quilting. 

My grandmother quilted and encouraged me along the way.  She gave me a Rolling Stars top that she hand pieced so I hand quilted that.   My grandmother has also given me a pin wheel top that was hand pieced by her mother—I have the fabric for the backing and the binding but that remains one of my UFOs. 

In 2000 I moved to Eglin Air Force Base in the Florida.  That is when I joined my first quilt guild—Silver Threads in Fort Walton Beach.  I met some wonderful ladies and learned so much from them at the meetings and at Saturday classes.  It was an awesome experience.  I even spent a weekend at a quilt expo in Panama City and took a class with Janet Jones Worley (another UFO) and learned to machine quilt with Jan Wildman. 

While I was stationed at Vandenberg Air Force Base on the central coast of California, I belonged to the All-American City Quilt Guild in Santa Maria.  Again, great people and I learned so much from everyone.  This was my first introduction to small group bees.  We had a wonderful group of ladies that met, initially once a month and then later weekly.  We each worked on our own UFOs but I still learned so much from all of them.  

In the last couple years I have discovered quilting web sites and The Quilt Show.    I have learned so much from the shows, classroom work and from all the other members.

Did you move a lot because of the Air Force?  Is there a favorite place that you’ve lived?

I actually moved a fair bit even before joining the Air Force.  I lived in Texas and Wisconsin before settling in North Carolina for 12 years.  That is where I finally finished my undergraduate degree and went to medical school.  I joined the Air Force after I finished my Family Medicine residency in 1992 and have moved every 2-5 years since then.  I was at Edwards Air Force Base, California for 5 years then had the pleasure of living in northern Italy at Aviano AB for the next three years.  It was an hour north of Venice and amazing.   I loved getting to know the people and traveling to see so many things in Italy and beyond.  Next was Eglin AFB from 2000 - 2003 in the panhandle of Florida and then I was lucky enough to go back overseas to Lajes Air Base in the Azores.  This is a group of islands in the Atlantic about 700 miles off the coast of Portugal.  I was very excited to spend the 13 months there because that is where my father’s family is from.  I lived on Terceira, but spent several weekends on the island of Faial with cousins and a great aunt.  One thing that was memorable was that during festivals in the towns they created designs in the streets with flower petals and hung bright colorful quilts or blankets from the upstairs windows.  Since then I lived on the central coast of California for a couple years and now here in San Antonio, Texas.

I have been lucky and have had wonderful opportunities to experience so many areas of not only our own country but Europe as well.  I had a wonderful time in both Italy and the Azores.  I love to travel and explore new areas and would be delighted to have another chance to go back overseas.

How do you manage to quilt and sew when you are moving around?

Sometimes it wasn’t so much the moving as it was my school and work schedule.  During my Family Medicine residency my schedule was very hectic with crazy hours so instead of trying to make quilts, my daughters and I started making seasonal placemats with the goal of different ones for each month.  We really only finished about 4 sets.

The Air Force moves all of my household goods from place to place so dragging my sewing machine (I owned an Elna Super for 35 years!) and fabric stash around was really not a problem.  The biggest challenge came when I moved to Lajes on the island of Terceira.  It was a short tour (15 months) and I was limited to 1600 pounds of household goods.  Fortunately I didn’t need to bring furniture as they took care of that.  So my weight went to my sewing and quilting supplies, clothes and a few basic kitchen supplies and linens.  Here is a picture of my sewing machine, fabric stash and quilting supplies.  This was a big percentage of my total weight!  I packed in plastic bins to help organize my supplies and because I heard the humidity was so bad and mildew was a big problem.  I planned ahead for the projects I wanted to work on and brought everything with me.  I had started working on Roseville, a needle turn appliqué block of the month by Maggie Walker with the Silver Threads guild.  Though I finished several blocks and only have the center block to finish, that is another of my UFOs.  I also brought lots of red and green and white fabrics.  I wanted to make a Christmas log cabin for each of my 5 grandchildren.  I did finish all the tops and had 2 quilted by the time I left in 2004.  I now have two more grandchildren who I need to make a Christmas Log Cabin quilts for.

What are you working on now?

I have several projects going now.  I am trying to finish last year’s TQS BOM.  I have to do November’s flying geese border next. So I am making progress.  I am staying current with the two TQS BOMs this year.  I just finished quilting and binding a Hip to Be Square full size quilt.  I have made seasonal wall hangings for all but spring and I have the center blue bonnet appliquéd on and need to create borders get it to the right size.  Listening to Alex I got interested in neutrals.  I bought her book on the subject and made the pinwheels and stars from that, but enlarged it to sofa size.  That needs to be layered and quilted next.  There are several other UFOs or future projects that I have the fabric and pattern for, but not the time.

Are you in a guild now?  Which one?

I currently belong to the Alamo Heritage Quilt Guild here in San Antonio.  We are planning a quilt show for October 2010 so everyone needs to try to come and visit.

Do your daughters/grandkids quilt?  Did you teach them?

I was in medical school from 1985 to 1989.  During fall break in 1985, I worked with two of my daughters on quilts for them.  They helped pick out the fabrics, I sewed the tops together by machine and then during Christmas vacation we tied the quilts. Also one summer when my stepdaughter came to visit we started a quilt together.  I later finished that quilt for her first baby.  She has gone on to make quilts for the rest of her kids.  A few years ago, I was with one of my daughters and we were picking out fabrics for a quilt for her.  Her, then 5 year-old, son was also going through the store and picking out bolts of fabric.  “I like these, Grandma!”  He was so cute!  Finally we picked out a baseball print as the focus fabric and I let him pick out 20 fat quarters to go with it.  That weekend we made him a Turning Twenty quilt.  This last summer at 9 ½ years old, he came to visit me for week.  This time I let him pick out fabrics from my stash.  I cut with the rotary cutter, but I had him sew the blocks together in a nine patch and then I had him machine quilt it.  We just did this large zigzag/lightning bolt type, free motion pattern.  He did awesome and he was so proud of his small quilt!

 
Lorna’s Timeline:
1972 graduated high school (El Capitan High School, Lakeside, CA).  Went to a semester of college, took a year off to travel and then did another semester of college.
 
1974 joined the Army in order to get the GI Bill to pay for college. Trained as a dental lab tech (made dentures and crowns and bridges) and was stationed at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, TX
 
1977 got out of the Army.  Got married, started having kids.  Already had a year of college completed and used GI Bill to finish undergraduate school and pay for first year of med school. 
 
1983 Took 11 1/2 years to finally graduate from college (UNC-Greensboro, NC)
 
1985 - 1989 medical school -- UNC School of Medicine in Chapel Hill NC
 
1989 - 1992 residency in Family Medicine -- Moses Cone Family Medicine Residency Program, Greensboro, NC
 
1992 joined the Air Force because I wanted to travel.
 
20 1/2 years total service time includes Army time.
 
Currently in the Air Force, I am Director of Medical Services for the Air Force Medical Operations Agency.  We assist and advise the 75 Air Force clinics, hospitals and medical centers in execution of health care policy, providing day-to-day guidance and standardizing policy to decrease variance and improve the quality of care. I oversee business and clinical analysis, mental health, provision of medical care, quality, and case and disease management.
 
It has been a very windy path.  Oh and just got remarried May 2009!

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Feathered Star by TQS member Denise-nh

For the Love of Turkey Red
By Lilo Bowman

Can you imagine spending 25 days working at the most tedious and foul-smelling process just to obtain the color red for a piece of fabric? What is it about this particular color that captured the imagination, admiration, and envy of the world during the late 1800s?

In the 1880s, the range of colors available for fabrics was rather limited, and--due to the stress of washing (boiling and bleaching)--colors tended to fade fairly quickly. Typically colors were limited to available natural dyes or to the natural color of wool produced by animals. It must have been a thrill to add the luxury of a brilliant red fabric to one's quilt or wardrobe.

Turkey-red cloth was a highly prized cloth that was intensely rich in color that would not fade or bleed. The dyeing process, which employed the madder root and a host of other ingredients, originated in India, but soon spread to Levant, Smyrna, and Adrianople. The name Turkey red is often misinterpreted as a color, when it really is a dye process used in the region of the Middle East referred to at that time as Turkey. While the color of the fabric was a thing of beauty for the eye of the beholder, the process to produce this luscious material was far from it, and was held in secret for many years. Many spies were sent to this region of the world in search of the recipe.

It wasn't until 1765 that two Greek dyers from Smyrna were enticed to Rouen, France to demonstrate the technique for dyeing cotton and linen fabrics that would not fade or bleed after numerous washings and/or bleaching. This information subsequently was carried to Scotland, where--in less than 20 years--an entire industry revolving around the production of Turkey-red fabric developed in Leven, an area known for its production of quality textiles. Workers from all over Scotland and Ireland came to work in this booming industry.

Red Squares by TQS member Charlotte

Alas, the process, or "craft" as it was called, was a very unpleasant job. The locals who worked the craft were known as "jellie eaters" (that is, jelly or jam) due to the red hands and arms they acquired from the dyeing process. As with most things during the 18th century, the manufacture of Turkey-red fabric was very labor extensive. It was also quite smelly! We found a recipe for the process from John Wilson's "An Essay on Light and Colours" (Manchester, 1786). As you can see, the process involved a multitude of steps, and could take as long as three weeks to complete.

1. Boil cotton in lye of Barilla or wood ash.
2. Wash and dry.
3. Steep in a liquour of Barilla ash or soda plus sheep's dung and rancid olive oil.
4. Rinse, let stand 12 hours, dry.
5. Repeat steps 3 & 4 three times.
6. Steep in a fresh liquor of Barilla ash or soda plus sheep's dung, olive oil and white argol.
7. Rinse and dry.
8. Repeat steps 6 & 7 three times.
9. Treat with a gall nut solution.
10. Wash and dry.
11. Repeat steps 9 & 10 once.
12. Treat with a solution of alum, or alum mixed with ashes and lead acetate.
13. Dry, wash, dry.
14. Madder once or twice with Turkey madder to which a little sheep's blood is
added.
15. Wash.
16. Boil in a lye made of soda ash or the dung liquor.
17. Wash and dry.

Keep in mind that this entire process was done without the aid of rubber gloves, facial masks, or good ventilation. (Can you image doing this yourself today? Not likely!) Many manufacturers soon discovered, however, that society loved the brightly colored and reliable fabric, and was willing to pay even 10 times more than for other fabrics. It was just that popular throughout the world.

Of course, then as now, printed designs were directed at particular tastes and markets. Muslims tended to prefer geometric and floral patterns, while Hindus desired elements such as elephants, peacocks, and tigers. Familiar circles, diamonds, and paisley can be found in a simple piece of fabric worn by beloved (and diverse) icons such as the cowboy and Benjamin Bunny, as well as by elegant ladies in European society. (We are talking here about the bandanna, which in Hindi means "to tie.")

So, the next time you go shopping for some luscious red fabric, remind yourself how lucky you are to be living in the 21st century. Your only problem now is coming up with the money to pay!

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What is it like to teach at a major Quilt Show?  Join Pam Holland as she teaches at Chicago Festival.

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We asked Ferret, a fabulous quilter from the UK, a few questions when we were designing her video.   Here, basically unedited, are her answers.   To view the video and see photos of her quilts, just click here.  Enjoy!

What is your background in sewing/design?

My background is really scientific. I studied Physics, Astrophysics and Space Sciences with a view to working in space. I'd been taught the basics of sewing as a child and grew up in a family where if you wanted something you made it. From furniture to clothes, rugs to car maintenance you did it yourself. My first guitar I made myself, starting with two slabs of wood. Fortunately I wanted an electric guitar, which requires a lot less specialist equipment than an acoustic.

After university I needed a suit for job interviews, but I didn't have the money. I decided to make one, of course I didn't have a sewing machine either, so hand sewing it was. I was very grateful to my boyfriend who helped me sew it. He should have run then as he is now making up whole quilts for me as well as typesetting all my patterns and books.

For several years after that I had neither the time nor the inclination to sew. I was busy working. However when we reached the point of having the time and money to go out, I discovered that I wasn't the shape that shops were making clothes for. Time to buy a sewing machine and start making some clothes. I quickly discovered that I really liked Victorian style clothes. This was great, except corsets and bodices are very inefficient at using fabric. I took the view that the fabric left over had cost the same per metre as the bits I had used and therefore I couldn't throw it away. I'd never seen a patchwork quilt but as I understood it they were designed to solve exactly this problem.

As you can imagine my first attempt was a little interesting. I didn't want to risk the really nice fabrics so I started with panne velvet and stretch sateen. I love all things celestial so the first blocks (not that I knew they were called that at the time) were star based. Can we say, bad idea?

When did you start quilting?

I think I started quilting in about 2002. It's hard to pinpoint exactly as I had been sewing for quite a while before then. As I said above my first attempt to get into quilting was a disaster. After that I did a lot of research before trying again. I quilted for quite a while before I realised that there were other quilters in the UK and that there were specialist shops. At the time very few had any web presence and working in IT that was always my first port of call for any information.

Is there quilting/design in your family?I don't think we have had any quilters in the family before me. There are certainly a lot of artists and designers though. My grandad, among other things, was an engraver. He worked on bank notes, and as I child I used to have play money he drew for me.

I remember the lectures about never taking it out of the house, because it was very accurately drawn. Sadly they were all burned, which whilst sensible is quite sad.

My gran was an artist. Drawing and painting mostly. However she did also enjoy needle work. She taught me a lot about various types of embroidery. I never mastered the crewel work she was so good at, but I did love doing crosstitch. Maybe it is closer to a mathematical

skill rather than an artistic one? I think the cross stitch has helped me a lot with planning quilting projects.

What quilters/sewers/designers inspired you and why?

I think the first quilter I noticed was Caryl Bryer Fallert. I was so impressed with her web site. I loved her work, it is so bright and alive but I was also struck by the idea that someone could be a professional quilter. She is also very free with information, you can learn so much about quilting from her site, including business issues most other people won't talk about.

Ricky Tims I first came across from his Caveman quilting DVD. I had heard people talk about him but I had come away with the idea they liked him because he was male, bit because of his work. His slack attitude towards rules and quilt police won me over instantly. I was very nearly late for a meeting because I just had to make a tulip before I went out. It was this relaxed outlook that made me so keen to have him write the foreword for my book. I still can't believe he agreed to do it.

I also have to mention Eleanor Burns. Her books gave me a great start in quilting. Again the casual attitude comes across and helps beginners not to worry too much. I also love her tip for getting all the loose threads off the carpet. She has probably save me more time than any other quilter.

Do you sell your quilts/designs?

In short, yes :) Many of my quilts are available for purchase. I do make some which I intend to keep, but in many cases just making the quilt is enough for me. As I do a lot of talks about my quilts I need to have a good supply on hand to take with me to these shows. Fortunately my quilts seem to sell at a similar rate to me making them, and usually it is earlier quilts that sell. It is almost as though my customers understand exactly what I need and supply it.

I am often asked if I mind selling my quilts. I don't. By the time a quilt finds it's new home I am ready to let it go out in to the world. I especially enjoy the sales where the quilt is going to someone with no other links to textiles. I have been surprised by how well my work is received outside the quilting world. One of the biggest surprises was 'Bad Rain'. 'Bad Rain' comes from a graphic novel written by a longstanding friend of mine, Cy Dethan. I had been hearing about the story for months before the book came out and when I saw the first sketches I was hooked. I was so lucky to get permission from everyone involved to use the image (a double page spread from the book) to make a quilt. I did make it largely for my

own satisfaction but we thought we would try showing it at comics conventions. I wasn't expecting it to be popular but I was thinking it would attract some interest for the book. I was so wrong. The young men at the show were fascinated. They were often more interested in the quilt than the book, and not just because of the content. They wanted to know how it was made and where they could learn to do it. Sadly there really isn't anywhere they can be

taught, but they are at least aware of quilts. I hope this quilt will draw a lot more people into quilting before it is sold on.

I also sell patterns and have recently written my first book. I am very lucky to have a typesetter in the family. My boyfriend not only does all the design for the pattern layouts he also tests the patterns. When I wrote my book 'Ferreting Around' I had about 30 students testing it. I was reasonably happy that a test group of that size would have found most of my errors (and they certainly did find a lot). Tet started work on my book and corrected my spelling and grammar. It occurred to him that that was only part of the story. The only way to be sure the book would work for people who didn't have me around was to work through it. He threw me out of my sewing room, grabbed my stash and sewing machine and got to work. He found a lot of things that needed changing to make the book more user friendly for beginners, and a fair number of definite errors. After that experience, he is now going through the same process for each pattern I write. It does make it slower getting the pattern to press, but hopefully it means a much better finished product.

Have they/will they be exhibited?

Yes and yes. I've been entering shows for a few years now, partly so I get to have a good look at my quilts, my house is too small to hang most of them. I had my first solo gallery show in 2008, and a lovely little gallery in a chapel. I had heard about it on a quilting form. A lady was saying she knew this great gallery that didn't get as much use as it should. Well turns out people weren't using it because it was attached to a cemetery! I thought it was an amazing space in a lovely location and I really enjoyed putting on a show there. I loved meeting lots of

new people many of whom were seeing quilts for the first time. Their response to my work was fascinating. I did have a fair number who asked where the paintings were, and a lot more who complimented my painting (all of my work is appliqué none of my quilts have any painting on them). I also had many who did understand what they were seeing and were fascinated by the idea that you could make quilts without hexagons. Hexagons over paper have been the quilt of the UK for way too long.

Last year I was given a huge gallery space at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham, the largest show in Europe. It was a fantastic opportunity and very daunting. I wanted long sightlines and lots of space as I work large, but I hadn't expected as much space I was given. I wasn't going to turn it down though and managed to make 17 quilts between January and August last year. The gallery was so busy during the show I didn't notice it was busy the first day. From my point of view I was testing my longarm, which I had in the gallery when the doors opened. A lady came and talked to me. Then another, and then a few more one after another. Then somehow it was 4pm. My helpers tell me the stand had been full all day, I had never seen more than one or two people ata time, it was a very odd feeling. From talking to people after the event I think one of the big things that drew people to my stand was the noise. Most of the hard walled galleries at the show are rather like libraries. Groups walk in, look around, leave and talk. I have no idea why they react like this, but they do. My stand had the machine on it, and it isn't quiet, anyone trying to talk to any of my helpers was likely to be doing it loudly, so straight away it was clear this gallery was different. Apparently a lot of people found it by following the laughter and chatting, which I though was lovely. I hope they liked the work once they got to me, but the idea that we could encourage people to interact with each other than the people manning the stand (two of whom weren't even quilters) is great. I hope to hear more galleries this year at the show.

I am trying to get back into the swing of entering shows, but I am so busy it is hard to keep on top of the deadlines. Phoenix Rising is currently and the Lancaster show though, I can get the forms in on time sometimes :) This year I have been invited to be part of a UK vs Russian fashion show at Birmingham, and that will be taking up a lot of time

too. I am hoping to organise another gallery show but at the moment it is lower on my priorities than eating and sleeping, sorry.

What are you working on now?

Right now I am mostly working on clearing the backlog of customer work so I can get back to my own work. I have another book on the go. This one will cover the techniques I use in making my art quilts. I am also working on a lot more patterns. As I mentioned

above I have some clothes to make for August. I have the patterns chosen and in most cases the fabrics ready to go. I just need to actually start putting them together. I can say that one will be a coat and another Victorian based.

I've recently done a very heavily quilted wholecloth and I would love to get another made in time to enter Houston. Unfortunately I don't think I am going to manage it. Judging form the samples it would be 2 months solid work and I just can't see how I will fit that in. What I need most right now is more hours in the day. I have so much I want to be doing and there is so little time to fit it all in.

Which machine/machines do you use?

I use a Husqvarna Sapphire for my piecing and small quilting projects. It's the one time a sales man has been able to back up his bragging. I moved too close to a stand at a show and a sales man declared he had the perfect quilters machine. I didn't quite call him a liar, but I did mention how much I didn't believe sales pitches. I tried his machine and declared it OK, but missing some features. A few months later the new machine appeared with everything I had wanted and I was sold. I work my machines very hard but it's taken everything I can throw at it.

My longarm is an APQS Discovery. I chose it largely because of the very neat welding. You try growing up being lectured about the the importance of neat welds without that becoming a requirement. The machine and I took quite a while to become friends but it is now,

as your ads say for Gammil, "my best quilting buddy". I make it do things it was never designed for but it does it. It's set up to move a lot more easily than most longarm machines which I think goes a long way to letting me quilt the way I do, and for the length of time too.

When did you first decide to start entering quilt contests?

Technically I didn't decide to. The lady who runs my local quilt shop told me to and she is the sort of person who you obey first and think later. The show was the UK National Quilt Championships in 2005. In hindsight I am very glad she did tell me to do it. I didn't get a chance to think about it and once you've started it's a lot easier to carry on. Over the years she has helped me a lot, including trying to talk me out of making quilting my business. She was right about everything she said, but when it became clear I wasn't going to listen to sense she switched to helping me out any way she could. I still teach (her fault) at Patchwork Corner (www.patchworkcorner.co.uk) regularly.

Do you remember the first contest you entered and which quilt it was?

Oh yes, does anyone forget that? I suppose you might if you started young but for me it was a big deal. I actually entered two quilts in the first show. 'Star of Scotland' and 'Skadi' (both are on my website). 'Star of Scotland' a lone star quilt from the book "Lone star quilts and beyond" by Jan Krentz. Before it I had made several quilts from Eleanor Burns books and I had got the idea that you just follow the steps in any quilt book and a quilt pops out. Well that's true provided you have the skills needed for the project. I really didn't when I started the quilt. I also didn’t know you aren't supposed to quilt 100+" square quilts on a domestic machine, that metallic thread is an nightmare or that the show stand could only properly display a quilt 90"x90". It looked terrible at the show,

not helped by the fact I had used wool wadding that let the quilt drape like a curtain.

Skadi did a little better, but more of that on the next question.

How did you feel the first time you won a ribbon/prize? What was it for?

Well I suspect you can guess the answer, 'Skadi' was my first award winning quilt. I was mostly shocked when I first found out. I am assured my face was a picture. I was thrilled, but I didn't really believe it. I can remember trying to rationalise how its ribbon

must really belong to another quilt. The really special part though was when I was talking to one of the traders at the show. There was a lady there who specialised in portraits of big cats. I'd admired her work before and stopped to do so again. She said that if I like her work I should go and take a look at one of the contest quilts, a cat called 'Skadi'. I couldn't believe it. Someone who did such amazing work was recommending my quilt as a one to see! It turned out she had been one of the judges and not only could tell me what I had got right but also explained why I had a second not a first. She was the most helpful judge I've ever had look at my work. I learned a lot that day. I just wish I could remember her name. I am terrible with names and it drives me nuts. I should also admit that I still do the thing that lost me the first place that day. I like to leave one narrow border unquilted on many of my quilts. I am told this is wrong and I should quilt consistently over the whole quilt. Well ! I like the puffy bits and I will keep them. Nah, nah na na nah. I would rather make the quilts I love than make the quilt the judges and quilt police want.

Is there an award you are particularly proud of winning or a quilt you are happy to have completed?

My first award from each show is special. The above award probably more than all of them, not only because it was the first but

because of who happened to judge it. Some of my American awards have been the most unbelievable. Particularly the visitors choice at Houston. I heard about that on an email list. A lady on an international list congratulated me on my award at Houston. I was

sure I hadn't won anything and on checking the winners list online found I was right. I wasn't too worried. I emailed her, explaining I thought she had made a mistake and waited for the correction to appear. It wasn't likely to be read by many people before she got up so I was prepared to sit tight and ignore it. Well less than an hour later someone posted about it on a UK list. Not so good, the UK was awake and reading email, what should I do? I didn't want to be seen to be taking credit for an award I hadn't won and I was sure I

hadn't but at the same time I didn't want to publicly point out someone’s mistake, I'd rather they had the chance to correct it. It was a very stressful day until I was chatting to a lady who had been at the show (about something else entirely) when she congratulated me. I said I thought she was mistaken but she was adamant, it had bee announced and I had won an award. I still couldn't get my head around it, it had to be a mistake. Well it turned out it wasn't and I am so proud of that quilt. I had to check the winners list several times before that one sunk in too.

I think the quilt I was happiest to complete was 'Phoenix rising'. It was the quilt the whole of my gallery at the Festival of Quilts was based around but it was the last one to be finished. 2008 was a difficult year for me and the phoenix represented that. It was a quilt I really needed to get out, but it didn't want to be worked on. I kept putting it off, and with a week to go I had to start it. The binding on that was the last one I did the night before we hung the show and it felt right. It was the quilt that needed to be last to kind of collect everything else together and signal the show was ready. It was a strange but lovely experience.

Another very important award for me was my first longarming award. It's for an art quilt, which is quite special, but more important was the person who sponsored the award. When I first got my longarm she got in touch and offered to help me with my problems. When I drove down to see her it turned out she was having chemo therapy again as was really ill. She chose to spend her time helping me

though when I really needed it. I didn't know until several weeks after I received the award that it was hers. She didn't judge it but always went to check she approved of the winner. Mine was the last quilt she got to do that for, she died shortly after that show. I've since gone on to win the Best traditional machine quilting at the world quilt show, but it isn't a patch on the first award for

meaning to me. Fran Jones also told me that no matter how small the piece once you are a longarm quilter you should do everything on your frame (sorry Fran I don't always) so in her memory I made a set of postcards, each mounted individually on my frame to raise funds

for cancer research. I think it would have amused her to see something that small mounted on that big a machine.

Can you share some of the process behind the inspiration and making of your winning quilt?

Wow that's an open ended question, which award winning quilt?

'Skadi' my first award winning quilt is pretty important. Not just because she was my first winning quilt, but also because she nearly never happened, and without her there wouldn't have been any of my other pictorial quilts. I learned the techniques for her from Marilyn Belford in her class 'Realistic fabric portraits' at www.quiltuniversity.com. The class was supposed to be about making a quilt of a human but I didn't want to do that. Marilyn wasn't convinced about doing an animal but eventually let me and worked with me to make it a success. I a so grateful she did. I learned an awful lot from her. The photograph I used was taken while Skadi was sitting on the lonestar quilt that was in the same show. I didn't really appreciate her doing it but she looked so cute I just had to take a picture. I have 6 cats and as time permits I will do portraits of all of them.

'Guide Me' was something completely different for me. I love traditional quilts and I enjoy playing with the ideas and moving forward with them. I had known I wanted to do a whole cloth but I couldn't really see me doing a totally traditional white on white quilt. If nothing else I find white very hard to work with. So I started thinking. What if I took a traditional block design and a traditional wholecloth, where could I take it. I initially considered an black on black wholecloth but I realised it the lighting at a show was anything less than stunning the design wouldn't show. This lead me to thinking about contrast and value. Maybe I could use white on black (too stark) or red on black. Then it hit me. I could

use the thread to colour in different areas. I had actually designed this compass to be a pieced quilt but it was going to be a lot easier to make as a whole cloth so that is what I did. The only marking for this quilt was the straight lines. I then filled in each area with a different pattern and colour. I had so much fun making this quilt that I have made several more on the same theory and I use the idea as one of my classes for encouraging people to try more machine quilting.

Another quilt people often ask about is Herd Mentality. This quilt is from a photograph I took when out walking a friends dogs. The friends father had asked me if I minded cows. I told him I didn't and headed off. Well these cows were getting very friendly and wouldn't back off. At one point I looked around to find one was

putting it's front leg over my shoulder. I

decided that it was time to be else where and left the field. From the other side of the electric fence I took a good look at them. They had entirely the wrong attachments to be cows. I would have thought a farmer would understand there is a big difference between male and female cows. I can't complain though, this quilt has been very successful for me.

It's first competition was at the Festival of Quilts, where it collected two awards allowing me to collect 5 with 4 quilts at that one show. I think it makes up for the 'cows' behaviour.

An additional question we asked Ferret later –

What can you tell us about your hot rod/race car quilts?

My other half races a Ford Capri, and I am his crew. While I am at the track I do my hand sewing on the show quilts. I love cars and I spend a lot of time photographing them. I then saw a music video by Queens of the Stone Age. Then the idea struck, very minimalist dragsters. The rail was the first one I made. I worked on it when I have an evening home alone, and when Tet (my other half) came home he managed to identify which car it was. I wasn't sure it would be possible given how much I had simplified it, but he spotted it a Dave Wilson, who drives in Top Methanol Dragster. The second one is much more distincive, and is Andy Robinsons Pro Mod. I love this car because of it's face. I did show each of the quilts to the drivers. It turns out that Andy has quilters in the

family, who are also his crew. They seemed quite inspired by the quilt as until they saw it they had only seen traditional quilts.

The third car is K.I.T.T from Knight Rider. He was my pin up as a teenager and was one of the first art quilts I made. I didn't actually get it quilted though until just before the show. I knew I needed something else to fill the wall with the dragsters and this fitted perfectly, but in content and size.

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Who else but Pam Holland could create such an inspiring video about color?  But that's not all Pam puts into this video.  Where else can you see a blind potter--watch how he "irons," a donkey with a pedicure, weaving, classes, and museums.  Of course, let's not forget Frida Kahlo and a couple of quilts too.  Take a trip down Mexico way and enjoy Color and Inspirations of Mexico.

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Join Pam Holland as she goes on another adventure and spends "A Day in Oaxaca."  Watch as she shows us the colors, textures, and patterns of the city. They'll surely inspire your quiltmaking. Of course, there is quilting on display with astounding embroideries and applique.

For added fun, Pam does a little bit of modeling in the marketplace  Have a cup of coffee, relax, and enjoy your travels with Pam.

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Old Meets New with Fabric, Color, and Paint
by Maureen Ose

This is the first article in a series entitled “Perspectives on Quilts and Quiltmaking” from the International Quilt Study Center & Museum. It takes “the long view” of quilts and quiltmaking expression. Exploring quiltmaking through time and geography connects quiltmakers of the past with today’s creative artists.  Each segment will include quilts old and new, investigating how the former inform or inspire the latter.

“If you know whence you came, there are absolutely no limitations to where you can go.”  
                       ---James Arthur Baldwin

Bee seeks blossom; bee makes honey. Just so, we discover what nourishes us and fuels our own “production.” The collections of the International Quilt Study Center called to artist Mary Anne Jordan. The work of known and unknown makers from diverse geographies and times fueled her creativity.The  result? Freshly conceived studio quilts using fabric, color, and pattern inspired by a previous generation.

Mary Anne Jordan, a professor in the Department of Design at the University of Kansas, was the recipient of the 2005-2006 International Quilt Study Center (IQSC) Visiting Scholar Fellowship. Her work as a contemporary studio quilter shows nationally and internationally in Japan, Poland, South America, and Canada, and draws accolades and awards from such prestigious organizations as Quilt National and Fiber Arts International.

 
1997_007_0254 Photo courtesy of IQSC                                          2003_003_0330 Photo courtesy of IQSC

During her study at the IQSC, Mary Anne examined more than 100 quilts to expand her knowledge of American quilts and techniques. She was particularly intrigued by the overlap in the genres of Amish and African American quilts which, in her words, have “uncanny similarities yet are really quite different, as well.” In response to this study, Jordan created a series of bold new designs on fabric. The resulting exhibition, "Snail Trails, Broken Dishes, and a Streak of Lightning," included new work from Jordan, along with selections of the IQSC quilts examined during her research.

               
                      Mary Anne with IQSC curator, Marin Hanson. Photo courtesy of IQSC

Beginning with yards and yards of white fabric, Mary Anne dyes, prints, paints, and stitches to reach the final combinations that "magnify everyday life as a metaphor of the structure of our culture, our lives, and our bodies." She draws on a lifetime of encounters with art, primarily in museums. Starting as a child in Toledo, OH, and continuing throughout her education at Cranbrook Academy of Art and the University of Michigan, and as a professor at the University of Kansas, she has remained finely attuned to forms and colors as manipulated by the human hand. Her creations contain many common symbols of daily life.

"Crossing Flag, 2006_052_0002

Crosses have Consider “Crossing Flag”. Crosses have universal meanings: religious significance, assistance and help (the Red Cross, for example), or warnings of traffic intersections. Jordan looked at many cross iterations found in quilts from the IQSC collections of African American and Amish quilts. Then she put her own “human mark” on fabric to express a layered story, perhaps indicating that although caution is advised, the intersection of cultures and individuals is not only inevitable, but also necessary.

"Dot Flag", 2006_052_0001

Another Jordan work that became part of the IQSC collections is “Dot Flag”, currently shown in the museum’s exhibition “Perspectives: Art, Craft, Design, and the Studio Quilt” curated by Michael James and Sandra Sider.  The curators shared this observation of that quilt: “Dot Flag is graphic and somber in its grays and blacks, setting color aside to focus on the singular power of light and dark contrasts. Stripes, bars, and dots have always had the ability to arrest attention, and these do.”

Mary Anne’s technique includes application of thickened dyes, controlled spraying and color streaking, and tie-dyeing, sometimes piecing the quilts, other times making a wholecloth quilt. She completes the machine quilting herself, keeping the quilting patterns simple and straightforward, embedding the stitches in subtle circles or grids.

                
                 Amish antique quilt hangs near new quilt by Mary Anne Jordan.  Photo courtesy of IQSC

Her exhibition combined old and new, paying homage to inspiration and taking the viewer with her to a new interpretation.  Mary Ann Jordan is an artist to watch (see more of her work here).  She joins the centuries-long tradition of quiltmaking, using our medium to express herself and connect with the world.  You can learn more about her techniques and inspiration by viewing a podcast here.

Maureen Ose
Communications Coordinator
International Quilt Study Center & Museum
www.quiltstudy.org

"Crossing Flag", 2006_052_0002

Consider “Crossing Flag”. Crosses have universal meanings: religious significance, assistance and help (the Red Cross, for example), or warnings of traffic intersections. Jordan looked at many cross iterations found in quilts from the IQSC collections of African American and Amish quilts. Then she put her own “human mark” on fabric to express a layered story, perhaps indicating that although caution is advised, the intersection of cultures and individuals is not only inevitable, but also necessary.


"Dot Flag", 2006_052_0001

Another Jordan work that became part of the IQSC collections is “Dot Flag”, currently shown in the museum’s exhibition “Perspectives: Art, Craft, Design, and the Studio Quilt” curated by Michael James and Sandra Sider.  The curators shared this observation of that quilt: “Dot Flag is graphic and somber in its grays and blacks, setting color aside to focus on the singular power of light and dark contrasts. Stripes, bars, and dots have always had the ability to arrest attention, and these do.”

Mary Anne’s technique includes application of thickened dyes, controlled spraying and color streaking, and tie-dyeing, sometimes piecing the quilts, other times making a wholecloth quilt. She completes the machine quilting herself, keeping the quilting patterns simple and straightforward, embedding the stitches in subtle circles or grids.

              
                    Amish antique quilt hangs near new inspired quilt by Mary Ann Jordan.  Photo courtesy of IQSC

Her exhibition combined old and new, paying homage to inspiration and taking the viewer with her to a new interpretation.  Mary Ann Jordan is an artist to watch  (See more of her work here).  She joins the centuries-long tradition of quiltmaking, using our medium to express herself and connect with the world.  You can learn more about her techniques and inspiration by viewing a podcast here. (Waiting to hear from IQSC if this podcast is working)

              
               Antique and contemporary quilts hang side by side.  Photo courtesy of IQSC

To learn more about the collection and other textiles visit the International Quilt Study Center and Museum here.

Maureen Ose
Communications Coordinator
International Quilt Study Center and Museum
www.quiltstudy.org

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It's time for art class as Pam Holland introduces us to Australian art teacher and quilter, Suzanne Gummow.  Be sure to write down the 3 P's.  Following the 3 P's would be a great New Year's resolution.