04/15/2007
McCormick, fellow quilters display work in quilt show
By Kris Winterton
For Midlander Stephanie McCormick, making a quilt is like putting together a puzzle. She particularly enjoys piecing geometric shapes into pleasing designs. A prolific quiltmaker, she’s not afraid to modify patterns or create new ones. McCormick’s handiwork will be featured in an upcoming show of the Midland Quilters Squared Guild.
The quilt show is Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Carriage House Hall. In addition to McCormick’s quilts, many other quilts made by guild members will be on display.
The Midland Quilters Squared Guild has grown to include more than 40 members. McCormick joined in 1997, not long after she became interested in quilting. "1996 was the year of my grandson’s birth, and my daughter requested a baby quilt as a gift, instead of an afghan, which I’d been making," McCormick recalled. "I joined the guild to learn. The first few years I used patterns, but almost immediately I started adjusting the patterns of others. I use their ideas and go off on my own."
That’s the fun part of quiltmaking, McCormick said. "Some that I’ve made are OK, and some are ‘Wow!’ Construction is fun for me – figuring out how the pieces will go together. I like angles."
She prefers piecing to appliqué work, and about 80 percent of the things she makes are wall hangings.
A visit to McCormick’s home confirmed the fact that she has an artist’s eye for color and design and loves to create beautiful things. "This is my favorite full-sized quilt," she said, indicating a striking bedspread whose batik half-square triangles are set off by black strips and black-and-white fabrics of several different prints. The intricate machine quilting was done by someone else, she said. She machine quilts her own wall hangings but doesn’t have time to do larger items. There are too many new ideas she wants to explore. She constantly has several projects in the works.
There’s a piece whose colorful concentric triangles form an octagon. She calls it Trippin’ Triangles. There’s one with tumbling blocks of several sizes and colors that form a three-dimensional design on a black background. There are photo quilts with photo transfers showing vacations with family members and a trip to Australia. There’s a snowflake motif whose shapes were transferred onto fabric using freezer paper. A large star pattern has jewels hand-sewn onto the fabric. In many of her works, bright colors and jewel tones are set off by black. "Black brings out bright colors so well," she said.
McCormick loves being part of the Midland Quilters Squared Guild. "I get ideas from it," she said. "The group has allowed me to do what I wanted – you don’t have to do what everyone else does. I think our group is very inventive. Everyone seems to not be afraid of putting themselves out there."
Members issue challenges to each other. A recent one that a dozen members took up was to create a Mexican-themed quilt. One woman depicted jumping beans with sombreros; another used fabulous Aztec signs, McCormick said.
Four guild members formed a smaller group called JNKS, which reflects the members’ first names (Jana, Nancy, Kathy, Stephanie). They take an idea and show it in four different quilt styles, and together they present lectures to quilters in various cities in Michigan. McCormick likes to keep busy creating things. She also weaves rugs, using leftover pieces of fabric. She and her friends have a good time expressing themselves through fabric art. "Most of my friends are quilters," she said. "Just being around people who are enthusiastic is fun."
Reprinted by permission from Lori Qualls, Midland Daily News, Midland, MI
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