Daily Blog

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Kathy McNeil's quilt, "Jingle Bells," won the Director's Choice award at Road to California 2014.  "Jingle Bells" reflects Kathy's memories of a family Christmas sleigh ride.  Kathy really wanted the snow to look like a watercolor painting done with fabric.

You'll get to learn more about Kathy's techniques when she comes to TQS in 2016. Star Members will be able to watch her soon in Show 1802: Fearless Quilting and Fabulous Results.

The Quilting on this quilt is amazing. Zoom in and enjoy.

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Seven Sisters Quilt. 2002 in Illinois. Maker unknown. Hand pieced and hand quilted.
Image Quilt Index.
 

Seven Sisters Quilts

By Marian Ann J. Montgomery, Ph.D.
Curator of Clothing and Textiles,
The Museum of Texas Tech University

New quilt block using vintage salesman sample fabrics by Qisforquilter

The Seven Sisters quilt pattern, with its tricky inset seams is a popular, but difficult, pattern to piece. The Museum of Texas Tech University is fortunate to have two wonderful examples of this challenging pattern. According to Nancy Cabot, who wrote about quilts in a syndicated column through the Chicago Tribune said in 1933, “The Seven Sisters quilt block is dedicated to ‘the seven lovely daughters of the Fowler family’ of Old Virginia.” Other names for the pattern were Seven Stars and Virginia Pride.

Seven Sisters Quilt probably made by Mattye Mae Taylor, 1890s. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Bobby Joe Moody (Charlotte Lamb).
TTU-H2016-020-002.  Photo courtesy of the Museum of Texas Tech University.

The first quilt to come into the collection was most likely made by Mattye Mae Taylor in Graham, Texas in the 1890s.  When Mattye Mae died, the quilt was acquired by her sister Velma Pardue (Mrs. Charlie) in Olney, Texas. The complex block is often made using “solids” or fabrics that read as solids such as this one above, but, can also be made with a scrappy look. A search through The Quilt Index reveals a variety of ways the blocks can be put together.

The second Seven Sisters Quilt to come into the collection is this dynamic red and green 1870s version donated by Alice Larson.  Ms. Larson has a terrific eye for collecting quilts and has donated several beauties that she has purchased at estate sales in the Dallas, Texas area.  Not only is this quilt strikingly beautiful it is also an encyclopedia of late 19^th century fabrics. The printed back on it may be an indication that it was from Pennsylvania, but more research would need to be done to confirm this.

Due to space limitations, we seldom collect more than one of a particular quilt pattern, but you can see that the red and green quilt was just too wonderful to have passed up.

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December is the month of celebrations and blessings, but it is also a time that we run ourselves ragged and say we are not going to do it next year!!! LOL...yeah right...I hope for stitchers and quilters around the world to thread together our collective joy and embrace each other with kindness.

I was invited to my friend Anne Bryson's home for a holiday gathering and you will be able to enjoy her decked out home on Quilt Roadies for a December 25th release date. But, in the meantime I thought I would keep up with the thread theme and share with you how she organizes her threads.

Organization is one of those traits that every stitcher aspires to, and yet only a few attain. But let me tell you, Anne has it down to a science, and if they gave out PhD's in thread organization she would be the head of that University Department! First, I must share with you that Anne quilts, embroiders, appliqués, cross stitches and English paper pieces. Which means we are talking serious thread accumulation. One of the number one tools she uses to organize...a peg board!



She gets the hooks and rings from office and building supply stores. And the funny thing is, I thought those holes in the tags of Weeks Dye Works were just for shop display...I never thought to use them myself!



For her DMC, and those threads that have no hanging tag, she places them in tiny plastic bags so you can see the color and number of the thread!


Her appliqué threads are stored in a special drawer, which was an option with her sewing table, and she also has available pre-wound bobbin threads in a variety of neutral colors which are from Superior Threads and fit most domestic machines.

Of course I am feeling smug because I do store my Valdani threads just like Anne, lol...a plastic Hot Wheels box from JoAnns!


If you want to know more of what Anne is creating and organizing check out her Instagram feed...you will be inspired for the New Year!!!

May your holiday season be filled with blessings!

Click here for Anna's YouTube Channel.

Click here for Anna's blog.

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One of Martha Stewart's bloggers asked for help in giving her craft room a makeover. Well, Martha Stewart doesn't do anything half way. It took a total of four UPS trucks to deliver all of the furniture to go inside the room!

Click on Lean More to see a slide show of the makeover.

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Dr. Erik Bostrom makes a baby blanket for each baby he helps deliver. It is personalized with the baby's name, birthday, height and weight. He was looking for a unique way to attract patients. Two years ago, he bought a used sewing machine, got a little help from his sister-in-law, and dove right in.

Click here to learn more.

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We have reached out to the winners. They are:

• Rita in New Jersey
• Jan in Missouri
• Catherine in Indiana
• Lou in Missouri

They are each getting 2 Quilters Select Starter Tool Kits. One for them and one for a friend. Remember, everyone gets a 25% off coupon in our store with your 1-Year Membership purchase. Quilters Select Tools are a perfect way to use that coupon.

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Sue added a little something different to her Summer Celebration quilt. See if it catches "your eye." Did you spot it?

Sue added a bit of mesh to thd dragonfly's eyes to make them more "buggy."

The pattern can be found in Garden Inspired Quilts by Jean & Valori Wells. (C&T Publishing)

Watch Sue Heinz in Show 2312: Sizzling Sashing, Circles, and Finishes.

Original Photo: Mary Kay Davis

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Here are the quilts for the fifth team from the over 320 teams that participated in the International Miniature Quilt Exchange (IMQE). 201 teams submitted their quilts to be a part of the Exhibition in Houston 2018 and we are featuring the 24 teams selected for the first IMQE Exhibition.

Click here to learn more about the International Miniature Quilt Exchange (IMQE).

Enjoy the quilts from Team 129 created by Marijke van Welzenand and Barbara Jensen.

Title of Quilt: Mum's Garden

Quilter's Name: Marijke van Welzen

Location: Vlaardingen, Netherlands

I love challenges like this! Soon after entering I received a message about my partner. We connected by email and it turned out we have so much in common. Barbara and I also became Facebook friends and shared pictures of our interests and of course our quilting. She had entered another challenge and we both were featured in the exhibition book, hurrah for serendipity. We sent each other some of our favorite fabrics and decided we would use some of those in our Challenge quilt. I’m so curious to see what she made!

Title of Quilt: The Language of Flowers Is Universal

Quilter's Name: Barbara Jensen

Location: Rochester Hills, Michigan, USA

The moment I saw the invitation to join IMQE, I knew I was in! I love to make small art quilts and the opportunity to work with someone from another country was too much to resist! My partner is Marijke Van Welzen from the Netherlands, and I am Barb Jensen from Michigan, USA. As soon as we were paired, Marijke and I began to communicate via email and Facebook, exchanging photos of our past quilt accomplishments. I noticed that we both use flowers frequently in our work. I love flowers and gardening, so we were quick to come to an agreement that our theme would be floral in nature. Our statement became the following, ‘The Language of Flowers is Universal.’ We also mailed each other some fabrics that we liked, to use in our quilts. I used a map fabric as the background of the quilt to suggest travelling the world. The compass was also incorporated to remind us that no matter which direction we choose to travel in the world, everyone appreciates the joy of beautiful flowers and beautiful gardens. When we give a bouquet of flowers to someone special, the flowers speak for us with the same joyful message, no words needed. This quilt is hand appliqued, hand and machine quilted, beaded, and embellished with yarn and crystals. I hope someday to meet Marijke in person. She has been delightful to get to know, and I would love to see some of her beautiful work in person.