Daily Blog

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Laura at SewVeryEasy shows you how to make a Sewing Arm Chair Caddy with multiple pockets for your sewing supplies and a place to hang your thread.

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Cathy's quilt, Big Red, is a very modern quilt featuring the reds and greens that Cathy loves. She painted the background squares and included some truly incredible quilting designs.

Watch Cathy Franks in Show 2302: Creative Embellishments and Quilt Stencil Versatility.

Original Photos: Mary Kay Davis

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Artist Statement:

American Made Brand issued a challenge to quilters to create pieces made exclusively from their fabrics, on the theme of "What does 'made in America' mean to you?" What can be more "made in America" than apple pie made from organic apples grown in my own back yard, accompanied by vanilla ice cream? So... all of those ideas made their way into this quilt, along with my mother's old colander, ice cream scoop and pie server.

2014- juried into American Made Brand challenge at IQA Houston
2015- juried into AQS Paducah show
2016- juried into AQS Grand Rapids show
2016- juried into AQS Lancaster show

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After the death of his wife, William "Bid" Mohler, began making quilts at the age of 90. He wanted to keep busy. Since then, he's made over 200 quilts. This WW II veteran is an inspiration to us all.

Click here to watch the video.

(www.tv10.com)

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The Kona Hawaiian Quilt Museum opened in June 2018 on the Big Island of Hawaii. It is the first Hawaiian quilt museum in the state. Its intent is to preserve and share native Hawaiian culture through fabric.

The Museum's mission is threefold:

To collect and display vintage and contemporary Hawaiian style quilts, provide educational opportunities for all ages in the art and culture of Hawaiian quilting, and facilitate preservation and conservation of Hawaiian quilts.

Watch their website for special exhibits including the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival each November.

Next special exhibit: "This is Hawaii" Quilt Challenge sponsored by Hoffman International Fabrics - July 16 - 21, 2018.

(The quilt shown was made using a Pacific Rim Quilt Company Pattern named Woodland Lei designed by Nancy Lee Chong.)

Planning a visit?

75-5706 Kuakini Hwy., Ste. 112

Kailua Kona, HI 96740

(808) 331-2958

Monday - Friday: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

Saturday: 10:00 am - 4:00 pm     

Sunday: Closed

Admission: $5.00

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Helen Godden (self-proclaimed Extreme-Free-Motion-Machine-Quilter (EFMMQ) and good friend to TQS) has a video tutorial to help you understand and adjust the tension on your sewing machine, either domestic or longarm.

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Lenore Crawford's quilt, Emma in the Looking Glass, had us mesmerized. How was she able to use fabric to create such a realistic "reflection" in the quilt?

Emma in the Looking Glass won Outstanding Art Quilt at Road to California 2017.

Started in 2015, Finished in 2016-

Artist statement: My design was created using my raw edged fusing technique. I was inspired by photos I took of my friends' granddaughter searching for frogs in my mother's lily pond. I used a very tiny amount of fabric paint to add fine detail too small to fuse. Textural fabrics added to the detail created and some fabric was dyed while others were hand painted in the design.

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 Circa 2000 embroidered quilt with Texas motifs, TTU-H2017-085-001.
Photo courtesy Museum of Texas Tech University.

Quilt with Texas Motifs Comes to the Museum of Texas Tech University
By Marian Ann Montgomery, Ph.D.,
Curator of Clothing and Textiles

The Museum of Texas Tech University recently acquired a quilt made sometime after 2000 of original embroidered blocks featuring many Texas themes. The quilt was brought to the museum’s attention via a donor to the collection that saw it on eBay and thought it would be a perfect addition. All of the images on eBay showed Texas motifs—the Alamo, the Texas flag, Cattle, barrel racers, etc. so it was considered important to acquire for the Museum, even though we seldom purchase objects due to the limited acquisition budget.

Section of quilt with cattle block, covered wagon, rodeo clowns, bull riding, dressed cactus and block of San Antonio Rose song.
Photo courtesy Museum of Texas Tech University.

Block with barrel racer.
Photo courtesy Museum of Texas Tech University.

JBF Ranch motifs in central block of the quilt with names of Texas cities embroidered on either side.  
Photo courtesy Museum of Texas Tech University.

However once the quilt arrived at the museum it was apparent that this was more than just a Texas quilt, it is a special family piece.  Many of the blocks depict scenes from family life such as an archer shooting a bicycle rider in the back side or Dad with steam coming out of his ears, while children run from a station wagon with a fishing boat on the back. The stories behind these blocks are of great interest in fully interpreting this piece.

Archer shot an arrow that landed in a bicyclist.
Photo courtesy Museum of Texas Tech University.

Block with family around the table and “Dad” falling off a broken chair.
Photo courtesy Museum of Texas Tech University.

The quilt is a marvelous example of folk art as the embroidered blocks are original. Some with Texas motifs may have been copied from coloring books, but the others that depict family stories using what must be original art. The quilt has blocks for five family members: Raymond Duane Jordan, Angela Christine Lane Jordan and their daughters Stephanie Mae Jordan, Rebecca Suzanne Jordan and a third daughter born in March 2000.

Raymond was born in Pennsylvania and Angela in Maryland.  It is unclear when they came to Texas, but were surely here by 2000 when their third daughter was born, as there are representations of Little Miss Texas and Miss Wise County for their daughters on the quilt.  There is some evidence that Raymond and Angela are separated.  The piece came from a dealer in Pennsylvania so possibly the quilt went back to its maker when Raymond and Angela split up. To fully understand the stories behind the blocks it is important to connect with Angela Jordan or Raymond Jordan.  Angela is in Ft. Worth so it is possible that someone reading this article will know her or know someone who knows her.  Raymond is in Boyd. 

Please contact me at marian.ann.montgomery@ttu.edu if you can help me connect with them, as surely they know the stories behind the blocks that represent family history which are part of the charm of this piece.

Border motif along the top edge is of a howling coyote among cactus.
Photo courtesy Museum of Texas Tech University.

Learn more about the Museum of Texas Tech University Textile Collections.

Click here for related articles from the Museum of Texas Tech University Textile Collections.