Daily Blog

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Photo by Gregory Case Photography

Contemporary folk artist, designer, and teacher Sue Spargo was born and raised in Southern Africa, and attributes the evolution of her signature, layered and embellished, “primitive”-style work to her childhood memories and her exposure to the energy and color of traditional African designs. Join us as she shares her wonderful folk-art quilts, and demonstrates her technique for adding dimension to a wool “base” leaf with layers of velvet, silk, and cotton.

As if that’s not inspiring enough, Sue then offers seven creative ways to introduce even more texture with embossing, embroidery, beads, and other embellishments. We wrap up the show with an on-site visit to the Monument, CO, home of Barbara & Bob Normoyle. Barbara, a prolific quilter, has a fantastic eye for decorating, and uses quilts throughout to enhance the décor. You won’t want to miss this jam-packed episode!

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Here's a heads up about what you'll find in Episode 810: Folk Art in Fabric: Inspirations and Techniques with Sue Spargo.

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We have a lot to thank our Mothers for today. Does anyone relate? Click the picture -

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This beautiful quilt was appliqued by Katurah Elisabeth Tooley in 1938.  Unfortunately, the quilter is unknown. Red Birds (or The Garden)  was inspired by Arsinoe Kelsey Bowen's 1857 quilt in Ruth Finley's Old Patchwork Quilts and the Women Who Made Them.

Prior to 1943, when a commercial pattern was published for the quilt in Women's Day, each quiltmaker had to come up with her own way to create it.  Katurah's husband figured out a way to project the image and then Katurah traced it.  She stayed true to Bowen's design, including bright cardinals surrounding the cabled swags, hence the name, Red Birds. 

Red Birds 1 - 100 pieces non-rotating

Red Birds 2 - 100 pieces rotating

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The Denver National Quilt Festival had a number of unique exhibits this year.  One of these exhibits was the Secret Garden Challenge presented by the Artique Critique group of Fort Collins, CO.  This group meets monthly to critique each other's work and to provide teaching and experience in theory and techniques.  The 2010 challenge was to create a "Secret Garden" quilt that was to be 24"x 24" and it had to include something that might fly.  The quilts are quite original in design, color, and concept.  Take a peek at these lovely gardens of quilting delight.  (Our apologies to Ms. Robinson whose first name was removed by the photo flash.)

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I think I have found yet another type of fabric to obsess over..........Does my passion see no end?

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It's time to learn thread painting and thread sketching with Nancy Prince.  She brings you along at just the right pace so you can learn this skill that can enhance so many projects.  

It's perfect for Spring.  As you walk this Spring, look for the leaves and new growth.  You can make this happen with thread.  The video is shown here, but the pdfs for the pattern and instructions are in the Classroom>Nancy Prince>Lessons. (iPads have to use the classroom video.)

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People keep saying that someone should make a quilt of the Cosmati floor.  Well someone already has, Janet Cook.  Her Star of David quilt took Janet six years to make.  Read her amazing story below:

I started quilting in 1988 and my teacher said Mariners' Compass was a tricky block, so being the person I am (the awkward one at the back of the class) I decided to make a quilt for our bed featuring that block. I saw a sketch in the regional Quilters' Guild newsletter and decided it would be more interesting to use that layout than blocks in rows. I drafted sections of the quilt, made templates, and proceeded to make the compasses by hand in 1991.

Gradually I gained confidence and started to sew by machine. Eighteen months later, I finished the top and started hand quilting. Then I was rushed into hospital with a life-threatening problem. The quilt kept me sane during my slow recovery, and my husband David proved what a star he was by nursing me so carefully. During this time I discovered where the original design had come from and phoned Westminster Abbey to find out more. They said the Cosmati floor was kept covered, but that they revealed it once every two or three years.

In view of my particular interest they said they would phone me next time it was revealed. I visited the Abbey just to see where the floor was situated and discovered a book all about it.  I nearly missed my train stop on the way home because the book was so fascinating. I decided to include Latin quotations in the quilting design. The floor contained remains of a cryptic poem in Latin. 

It took me another 18 months to complete the quilting. I was persuaded to enter it in a quilt show - my first ever - and it won the championship at Quilts UK, a national competition, in 1994. That phone call came from the Dean himself and I set off with my quilt to have tea and a personal guided tour of the Abbey with him. Wonderful! The culmination of the tour was a visit to the Cosmati floor itself. I stood and cried as I saw my old friend for the first time. That is what that floor had become to me. 

Janet did another quilt, Opus Sectile II, which is a collage of designs based on the 700+ year old Great Pavement in Westminster Abbey, London. Janet matched the colors to those chosen by the original Cosmati artists.

This was Janet's first use of foundation paper piecing.

You can find Janet at her website.