Coming of Age

In my early years of quilting, I read about a tradition of presenting a son with a special quilt on his twenty first birthday. The custom (Amish, perhaps) represented the breaking of bonds with home and family as the young man ventured into adulthood and life on his own.

The idea stuck with me, and when our younger son, Will, turned twenty-one we presented him with a Coming of Age quilt of his own. It's a Jacob’s Ladder design that I pieced years ago and recently had machine quilted by Cheri Gabrielsen of Elmhust, IL.  

The name Jacob’s Ladder comes from Genesis 28: 11-22 which refers to seeking the Promised Land. Also known as Underground Railroad, the block represents finding the path to freedom.

These colors aren't patriotic per se, but this sure would make a great Fourth of July quilt!

I prefer using larger blocks when making masculine quilts. These measure twelve inches. 

It’s an added bonus when blocks form a secondary pattern where they intersect.

As usual, the fan quilting pattern is my favorite for traditional quilts.

72" X 96”

Happy birthday to Will, who's been independent since the day he was born. He's handling the responsibilities of adulthood with maturity and grace. Dad and I couldn’t be prouder! ❤️

May Baskets

Hello everyone, and happy spring! Mother's Day! Mine was filled with simple pleasures but felt very special

It wasn't our son''s visit or the pancakes and bacon he fixed for breakfast. And it wasn't the phone call from our other son and daughter-in-law. Naturally there were big smiles for those things, but this particular grin came later... with!

A refreshing walk was my surprise, and I welcomed the opportunity to soak up as much springtime as I could. The cloudless blue sky and lilac-scented breeze were accompanied by a peaceful quietude uncharacteristic of our family neighborhood (Where was everyone; church, brunch, Grandma's house?). There were flowers to enjoy in every yard--big bushes of lilacs, red climbing roses, deep purple iris with golden beards, cheerful clumps of white daisies, each one prettier than any bouquet I could have wished for. All in all, it was a glorious stroll! 

 

We even found a spot to photograph my "May Baskets" quilt. It’s one of three quilts made from blocks swapped by Piecemaker friends (and generously shared with me). Although we started with the same 3" baskets, look how different our quilts turned out.

Mine is set in a block-to-block arrangement with baskets alternating direction in every other row. I like this simple layout and the subtle interest it creates.

Originally, I added a muslin spacer between the baskets and sawtooth border. It gave the baskets some "breathing room" but friends convinced me otherwise. Now, I wish I'd left it in. The final layout looks a bit cramped to me.

Oh well... all the more reason to keep the quilting simple.

"May Baskets"

30” X 39”

Sheila Lewis patterned her quilt after one in the collection of the New England Quilt Museum. The solid red alternate blocks make a striking setting, don't they? Can you spot where the baskets change direction? Right down the center of the quilt!

Barb Vedder grouped her blocks by color, then arranged them into four-basket sets.

It reminds me of a popular U.S. postage stamp from the late 1970s. Remember these? 

Barb enlarged her quilt with bold sashing and generous borders. You can read more about it here.

Thank you, my friends, for including me in this swap and for helping me get my quilt together!

Happy Holidays

Passover greetings and Easter blessings!

Pulling Strings: A Civil War Selvage Quilt

Hello everyone! Have you noticed the new trend in quilt-making appearing on social media lately? It’s the advent of the “Selvage Quilt”

A selvage is the tightly woven edge of fabric as it comes off the bolt. It keeps the cloth from raveling, it serves as a manufacturer's label, listing the company, name of the fabric line, designer, and year of production. 

How did Barb guess my favorite? Good friends always know!

These particular selvages came from reproductions of traditional fabrics spanning 1800-1900, also known as "Civil War Repros."

Who else but Barb would have this fabric in their stash? It features cartouches with images of Civil War battles! 

A big thanks to all who contributed selvages for this project, and of course, to Barb, for her inspired use of them. Thank you for including me in this string of friendship quilts. I adore mine!

Birthday Quilt

My birthday rolled around again, as they're wont to do. I stopped counting the years at 50, so I’m often startled when I actually do the math ~ 56 this year! How did that happen? One of the few good things about growing older is getting a commemorative birthday quilt from my friend Barb.

This year’s quilt is a sweet little Shoofly, adapted from the Pink Lemonade quilt at Humble Quilts.

Barb always selects a surprising fabric for the back, sometimes consistent with the style or theme of her little quilts, but more often than not, something bold, funny, or completely incongruous. This time, it's an exquisite china print.


The quilting is done in one of my favorite designs -- "teacup" or "wineglass" quilting, so named for the household implement used to trace the circular pattern (or your preferred beverage while doing so). Barb gives a good explanation of the proper way to approach this seemingly straightforward design. You might think it’s logical to stitch each circle, continuing one to the next where they intersect. But soon, you will reach a dead end, and have to stop stitching. Instead, follow the gentler curve that looks like elongated pumpkin seeds. This path will allow for longer, more continuous lines of stitching.

Barb, thanks again for the beautiful birthday quilt. I don’t know how long we’ll be able to keep up this tradition. After 50, the birthdays come pretty fast and furious!

Gilding the Lily, Part 6

Hello everyone Are you ready for the wedding quilt reveal? Today, I’ll focus on the quilting itself, the design element that transformed a pretty good quilt into something rather special!

Here it is! The quilting design was inspired by a Carolina Lily quilt I'd seen online. Masterfully stitched by Carla Barrett of Feathered Fibers, its elegant feather motif and heavy background quilting were just the look I was hoping for. Nevertheless, I had some reservations:

James and Rachel's Wedding Quilt

(Double click photos to enlarge)

1. Could I find a machine quilter capable of doing such refined work? The answer was yes! Thanks to readers, I got several recommendations.

2. Could I actually afford a custom long-arm quilter? To be honest, I was terrified to even ask about the going rate!

3. Could the task be completed within my 6-7 week deadline? Come on, who would even take a commission like this on such short notice? Most good long-arm quilters have a waiting list of months, if not years!

4. Could I bear to send the quilt to a stranger miles from home? As it turns out, NO, I could not!

My friend, Sheila, suggested I call someone from our local quilt group. Her name is Cheri Gabrielsen, she lives right in town, her rates were affordable, and she could take my quilt and meet my deadline. The only problem was she couldn’t start the job until she returned from a machine quilting conference where she was taking a class with…guessed who... Carla Barrett of Feathered Fibers. What were the chances of that?

As you can see, Cheri did a fabulous job with the quilting and I couldn't be happier with the results!

Many other talented women had a hand in making this quilt, from the friends who stitched blocks and those who assembled them, to the volunteers who added the finishing touches. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. James and Rachel were very pleased with their wedding gift!

Skipping Christmas

I promised to “be back soon” with the final reveal of the wedding quilt, but it felt weird skipping Christmas without a mention. The “kids” were “home” for the holiday, so we had lots of family time together.


William spent three months in Russia this fall, studying at the Moscow Arts Theatre. It was the trip of a lifetime, but he was happy to get back to his girlfriend and American food. He made Anna her first Christmas stocking.

At least someone is using my sewing machine.

James and Rachel brought along two additions to their family, our grand kitties, Gandalf and Carrot.

We intentionally kept the décor simple to minimize kitty mischief. Hanging a couple red and green quilts made the house look festive.

We even managed to host a party for 25 friends. It’s an annual gathering that I usually have to miss when it's held at someone else’s home. But with the kids here to help and everyone bringing an appetizer or dessert, all went smoothly and we had a great time.

I hope this holiday season sets the tone for 2012 and that the coming year will offer plenty of opportunities for fellowship with family and friends. Happy New Year!