Quilt Traditions

A Wedding Dress quilt!

kristin — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 20:51:03 +0000

I just finished this quilt made from a woman’s wedding dress and her bridesmaid dresses. It is a LeMoyne Star (or Ohio Star, depending on where you live or your preference!) The woman and her Mom picked out the pattern, added some fabrics, and had lots of good ideas. They were a joy to work with and I loved every minute! I was a little concerned about how the satin was going to take the handquilting but it needled really well. The only thing that gave me a little trouble was that the fabric from the dresses sometimes were on the bias and this made it difficult to blend with non-bias fabric. But it worked itself out and now they have a beautiful heirloom to commemorate that very special day! And the wedding dress will not sit in a box in a closet for years and years to come!

“We are so very pleased with how the quilt turned out. The pictures do not do the quilt justice and it is just so so so much more beautiful in person than we anticipated. Your work is lovely and everything came together so very nicely.”

Antique Shop Hopping

kristin — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 18:42:09 +0000

During this Christmas season, I had the pleasure of visiting some great antique shops. It was fun! But it also tugged at my heartstrings…there were quilts for sale and they were the real deal antiques. They ran the gamut of scrappy to patterned to applique and they were ALL beautiful, even the torn ones. I was really tempted – especially to “rescue” the abandoned quilt tops! I am thinking, “I could soooo handquilt that right up and have it looking polished and whole in no time!” (My subconscious thought quickly remembered that I have about 10 lonely, undone quilt tops sitting in a trunk in my sewing studio!) What pulled on my heartstrings is the thought that these quilts that now call an antique shop home, used to be part of a family. I let my mind wander as I wistfully turned them over in my hand…They were made by someone who intentionally constructed them for whatever reason. Perhaps the quilt was given to someone special or maybe it was made to just cover a bed for warmth. Perhaps it was made to use up fabric. Maybe it was made to teach someone how to quilt. Whatever the reason, those quilts were probably special in a family. Without the story behind the quilt, they are devoid of meaning. That is the wonderful thing about quilts – they hold so much meaning! Without the story behind it, they are just simply beautiful cloth. Do you have an old quilt in your household or somewhere in your family? Have you found out it’s “place” in your family? 2012 would be a good time to identify your heirloom!

What a lovely idea!

kristin — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 18:57:48 +0000

I recently completed this Tree of Life medallion quilt. A woman contacted me to make a quilt for her grandmotherfor Christmas. It was to be a family tree quilt which would include the names of her family in it. She didn’t have any other specifications except that the fabrics were to be of French Country design. I immediately thought of the tree of life quilt pattern. It is set on point, with the names embroidered in the small border which frames the tree. What a lovely idea and what a nice heirloom piece to give to one’s grandmother! Needless to say, I had sooooo much fun doing it and half the fun is pleasing the customer!

Cathedral Window Quilt

kristin — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 17:24:59 +0000

A few years ago, I was commissioned by a woman to finish her mother’s cathedral window wall hanging which was 3/4s of the way done. I had no idea how to make these little squares so I slowly taught myself and completed the job. It piqued my interest though and so I just had to make one for myself. What drew me to this type of quilt? It is a one-of-a-kind type of quilt! There is no batting, no backing – you just build as you go, adding squares until you get it the size you want. I am also surmising that the women of history made these as another way to use up scraps as the “window” fabric is only 2 inches square. This is a time-consuming, test of patience quilt to make, but the upside is that one can take it anywhere to work on! Very transportable! This quilt took me 400 hours of labor but it has been worth every minute.

A Quilt Reborn

kristin — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 00:08:37 +0000

This is a quilt from about 1940 – 50 that has been well- loved and well-used! The woman who sent it to me used to wrap herself in it when she was a child. It needed some TLC and some fresh fabric and thread to make it live on for another 60 or so years! I wanted to show before and after photographs of what can be done with major tears in quilts. After I repaired the major tear and other minor tears, I trimmed the edges which were badly frayed, and rebound the whole quilt. Care was taken to match the repair fabrics as closely as possible to the original fabrics. It is stronger now and the owner says it will be virtually retired. What a beauty!

Watercolor Quilt

kristin — Wed, 25 May 2011 11:10:45 +0000

Watercolor quilts are fashioned after the famous watercolor artist, Claude Monet. In assembling the quilt, the attention is paid to the values of the fabrics, not the actual colors and patterns on the fabric. The overall effect is a watercolor painting! It is, in a way, painting with squares of fabric and it is loads of fun to do. This quilt is 85″ X 99″ and will be used for a bed. The backing fabric is a large leaf print in rusty red.

Courthouse Steps

kristin — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 17:15:41 +0000

Look at this beautiful old quilt – a Courthouse Steps log cabin quilt made in 1873 as a wedding present. It is made of silks, satins, polished cottons and wools. The back is entirely of a large print green silk which is, surprisingly, in great shape! The “logs” of the cabin blocks on the front are wearing away quickly. The customer who owns this quilt had me put a sleeve on the back so that she can hang it. I also put a fabric plaque on the back which was a doily that came down in her family. What an heirloom and treasure!!!

Sew Many Quilts

kristin — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 12:13:16 +0000

This past Saturday we recreated the quilting bee of the 1800s! I organized an event at my church, Eastern Hills Bible Church, called Sew Many Quilts, a quiltmaking venture to make quilts for the refugee population in Syracuse, NY. What an inspiring, fun, energetic group of people – mostly women and a few brave men – who gathered and assembled quilts from raw fabric down to completed quilts. There was laughing and talking and working together towards a common goal. There was self-sacrifice, lots of love, and a sense of giving our lives away to people who just need the warmth of some quilts who otherwise have none. The intangibles were the most valuable and from about 50 people, we produced 18 quilts! Our next workshop is on Saturday, March 12 from 8 – 3. Come and join us if you can – anytime during that day…You will be blessed!

The circle has been completed!

kristin — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 01:58:27 +0000

This past December I had the privilege of finishing a quilt for a woman whose mother-in-law started it, made the top and never set about to finishing it. It was a wild goose chase made of random fabrics set on a light blue background. I set it, handquilted it and bound it. She gave it to her mother-in-law for Christmas, all completed. This is what she had to say….”There were some mixed emotions, as she was sad that someone else had to finish the project that she had started. But, she knew that she could never have finished it and was glad to see it in it’s completed form. Thanks again for making this possible. I couldn’t be more pleased with the end result.”

Mission accomplished! And I had so much fun doing it!

The Care and Repair of Antique Quilts

kristin — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 19:37:03 +0000

I will be doing a presentation/lecture on the care and repair of antique quilts on Tuesday, January 18, 2011 at the Thumbstall Quilt Guild in Marcellus, NY. I am looking forward to discussing this intriguing topic as well as showing lots of examples. Included will be my own restoration work as well as quilts that stand alone in their historic significance. We will be sharing quilts all the way around and will use these as examples of the various methods of care and repair. ” Quilts exert their great force in our minds and imaginations because they combine in single objects so much information of importance to us: the potent congruence of beauty, sentiment, history, utility and significant function.” from A Quiet Spirit – Amish Quilts