In 1996 or so, I tried to learn to quilt by reading books. Unfortunately I couldn’t afford any really good books so I was reduced to reading them in the store and trying in vain to memorize what I read and saw until I got home.
My only quilting instruction came from a generic needlework book that assumed I knew a lot more than I did. (For example, it assumed that I knew how to square up a block or match up sashings!) My first quilt will never win any awards for workmanship, but I am pleased with the color choices.
The black and purple came from shirts my ex-husband had made. The teal was a percale sheet, and the teal/purple/white fabric was left over from a dress I made for my ex’s college graduation. If you want a good laugh, click on the picture and examine my seams. Notice how not one of them matches up properly. I never did finish this quilt, but I did finish the matching pillow and still use it after all these years even though it’s starting to fray a little bit.
The pattern, such as it is, was adapted from one in a Singer sewing company book. The weird sashings were my lame attempt at making it big enough to cover a bed and were adapted from that needlework book I mentioned. (Although the name escapes me now.)
After moving to Grand Rapids in 1997 I took my first quilting class. There is nothing so optimistic as a new quilter. We don’t know what we don’t know and so we jump in with both feet – into classes that are way harder than we can handle. I am so glad I did though. If I hadn’t taken Celtic knotwork as my first class I would not have had the life-changing and inspiring introduction to quilting that I received from Beth Ann Williams. Here is the quilt I made in my very first class.
Notice my sudden terror of vivid color. (Although Beth assured me that monochromatic was a perfectly valid color scheme.) I believe this pattern was from the book Celtic Quilt Designs by Philomena Durcan. (I’m sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong!)
After making this quilt, I went on a tear and made almost nothing but Celtic quilts for a long time. They are fun and addictive. (And it gave me an excuse to take more and more classes from Beth!)
This quilt pattern came from Philomena’s book Celtic Spirals. I gave it to my friend Brian in Nova Scotia. I really liked the stained glass effect of floating the spiral on the sky-like background.
This quilt was a thorn in my side. I haven’t finished it yet because I really am not that fond of it, but a lot of people like it. I do like the border fabric. It was from an inexpensive Christmas print done in pink and teal. I don’t like the random way I filled in the shapes with the solid colors and the background is a cheap, thing poly-cotton blend. That’s a mistake I will never make again.
One interesting thing that I do like is the plaid fabric I used for the main knotwork design. It looks pretty cool and has some nice silver in it. This quilt is called Celtic Celebration and is from Beth Ann’s first book, Celtic Quilts: A New Look for Ancient Designs.
The bias applique method is one I’m comfortable with and I’ve used it in other non-Celtic quilts too. I made this small one at a retreat with Beth Ann.
She has a similar pattern with a tulip which I started, but never finished. This one is tiny, but I love the colors. I believe Beth sells these patterns at Lakeshore Sewing in Grand Rapids, MI, but I’m not sure. You can always write and ask her.
The next time I used bias applique was for a round robin quilt my bee did. The quilts we made were all gorgeous and all completely different. Mine was a brightly colored Mariner’s Compass with wild borders. I have never pieced a Mariner’s Compass and the sharp points were way beyond my abilities at the time (and probably still are without the help of paper piecing or something).
After trying unsuccessfully to create what I wanted, I finally used fusible applique to create my compass and covered the edges with black fusible bias tape. The center was a mess though and the bright yellow I wanted to put there did not cover up all those black bias tape ends. So I found a black Fossil Fern fabric and used that instead.
I named the quilt “Left to my Own Devices” in honor of the Pet Shop Boys song I was listening to while I made it and also in honor of the fact that I had dreamed up this solution completely on my own. I was pretty proud of myself! This quilt is still a UFO, but it will be quilted some day!
Beth Ann’s next book was called Colorwash Bargello Quilts and of course I had to take a class from that book too. I signed up and then promptly forgot about the class. I stopped into the shop (which was only a few miles away) one Saturday just to see what was going on. I heard Beth’s voice in the classroom and poked my head in to say “Hi”.
“You’re supposed to be in this class!” she said.
They had already completed the “fabric choice” portion of the class where Beth helped the students find a good focus fabric and choose appropriate fabrics to go with it. I had already picked a pile of fabric from my stash, so I raced home, grabbed the fabric and all my stuff and made it back in time to learn the technique. Luckily my color sense was good and my fabrics worked beautifully. (The only issue I had was with the gold lame – it melted onto my iron. Note to self: Never, ever (ever) use non-cotton fabric!)
This one still isn’t quilted, but I love it (and made another one very similar to it) so I hope to quilt them soon. (Soon being a relative term, of course.)
Another technique class I took with Beth was the Radiant Star class. Also called the Star of Bethlehem, this is an old and well-known pattern and Beth’s method used strip-piecing rather than the difficult and traditional matching up of individual diamonds.
This one is now completely quilted and just waiting for its border to be hand-stitched to the back.
This Jewel Box quilt is from an all-night class I took with Nancy Rolfsema. It uses the Eleanor Burns quilt in a day technique.
All the fabrics (except the black and the green batik) are hand-dyed fabrics I made myself.
This neat little pattern called Chicken Hearted is by Rachel’s Of Greenfield. The pattern shows it in very traditional colors, but I had to spice it up a little. I call my version “Funky Chickens“.
This little Christmas wall hanging is from an old issue of McCall’s quilting magazine. I made it at the first Fabric Friends Quilt Camp.
In October 2008 a friend at quilt camp showed me how to make a tossed nine patch block. It is super easy and so much fun! This little wall-hanging sized quilt was made from thirty-six 7″ Hoffman batik blocks.
After making the one above I took some 3″ blocks and made another tossed nine patch. It’s addictive!
That same weekend I used some blocks I made a couple of years ago to finish a table runner. When I made the blocks I was going by color, not value and it shows! You can barely make out the three Bear Paw blocks! I quilted around them with dark brown thread and that helped them stand out a bit more. I do like how the wash of fall colors makes it look like the forest floor in autumn.
I sold this one on my Etsy shop. It was my first sale!
After Hurricane Katrina in 2005 I spent a lot of time listening to radio reports of the rescue operations. I started this quilt at the same time. The block is called Bright Hopes. I chose vivid squares for the centers and outlined them in brown for the mud, blue for the water, and yellow for the sunshine that eventually came out.
The wall hanging below is from a pattern in McCall’s Quilting magazine. I love the big simple flower and the funky border fabric.
The wall hanging below is also from a pattern in McCall’s Quilting magazine. She is supposed to be holding a whirligig in her hand, but it’s not done yet.
The baby quilt below is made from a cute panel. The only thing unique about it is the fabric envelope I put on the back to hold the label. I placed it so that it would hide a pucker on the back. (Oops!)
At our March 2008 quilt camp several of us made pillow cases. I used this gorgeous sexy fabric I found at the Chicago Quilt Festival. My friends signed it and the hunks help me stay warm while I’m away from my hubby!
The quilt below is made of flannel and hand embroidered. I still need to add a sun to the upper left side, and then I plan to turn it into a pillow top.
I made this table runner at camp (March 2008, I think). I chose the green, yellow, and purple colors I love and used a scrappy collection of fabric.
This block will be a table topper to coordinate with the one above. I plan to make another one using the same collection of scraps.
The curved convergence quilt below is from the Ricky Tims book Convergence Quilts. I love the butterfly batik in the border.
I made this quilt from African fabrics and some gorgeous batiks. The pattern is called Mixed up but Not Crazy from the book Batiks and Beyond. It’s very small – only wall hanging size. I would love to enlarge the pattern and do this as a bed-sized quilt.
This block featuring a little cabin in the woods is made with fusible applique. I plan to use it with several other winter-themed blocks.
These adorable little bears decorating their Xmas tree were also made with fusible applique. I love the paw prints on the snow.
The horse and sleigh below is from Mount Redoubt designs.
These cardinals are my favorite. I just love the orange-red fabric I found for the female bird.
I took a class with Beth Ann Williams (far too long ago!) and learned to make quilted postcards. They were addictive and I ended up making three of them in a row. This one uses fabric with script, a turkey feather and some fiber.
I love these little chicks.
This little Christmas postcard features the Gingerbread man making a break for it while Santa flies overhead. (I still need to add Santa!) You can read an article I wrote on how to make this postcard at: Little People Wealth.
This purse was made from some gorgeous Asian fabrics I collected. I gave it to a friend of mine for her fortieth birthday in 2009.
More to come!
