quiltology...

A favorite place to visit is the International Quilt Study Center and Museum.  If you can't get to Lincoln Nebraska, then visit their web site where they've posted a searchable archive of their vast and amazing collection of quilts.  Talk about eye candy!

They also feature a quilt of the month.  October's quilt was made near Niu Jiang city, Guangzi province in China.  It's an appliqued duvet cover made by the Maonan people circa mid-20th century. 

"An important part of the International Quilt Study Center & Museum's mission is to discover new quilt-related traditions. Bedcovers like this one from South China are rarely seen outside of Guangxi, the province from which they originate. Made by the Maonan people, an ethnic minority with a small population (just under 110,000 members), textiles like this would have served as the top of a quilt cover--an "envelope" into which an undecorated, utilitarian quilt or loose batting would have been inserted for warmth.

The quilt cover top is made in a similar way to the "pot-holder" quilts some Western quiltmakers are familiar with: each block is constructed on a foundation fabric, individually bound, then put together with many other blocks to create the final piece. This quilt top was constructed by hand, primarily with a back stitch and a widely spaced couching stitch. The quatrefoil (four-lobed) design is a common one among Maonan quilts, as is the dark-colored background.

The IQSCM now has six Maonan quilt covers in its collection and will continue to add quilt-related textiles from other Chinese ethnic groups as they are documented and become available. These groups include the Yao, Dong, and Miao (a large minority group, with nearly 9 million members, who are ethnically related to the Hmong of Southeast Asia)."

Carol, a very young great-grandma, sent along this picture of baby Lilia on her baby quilts.  Yes, that’s plural.  There are two identical quilts here.

These quilts were a multi-generational effort between the great, grand, mother and extended family and friends.  They made the blocks at a baby shower where guests were invited to select fabrics and appliqué the birds to various scrappy backgrounds.

By the time they were done, they had enough blocks to make two baby quilts!

What a brilliant idea—one quilt for home and another one for the road. 

In fact I have a friend who made identical baby quilts for each of her kids because she knew it would be easier to wash them—a little trick she discovered after her oldest awoke from a nap early one afternoon and discovered that her prized blankie had been taken from her while she was sleeping.  There’s nothing more heartbreaking than watching your toddler stand next to the dryer sobbing while their quilt is drying—so my enterprising friend decided to stage a mommy switcheroo.  She made a duplicate quilt.  This way her little one had one quilt she could hang onto while she washed the other.   

Two quilts = one happy baby and one less stressed out mom.  As I say, brilliant!

I love it when students send me photos of their second quilt projects.  

In the spirit of the season—I thought I’d share. 

They say that solids are the underdogs of the fabric world—but they really make a statement when contrasted well. 

Allison (left) did just that by using a nice mix of muted pastels to recreate the “Thea’s Puzzle Quilt” from Amy Butler’s web site.   This quilt says, "curl up and read!"  

It might be a little too chilly for picnics right now, but doesn’t Jane’s quilt make you want to open a bottle of wine and nibble on cheese and crackers? 

Jane used lots of fat quarters to recreate the Blue Underground Studios’ In & Out pattern.  Just goes to show you—buy what you like—and use what you buy! 

Keep all those emails and pictures coming…!

Are you ready for an OMG moment?  Check this out….

...the front of the quilt...

Quiltologist Paul Davis has executed another feat of fabric engineering genius! 

This two sided t-shirt quilt was made for his niece—a freshman at Vanderbilt—thus the giant V emblazoned on the back.  The picture doesn’t do it justice.  While the rest of us would have appliquéd the V, Paul challenged himself to piece the V into the backing.  That’s right folks—we’re talking curved AND INSET piecing in the shape of the logo.   Very few quilters are brave enough to try this let alone pull it off.

 ...the back...

Of course this quilt has generated lots of buzz with students in the dorm asking where they can get something like this.  And the answer is simple—they can’t.  This quilt is one of a kind—a true labor of love—and a treasure to last a lifetime.

What’s next Paul?

Have you ever seen a quilt that so captured you that you just had to make it? 

That’s how Cathy felt when she saw the cover quilt pictured on Kaffe Fassett’s original patchwork design book “Glorious Patchwork.”  I know the feeling.  I remember buying the book back in 1997 when it was first released.  I thought—someday I’m going to make that quilt.  Of course, I didn’t—but Cathy did!

What goes into a project like this?  Well, lots and lots of fabric—time—patience and the desire to make something crazy special.  Cathy’s been working on her piece for nearly five years.  At first she hand pieced each of the teeny tiny blocks—a slow and laborious process if there ever was one.  Then she got a machine—and the project picked up some speed.  

This is improvisational quilting as it’s finest.  Cathy’s use of thoughtful color play, coupled with whacky piecing that’s squared up just right gives this quilt a strong graphic design that’s well balanced and visually interesting.  Amazing eye candy!