In the Dec/Jan issue of MaryJanesFarm, “Magic Happens” (on newsstands Nov. 10), I led you here to my daily journal for a chance to win the book Art Quilts of the Midwest, by Linzee Kull McCray.
The 20 artists featured in this beautifully illustrated book have created a community of original art forms that bring new life to an old tradition. For a chance to win the book, tell me about your favorite quilt or quilter in the comments below by Dec. 1. I’ll toss your name into a hat and draw a lucky winner the second week of December. Stay tuned for more magazine-related giveaways!
If you’re not yet a subscriber to my magazine, MaryJanesFarm, subscribe here for $19.95/year.
My favorite quilters have always been my Mother and Grandmother. They helped me create my favorite quilt in 1971, when I was getting ready to head off to college. We worked on it at my Grandma’s house, while visiting, laughing, and drinking a lot of coffee. The beloved quilt is still in my possession, after traveling to Alaska with me, keeping me warm for 9 years up there, and then back to Michigan (my home state) again. Of course, it shows its “wear and tear”, but more importantly it brings back a lot of memories, and LOVE.
My favorite quilters are my friend Angela and my friend Dixie. Several years ago they started a quilting group at our church. At the time, I had never sewn on a machine before. Angela convinced my to try quilting. I was very skeptical. I completed my first quilt in about 5 months. Angela assured our group of beginning sewers it would be easy. It was an Irish chain. I designed the next quilt that I made with both Angela and Dixie’s help. The Upper Room Quilters still get together every week in Dixie’s sewing studio.
I admire the quilting of Carole Provost-Meier, of our HenHouse. She owns a quilt shop that provides beautiful fabrics, accessories, and all manner of quilting needs. The quilts that she has made and shared online are beautiful! If I win this book, I will give it to her to enjoy and share with her quilting community.
Hay there,
Woe …that’s a tough question. My mother and grandmother quilted and there was always one in the frame downstairs. Nanny was at our house ALOT !! But If suppose it would be the Sunbonnett Sue quilt with all of the fabrics from shirts and jammies and dresses that were also handmade. I can look and feel the small pieces of fabrics and I can remember many of the outfits that they came from. It give me such a connection to my history.
Next would be the Seven Sisters quilt that I got from a friends yard sale. She said her grandmother had made it. Now my friend was 70-ish when I bought that quilt…..for $10.00
Quilts just hold a lot of love which gets shared by just being in its presents.
Hugs,
Daizy #1093
My mom and grandma were not quilters per se but the made a few. My favorite is the an appliqués quilt that was a kit. By the time I was a child my grandparents were sleeping in twin beds due to my grandfathers back problems and grandmas arthritis. Grandma bought two kits for matching quilts. She and my mom worked on them all summer. I remember playing on the floor at their feet while they sewed on the appliqués. I now own one and my cousin has the other. Sweet memories of the past.
My favorite quilt would have to be “Jersey Girl”. It is a quilt of a cow, it is beautiful. I’m going to quilt it for 4-H this year, I can’t wait, I already got some fabric from an Amish dry goods store. You can find it here at
http://bjdesignsandpatterns.com/products/bjjg-58
I’m going to do it in realistic colors instead of purple and green. It is going to look like my AppleButter.
My second favorite quilt would have to we “Laura in Redwork” a replica of Laura Ingalls red and white quilt. I bought the pattern and made it last year, it did not turn out very neat, but that’s how you learn, by making mistakes!
I would have to say that my favorite quilt is the one I made in high school. I took a sewing class and the teacher said we could make whatever we wanted for our final project. So knowing this I went big and chose to make a quilt. At the time I started to regret my choice but as I look back now I’m grateful for what I have done. I happened to pick one of the hardest materials to work with and I worked for many hours outside of school to complete this quilt in time. My completed quilt is large enough for a queen bed. It’s made of a minky type of material and is patterned white and neon green. It’s something I will forever be proud of. Especially since I made it all by myself!
My favorite quilt was a Sunbonnet Sue on my Mom and Dad’s double bed. In a family with several children, Mom and Dad’s bed was a place of quiet and comfort when we were sick, and I remember the stories my mind made up about Sue.
I have two quilt tops, made by my cousin’s mother. They are two inch square blocks end on end, row on row. I have purchased a coordinating print for the backing, and that’s as far as I’ve gotten.
Many years ago my mother created a beautiful Cathedral Window Squares quilt using old sheets fort the backing squares and scraps from her hundreds of dresses/etc she sewed for her 6 daughters and 1 son (OK, she did not sew him dresses…) and she did it by hand. The sheets were difficult to pierce with a needle, so this was hard on her fingers. Around 2005 I gathered quilt scraps and materials and backing to make my own Cathedral Window Squares quilt. But my job moved me from WI to NC in 2006 before I could start putting the quilt together. By 2014 I had still not started the quilt, so I gave away all the pieces and materials I had gathered, including the only pattern I had for the quilt. I fully expected to never make a quilt again – EVER!!. Well, I retired last year and got the “itch” again. So far I have gathered new materials and after months of search, found the pattern in The Ultimate Quilting Book by Maggie McCormick Gordon ($25) with 448 pages of quilting patters and quilting wisdom. Now I just have to find the time…… Just Kidding – I’M RETIRED!!!! I get to choose my time. YIPPEE, quilt, here we go. milka
My absolute favorite quilt is one I just finished for my father-in-law’s birthday this November. I took leftover scraps (cut into 2.5″ squares) from 16 family quilts I’d made for his grandchildren and great-grandchildren and created a mosaic of colors blending into each other to create a “quilt of many colors”. Laying it out was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle without a picture to follow. What joy for him when he received it, knowing it represented his family! What joy for me knowing that he loves his new quilt!
My very favorite quilt is one I recently found and purchased at an antique shop. The pattern is called a “postage stamp” quilt, and it is called that because all of the pieces are squares about the size of a postage stamp. When I found it in the store I looked it over and only found a few squares that were frayed a bit. This quilt is entirely hand pieced and hand quilted, and after I counted the squares down one side and across the top, and multiplied, this quilt is made up of 7,905 squares and each one finishes at 3/4″ square. Somewhere there was a quilter who worked long and hard on this quilt, and I find it hard to believe that her family gave this quilt up. But I found it and will treasure it. I sure wish we could post pictures here so you could all see it.
My treasure chest is full of wonderful quilts stitched in love by my Mother and both Grandmothers. While living in Houston, Tx I really enjoyed the International Quilt Show, the quilts are awesome works of art. I truly admire anyone who quilts!
My favorite quilt was a family quilt that had used identifiable pieces of clothing of all the family members. The last child’s clothing used was my dad’s. My mother not a quilter kept clothing of mine hoping I’d do it or we’d have someone do it. Well sadly we didn’t get a chance as it was destroyed in a fire. I also don’t quilt but am interested and my daughter has started and I have many friends that do beautiful work!
A difficult question. My favorite quilter was my maternal grandmother. She was the only family member that quilted! And a lovely lady as well.
I have many favorite quilts , as I collect antique textiles . But the one that is the sweetest is a vintage ” feedbag” quilt from the Depression made from old printed feedbags. The mills started putting the grains in printed bags to bring in more women customers . Since few had the money to buy new fabrics this was a way to get something new and not worn out for quiltmaking. ( and free! ) The design is all tiny little triangles made into flower baskets. see this pic:
https://promail.ptd.net/service/home/~/?auth=co&loc=en_US&id=162113&part=2
You can see the darling design and also my kitties Duke and Earl and some vintage punch needle hooked cat pillows also.
Of all the quilts I have seen, I’m most in awe of The Quilts of Gee’s Bend. The most colorful quilts made out of random scraps of fabric in remarkable geometrical patterns.
They have become pieces of modern art shown in museums.
My favorite quilt to do is a Jelly Roll Quilt! It’s super easy for beginners (that would be me) and I love how it always comes out different for each quilt.
Favorite quilter was my grandmother. Going to weekly quilting group gave me a true understanding of how few material things she had and how little was wasted Yet I never felt she was poor. Frugal yes. But never poor
My favorite quilters are the Gees Bend Quilters. wonderful, delightful quilts made from scraps they have saved over the years, creating beautiful designs and messages of love. If you get the chance go to one of their presentations-it is life changing!
In my past, I loved to quilt. My friend Joan and I would spend endless hours quilting & designing our masterpiece!! We taught my daughters some of quilting, and they have made very special quilts.! I have stopped quilting because of my diagnosis of MS, but plan on returning as quilting gives me peace, quietness, & brain stimulation
Thank you for giving us a opportunity to explore!!
My favorite quilter right now is my daughter, who at 40 embraced quilting with verve. She’s still working on her first top, a bright Courthouse Steps, but meantime pieced her second, a jelly roll race, which is now waiting to be quilted. Her sense of color and design is totally delightful, and her enthusiasm to learn equally so. She is helping a friend, an even newer quilter, and it tickles me that skills from her great, great grandmother, grandmother, and mother are continuing in a new generation. She is my sewing buddy and gives me fresh eyes and joy every day.
My favorite quilt is the one that I finished this year called “Then 30 year quilt”. I started it 30 years ago, when I didn’t know much about quilting. When I picked it back up to finish, I had many problems with it. But through perseverance & a great quilting instructor, who kept encouraging me when I wanted to give it up, I completed that quilt & it is displayed in my spare bedroom. I learned so many things about it & me. I’m glad I finished it!
My favorite quilt is one I got from my mom who received it upon my grandma’s passing. It was a quilting bee quilt made by all the older female members of my family. It has a central square where is stitched mother (my great-grandma) and all the younger women, my grandma included, had squares all around it with their names embroidered. Some of these women I slightly remember but others this will be my only connection to them. I was blessed with my great grandma for 13 years of my life. It is slightly worse for the wear but will always be treasured by me. I will eventually pass it on to my 7 year old daughter.
My favorite quilt has always been the Log Cabin, then I saw one that had some stars appliqued on it and fell in love with that look.
About a year ago, I joined a Facebook quilting/fabric exchange group. I did this because my mother was in hospice and I believed that I would be living with her and would need something to do with her as her health declined. It turned out, unfortunately, that she passed away after being in hospice for less than a week, so I did not have that time with her that I expected. She is, and always will be, my favorite quilter. What I didn’t expect, though, was to create friendships with the quilting ladies on Facebook. It has helped me through grieving the loss of my mother and also keeping her spirit alive, to stay active in this group. It has been an unexpected blessing.
My favorite quilt is a red and white New York Beauty that I saw in a magazine and recreated something similar to it. I just love the way it turned out. It took me two year to complete.
My favored quilt it the one we called Strawberry Fields. My aunt that was 78 years old and had a very hard time seeing what she was sewing, made the top and I got it quiled for her, before she passed away a year later. It ment so much to me to get to work with her on this beautiful red and white gingam quilt. I miss her everyday.