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My mother taught me to sew when I was seven and we made many of our clothes during the subsequent years. Mom especially liked to make pajamas for us kids, while I enjoyed making the outfits I would be seen in. A few years ago I put together a lecture comparing some of my quilts with garments from my youth (yes! I still have many of them  😀 ). The lecture is called “Gone to the Dark Side”  and you can find information about it at https://chrisquilts.net/?p=4370

When I graduated from high school my parents gave me a brand new Sears Kenmore sewing machine.

I was thrilled! I decided my first project should be a quilt for my “hope chest”. I cut a 6″ square from cardboard and dug out all of the scraps from our sewing projects. There were cottons, denims, flannels, crepe d’chine, seersucker and even some wool! I traced around the cardboard on the wrong side of each scrap and cut out all the squares with a scissors. Once the squares were cut I laid them out in 9-patches (I didn’t know that’s what they were called then) and sewed them together.

I assembled these blocks into a top and it ended up being king sized. I couldn’t wait to use some of the fancy stitches on my machine (my mom’s old Singer didn’t have any of those), so I did a line of decorative stitching over the seams of all the blocks.

Once the top was finished I layered it with a sheet, and a sheet blanket for the filling, and sewed all the way around the outside – leaving an opening for turning; only to find out I’d layered it incorrectly (the sheet was on the inside). So I ripped it apart, sewed around, and turned once again. To finish I tied it with knots of 4 ply polyester yarn at the block corners. What a delight for the eyes!

Even though it’s pretty ugly (don’t you love oxymorons?), it’s kept Mike and me warm for 42 years!

But lately it’s showing it’s age. Many of the fabrics are just plain disintegrating.

The green wool from a vest I made shrunk up years ago, but that didn’t keep me from tossing it into the washing machine many, many times.

Yet the fabrics are filled with memories. The pink denim with doves above was used in my favorite pair of hip hugger, bell bottom jeans (just picture that – it was the 70’s). In the following photo the brown floral was a sundress, the light blue flannel was a nightgown of mine, and the purple with flowers was from an apron I made for my German “mother” when I did a class trip to Germany my junior year.

So… do I retire it to the actual cedar chest Mike bought me as an engagement gift (at the foot of the bed)? or ???

While taking these pictures I realized the worn blocks are all around the outer edge. Perhaps I need to remove the last row of squares all the way around, add a binding and use it for another 42 years. What do you think?

In keeping with my recent crazy quilt post, I’d like to relate a story about a crazy quilt of my own:

In 2002 I had the privilege of purchasing a wonderful Crazy Quilt, circa 1885, from a dear lady in Illinois.

The owner was a woman named Vee and she related this history of the quilt to me: “It was found in an attic in the bungalow of Julius and Harriet (Lyons) Reed in Three Bridges, NJ after Etta (Harriet) had passed away in the 1970’s. Etta was Vees husband’s Aunt. They were originally from Davenport, IA. Julius was a soldier during the Spanish American war and he fought in Cuba. When he returned he went to New York and met Etta at church. They fell in love and lived in NY until Julius was drawn to a piece of property in New Jersey. Julius was a floor worker at Wanamaker’s Department Store in NY and they were quite poor, but he wanted this piece of property so badly that, as the family story goes, he met some Italians and did something for them – no one knows what – and they gave him enough money to buy the land. Julius then built the bungalow completely by hand. Etta was very good at decorating on a shoestring. Julius preceded Etta in death and after she passed away Vee and her husband went through the home and found little of value except for this crazy quilt which was in a box in the attic. They knew nothing else about the quilt, but Vee did mention that Julius did have very wealthy relatives in New York named Wentworth.”

Don’t you just love family stories and the unique details which are remembered?

Well, the quilt was stored well for all of it’s life, obviously never seeing the light of day for any length of time, so I wanted to get it appraised right away. While doing the appraisal, my friend Carol Butzke, commented that my quilt included a Stevengraph.

I’d never heard of a Stevengraph and set out to learn more. In searching the internet I ran across a collector in England. I sent him the picture, and here is a portion of his response:

“Chris
Thank you for sending the image of your silk. It has come across very well, and I can confirm it is indeed a Stevengraph. When originally mounted, the title printed on the card mount was “The First Point”.
This is of course a scene of two hounds chasing a hare. The rider on horseback is the judge, and the person in red at the edge of the crowd is the person who has just released the hounds, called a ‘slipper’.
It is impossible to date your actual silk, as they were made continuously right up to the destruction of the factory in 1940.
Thomas Stevens, of Coventry, Great Britain created the word Stevengraph to describe his silk pictures. It has now been extended to include all such woven silk pictures, and even the bookmarks as well.
All silks fade very badly in day light, and deteriorate with light and dust. From the image you have sent me, if your actual silk is as bright coloured as the image, yours is in remarkably good condition. There is no fading, and no apparant damage. As an item of beauty, it now needs always to be part of the quilt of which it has become an intregal part.
I hope this gives you a flavour of your Stevengraph. Do take care of it and the rest of the quilt. Keep the silk out of as much light as you can and away from dust, and who knows, maybe it will last another 100 years.

Regards
Peter Daws”

I was thrilled to have this information!

Currently the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Arts in Cedarburg is hosting an exhibit of Stevengraphs!

This is a portion of some additional information the Museum emailed concerning the exhibit:

I haven’t seen the exhibit yet, but I’m looking forward to visiting the museum soon!

Do you own any Stevengraphs, or have you any stories to tell?

***************

And one more thing! While in Paducah, Wendy mentioned that there was a large display wall at Frank’s Sewing Center in Waukesha, WI (the shop where she’s the assistant manager), and they were considering featuring quilts by a “Customer of the Month” there. I told her I thought it was a great idea, and she responded “Good, you can be first!”

So I’ve put up a display of my Parallelism and Concentricity quilts for the month of May. My book “Where Do I Start With Fiber Art” is available there also. It includes the techniques I’ve used in the quilts displayed.

I hope you have a chance to stop by!

Two years ago I put together a lecture called Tradition With a Twist. In it I share antique quilts in traditional patterns, and the modern variations I’ve created. Collecting the antique quilts for the talk was a big part of the fun. By the time I presented the lecture for the first time I had found antique versions for all but one pattern – Mariner’s Compass. This was particularly frustrating because I’ve made so many unique Mariners variations – and even written a book about it!

Fast forward to this past January. Our life has taken a new direction because Mike retired on December 31st. This change has presented many new things to deal with, and one was to adjust our cell phone/internet plan. As many of you may know, there are tons of options out there, and it’s all so confusing! As a part of this adventure, we spent one night “trying out” a new WiFi possibility. In the midst of this Mike told me to just “surf the web” and see how the speed of the connection was (silly man 🙂 ). I don’t surf often, but when I do, it’s usually to try to find an antique Mariner’s Compass quilt in my price range (a seemingly hopeless plan). Well … a lovely quilt in white, orange and yellow popped up, and 12 hours later it was mine!!!

I’m thrilled! I had really wanted a medallion style Mariner’s quilt, and I love yellow and orange. But this one really tickled me – and here’s why!

Mariner’s Compass quilts tend to be rare because of the degree of difficulty involved in the traditional template method for piecing them. Those long skinny points require a lot of patience and skill. I didn’t get into making this pattern until I discovered that compasses could be made with paper piecing. This made accurate blocks attainable for average quilters.

Now, look closely at the above picture of the central medallion from the quilt, and prepare to be impressed. Those points were not foundation pieced, they were not even template pieced… they were hand appliquéd!!! It’s a bit easier to see on this picture of one of the small corner compasses.

The quilt is hand quilted also. The stitches are not the finest I’ve ever seen, but they have kept the quilt together through much wear and numerous washings. Oh how I wish it could talk and tell me who made it and when. That’s why I’m always telling students to label their quilts!

So, would you like to see this quilt “in the cloth”?

I’ve been blessed with the wonderful opportunity to be one of the keynote speakers for University Days 2015, at the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Art in Cedarburg, WI. This event takes place May 1st and 2nd. I’ll be presenting Tradition With a Twist on Saturday morning at 9am. University Days is an exciting event with a lot of great activities. For all the information go to:  http://wiquiltmuseum.com/education/classes-workshops/university-days-2014

Then, on a personal note – Sommer has a new baby brother!!!

Trey Michael Kirsch was born this past Friday night, February 20th.

Brad and Betsy (our son and daughter-in-law), are doing well. We’re all thrilled and Sommer loves her “bay brudder”.

Mike and I were out antiquing recently and I found an absolute treasure! We do a lot more looking than buying (our home is getting full), but occasionally I just can’t say “no”. Here’s the story:

Fabric Yo Yo’s have always been popular with quilters. In my collection I have 2 antique coverlets (they’re not called quilts because they do not have the traditional “3 layers, held together with stitches”). This first one is put together with “squares” framed with a purple “sashing”.

I love this piece. The placement of the yo yo’s is rather unique and the “grape” clusters look wonderful hanging down the sides of a bed.

The other one is quite different. I was looking for a vintage quilt with a dog on it for one of my lectures and this one barked right out at me:

What makes it unique is that the yo yo’s are attached to a muslin back with tufts of wool yarn. The doggie is stuffed and has 3-D ears. They just don’t make em like this any more  😀 !

Clover came out with wonderful yo yo makers a few years ago and there was a big surge in popularity at that time. On our Sew We Go project, when we cruised through France, we used the yo yo maker to create a cluster of grapes on a quilter’s arm chair caddy.

It was Wendy’s idea … and very clever!

About ten years ago I adopted this clown from an antique store in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. His body is all yo yo’s and I just couldn’t resist him. He’s been sitting on a shelf ever since.

This brings me up to my latest find. A yo yo girl!

Isn’t she delightful? I think all of her yo yo’s are made from men’s silk neckties, and where the clown has pom pom hands and feet – she has bells. I just knew they were perfect for each other!

They now share a shelf in “Sommer’s room”, and they’re a sweet couple of yo-yo’s!

Do you have any unusual yo yo items? Please send me pictures – I’d love to share them.

And just a quick reminder – the Floss Frenzy challenge is due February 28th. Here in Wisconsin, we are enjoying the perfect weather for sitting and stitching under a cozy lap sized quilt! So you have over a month to do just that and send me a picture. Remember – there will be a blog quilt show of these pictures – with prizes!!!