Today I finished my Southwest Strip Stacks to the flimsy stage!
The top measures approximately 91″ x 97″– queen size.
My design wall is now free and clear–ready to tackle the next project!
Monthly Archives: April 2015
Gee’s Bend Quilters Coming to Vancouver
This quilt is from “The Quilts of Gee’s Bend” exhibit. The quilter was Annie Mae Young. It is titled, “Work-clothes quilt with center medallion of strips”. The quilt was made in 1976 from denim, corduroy, and synthetic blends and measures 76.5″ x 108″.
Some members of the Gee’s Bend Quilters will be coming to Vancouver this fall. As part of the Maiwa Textile Symposium that runs from September to November, the Gee’s Bend Quilters will be presenting a lecture and two workshops.
Monday, October 19, 2015, 7:45 pm: Lecture at Netloft, Granville Island, $15
Monday, October 19 and Tuesday, October 20, 2015, 10 am to 4 pm: Workshop, at Maiwa Loft, Granville Island, $295 (includes lab fee of $25)
Wednesday, October 21 and Thursday, October 22, 2015, 10 am to 4 pm: Workshop at Maiwa Loft, Granville Island, $295 (includes lab fee of $25)
Registration for these classes opens June 22, 2015 at 10 am. This link will take you to the full calendar including the class descriptions and registration form: http://www.maiwa.com/workshops/pdf/2015Symposium.pdf
Gee’s Bend is an African American majority community that has remained very isolated due in part to its geography as it is surrounded on three sides by the Alabama River.
Quilting in Gee’s Bend dates back to the 19th Century. It is speculated that the patterns of the Western and Central Aftrican textiles had a significant influence on the distinctive improvisational and simplistic geometric signature style of the quilts produced by the Gee’s Bend Quilters. Many modern quilters credit the Gee’s Bend quilts as significantly influencing the development of the Modern Quilt Movement.
The following links provide further information on the Quilters of Gee’s Bend.
1. The Gee’s Bend quilters were in Vancouver for the 2005, 2011, and 2013 Maiwa Textile Symposium. This is a blog post written by Krista Hennebery who attended one of the 2011 workshops.
2. Video titled, “the Quilts of Gee’s Bend” by the Souls Grown Deep Foundation.
3. Why Quilts Matter – Sisters in Cloth: The Modern Quilters and the Quilters of Gee’s Bend
4. Blog posts from Kristin Shields about the Quilters of Gee’s Bend.
5. Blog post from Michelle Bilyeu about the Quilters of Gee’s Bend.
6. Deep South Magazine article – The Future of Gee’s Bend.
7. Article by Richard Kalina – Gee’s Bend Modern.
8. Blog post from I’m Feelin’ Crafty regarding the Quilters of Gee’s Bend.
Improv Under the Influence Workshop With Krista Hennebury
This is the quilt that I started yesterday in our guild sponsored workshop titled, “Improv Under the Influence” with Krista Hennebury. We were to bring 12 – 5″ x 5″ charm squares from each of 5 fat quarters of warm related, solid colours and the same number and size of squares from each of 5 fat quarters of related, cool solid colours. I picked purples with my daughter in mind as purple is her favorite colour and greens because green is my favorite colour. My design wall is still occupied with my Strip Stacks queen size quilt so I taped these pieces to my cupboard door to take the picture. The bottom purple strip still needs to be trimmed and sewn to the rest of the piece.
This vibrant pink and green quilt is Krista’s quilt and one of the sample quilts that she brought along to the workshop. Krista’s describes her technique as building improv strip units that can be used in many different projects including wall hangings, place mats, table runners, pillow covers, and quilts. This technique would be suited to making improvisational piano key borders that could be added to any modern quilt.
Krista told us that her quilt was inspired by an unnamed antique quilt that she saw on display in Bellingham, WA during a 2012 show titled, American Quilts: The Democratic Art. Krista described that quilt as one large Courthouse Steps block using scraps of various cotton and polyester prints that appeared to come from women’s clothing and scraps of wool that appeared to come from men’s suits. It was this contrast between the men’s and women’s clothing that led Krista to think about the contrast that results between cool and warm colours.
Although Krista did not have a photo of the quilt that inspired her, I was able to find a picture on the internet of what I believe was that very quilt. This picture was found on a blog called, Nifty Quilts. Through some other searching, I believe I have located pictures of the other quilts that were part of that exhibit of quilts that was shown at the Whatcom Museum from August 4 to October 28, 2012. The description of this quilt is, “African-American Log Cabin Variation, c 1950-75 from the collection of Roderick Kiracofe.”
Strip Stacks – Progress
I am finally getting back to my southwest-themed Strip Stacks quilt. I have been busy quilting tops for others on my long arm so my own projects have been languishing.
I started piecing this quilt on January 24, 2015 at our guild retreat. I thought I might make this lap sized but after reaching that size I still had lots of batik strips left, so I continued making blocks. I am hopeful that this will grow to fit our bed–somewhere around 91″ x 97″.
I have just four more blocks to make and then I can finish joining the columns together and call it a finished flimsy!