machine quilting motifs
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At the age of 75, Trudy Schwader can only estimate her lifetime total of quilts. Somewhere around number 50 she began counting and taking pictures before giving them away. By now, her best guess - counting the baby quilts and the wedding quilts and the ones that were an experiment with color or style or pattern - her best guess is that she's made more than 130 quilts.
With that many to her credit, Trudy's quilting experience holds something useful to share with everyone from beginning quilters to lifetime veterans. So I decided to talk with Trudy and make a record of her quilting career. The result is a series of articles representing our conversations. The interviews piece together a little of the rich history that quilting holds, through one woman's story and memories - sharing some tips, insights, and favorite patterns...
[Question: What got you started with quilting?] Answer: My mother was a sewer, of course, and ever since I can remember, I liked sewing, too. I'd guess I was sewing at a young age, but I definitely remember sewing when I was 10. Mother had 13 children, and I was one of the youngest. I really noticed and liked her quilts because it was once the older kids were all grown up and gone that she made most of them.
[Question: You liked quilts and you liked sewing - the perfect match.] Answer: Oh yes. And I enjoy putting puzzles together. To me, putting quilts together is also like doing a puzzle.
[Question: So you always sewed and never were really a 'beginner.' But obviously, when you were a 10 year old, you didn't put together a big queen-sized patchwork quilt. What was your first big project once you started quilting on your own?] Answer: Well let's see. Some 50 years ago when I first was married and I didn't have any kids yet, I started making a quilt. I like roses, so I put roses in the quilt top that I made. Then I started to hand-quilt it, but by that time I had three children underfoot, and I was just too busy!
[Question: You started your first quilt when you were newly married, and then you had three children before you finished quilting it?] Answer: Yes, before I finished hand- quilting. I ended up just tying the rest of it, and because I had eight kids all together, I kept using that quilt. I noticed that the part that I had hand-quilted didn't wear out as quickly as the rest, so I realized I would never tie any future quilts. The problem with that was that I just never did enjoy doing the handwork. These days I don't usually hand-quilt. What I do is get my quilt-top ready and then let somebody else do the quilting by machine. What I enjoy about quilting is not the hand-work. I like working with the colors, putting a design together, and creating interesting patterns. To me, that's what's fun about quilting.
[Question: Do you still have your first quilt with the roses on it?] Answer: No, no, no, no. (laughs) That was so long ago and I needed it for the kids, and with children you have to wash things all the time. I used that quilt up till it was... gone. By then, I had made another and then another one. I'm still doing that.
Theresa Modine's articles on topics related to quilting and crafts are published in Quilt Box Newsletter, the quilter's favorite on-line letter. Be sure to refer to Theresa's complete archive of articles at: http://www.quiltbox.com
...Author: Theresa Modine
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Timely help for machine quilting motifs
About Quilting I'm not inserting an image of the Milky Way quilt for a couple of reasons. It's difficult to see the design as a small thumbnail, plus I've included two very different color and color value arrangements within the pattern, and don't have room to display both. Milky Way is one of many quilt blocks based on the traditional Friendship Star design, but Milky Way's unique alternating stars won't emerge when blocks are simply sewn side-by-side. The method used to make them appear is easy though, and it's simple to create all sorts of layouts, from subtle to dramatic. Related Quilt Patterns Milky Way Quilt Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Wednesday, September 1st, 2010 at 13:48:57. Permalink | Comment | Email this Thirties Pinwheel-in-a-Square Block This thirties-era Pinwheel-in-a-Square quilt block finishes at 12" x 12", large enough for the wonderful reproduction fabrics to make a bold statement. Of course, if you aren't into fabrics from this area, simply choose another theme for your quilt blocks. The design works well with any fabrics. Janet Wickell Thirties Pinwheel-in-a-Square Block originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Monday, August 30th, 2010 at 07:00:57. Permalink | Comment | Email this Woven Baskets Quilt & Quilt Block Pattern I've had several emails from readers looking for basket quilt and quilt block patterns. So here's something new, a Woven Basket pattern. Use the pattern to make Woven Baskets quilt blocks. Page 4 of the pattern includes yardages and cutting to help you make a 61" square wallhanging, but you can customize the size and layout to suit your needs. Like other basket blocks, Woven Baskets works perfectly with either scrappy or organized fabrics. Janet Wickell Woven Baskets Quilt & Quilt Block Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 at 09:23:02. Permalink | Comment | Email this Improved Four Patch Quilt Block & Quilt Pattern The Improved Four Patch quilt block is made up of a four patch central unit set on point, and then surrounded by triangles. It's an easy patchwork quilt block that's suitable for quilters of every skill level, even beginners. The block finishes at 11-1/4-inches square, and you'll find instructions and fabric requirements for single blocks and for an entire quilt. Improved Four Patch Quilt Block & Quilt Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Saturday, August 21st, 2010 at 05:57:31. Permalink | Comment | Email this Navajo Quilt Block Pattern The traditional Navajo patchwork quilt block makes a wonderful scrap quilt. Mix-up its colors, adding anything that reminds you of the western United States (or throw out tradition and choose an entirely different palette). Navajo is a block with a ready-made on-point appearance -- created by sewing corner squares to each patchwork center. Sew the blocks side by side, or put them into columns and separate the columns with colorful strips of fabric. Janet Wickell Navajo Quilt Block Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Wednesday, August 18th, 2010 at 10:07:32. Permalink | Comment | Email this Write About Machine Quilting for Us I'm excited to finally announce that we're looking for a contributing writer (CW for short) for the Quilting site. CWs are part of a new program at About.com, one that's helping Guides fill-in areas of specialized content, in this case someone to write about Machine Quilting (it's a fantastic method, but I love hand quilting, and have loads of work to do in order to develop that content). So if you love to machine quilt, and have technical writing experience, just follow the link to learn how to apply to be a Contributing Writer for the Quilting site. Write About Machine Quilting for Us originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Monday, August 16th, 2010 at 10:46:26. Permalink | Comment | Email this Aurora Borealis Quilt Block and Quilt Pattern I've only seen the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) once, from an open field in Iowa. They were beautiful, but had I not known what I was looking at, the constant bends and flashes of color that crossed the night sky would likely have been a frightening experience. I hope to witness the lights again sometime, but it won't happen in my southern state. I wanted the Aurora Borealis quilt to resemble those flashes of light against a night sky. The quilt is created by surrounding color-intense stars (a Friendship Star variation) with a mottled, multicolored fabric backed in black. A plain black background is added next, to make the colorful components stand out. There's not enough space here to show you an image of the Aurora Borealis quilt -- see page 3 of the pattern (and click on the image if you would like a closer look). Janet Wickell Aurora Borealis Quilt Block and Quilt Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Friday, August 13th, 2010 at 12:00:13. Permalink | Comment | Email this Ocean Waves Quilt Pattern Ocean Waves is a design that's packed with half square triangle units. The quilt isn't difficult to make, but it does have lots and lots of pieces. I'm only showing the block here, because scaling the quilt down to a size that fits the space makes it pretty much unrecognizable. The pattern is a natural for scrap piecing, but looks great sewn in an orderly fashion, too. If the number of patches the quilt requires seems like more than you want to take on, just assemble a small batch of the units each time you sit down to sew. Accumulate them in a box, keeping track of how many you add each time, and for a true scrap quilt sew the units with fabrics from the day's sewing tasks. The end result is definitely worth the effort. Ocean Waves Quilt Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Sunday, August 8th, 2010 at 15:47:01. Permalink | Comment | Email this New Red Light/Green Light, an Easy Quilt Pattern Like other quilts, Red Light/Green Light can be personalized in so many ways. I love florals, and can see it as a 'watercolor' style quilt, where the florals melt into each other. And batiks would be perfect, too. Simply change the fabrics to personalize the pattern. Straight grain pieces help make this an easy quilt pattern, since there are no stretchy bias edges to deal with. It's one of many quilt patterns on the Quilting Web site that are a good choice for beginners who want to practice their rotary cutting and strip piecing skills. If you're a beginning quilter, read a few important tutorials before you make this 59" x 79" quilt: About Fabric Grain New Red Light/Green Light, an Easy Quilt Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Wednesday, August 4th, 2010 at 11:27:03. Permalink | Comment | Email this Color Wheel Basics for Quilters Forget about all the "rules" you've heard about colors that do and do not "match," because you can make any color work with any other color by playing with different versions of it. Choosing colors and fabrics for our quilts becomes easier with each quilt we make. We don't have to use a color wheel to choose fabrics we like, but it does help us understand the relationship between colors, and that makes fabric selection a bit less stressful. Photo © Janet Wickell Color Wheel Basics for Quilters originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Sunday, August 1st, 2010 at 16:00:22. Permalink | Comment | Email this Newsfeed display by CaRP |
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