The Nana Quilt

I’d been working on this little quilt for quite some time. It all started when I worked at a quilt shop and was admiring all the cute 1930’s reproduction prints that would come and go from stock. I began collecting them whenever there was a stray fat quarter or less leftover. If there was a sale, I’d get an 1/8 of a yard of several of them. There were so many to choose from and I’d hoped I could get enough so that there would be no repeat uses of any one design in the quilt. It didn’t work out that well, but I did manage to collect enough to create a quilt that was quite ‘patchy’ and one that I’m very pleased with. This was a project that I kept in a small box and would take out every so often to work on. One time, when I was cutting a stack of the fabrics into squares with a rotary cutter, I actually sliced into my pinky finger! I spent a few hours at the emergency room to get stitches but they were so busy that I called it quits and picked up some butterfly strips at the pharmacy to mend the finger myself. To no avail, I ended up losing the chunk off of my fingertip anyway but now you can barely notice it at all. After that little trauma, I had put this project away and probably for psychological reasons, let it be unfinished for another 8 years. When I got an embroidery machine and discovered the redwork designs I could do, is when I got the idea to incorporate them into the retro patchwork quilt. That was all the motivation I needed and I set to work on finishing it up. I did get the top finished rather fast but ran into a design decision with the border – whether to scallop it or leave the edges straight. My friend Jan had a good point when she told me that she thought the scallops would detract from an already busy quilt. Then that was all I needed for another push. It is easier to do a straight border than a scalloped that’s for sure. The urge to finish one of my many UFO’s was so strong that I got right on it and finished quilting it and binding it within the next day.

I’ve decided to keep this quilt for my house. I have no young children, but I hope to have grandchildren that may come to stay and visit once in a while. I hope to pass on my appreciation of the historical implications this quilt has for me. No, I don’t mean the memories of rotary cutting accidents and procrastinating on projects! When I was a little kid, I used to see my aunt working on a dresden plate quilt at my grandmother’s house. She used cardboard templates which I helped with by tracing around the edges, onto the back of the fabric pieces. I’m not sure if those fabrics were from leftover feedsack fabrics that my Mom told me about, or if she had bought them more recently. I love the story that Mom tells of when she was a little girl that Grandma would make all the dresses out of flour sacks. I’d always imagined that she meant all her dresses were made of a solid muslin type of fabric, but then I figured it all out when I learned about the printed feedsack reproduction fabrics at the quilt shop that I worked at later on. Those must have been some really cute dresses, even if they were typically worn by children from less affluent families. I remember my Mom embroidering things every now and then, admiring how beautiful and inexpensive it was to do. That, along with exposure to the illustrations in my formative ‘learning to read’ years from books like “Dick and Jane” – I developed an appreciation for the Redwork style of embroidery. In addition to this nostalgia, add the memories of my Nana, who also was a very creative and practical woman who exposed me to her stitching adventures seemingly every time I’d visited her. I used to watch everything she did, and even would go under the table to confiscate her fabric scraps from the floor as she sewed, trying to imagine what I could use them for. She had a toybox full of old fashioned toys for the grandchildren to play with and she would think of fun and interesting things to do with us. It is because of fond memories such as these that I commemorate this quilt to the hard working, industrious women of my heritage, and reserve it for my own grandchildren someday to enjoy at this “Nana’s” house.

Hawaiian Sentiments

For my 25th wedding anniversary, I was whisked away to the beautiful island of Maui to celebrate by my excited-to-be-surprising-me darling husband. We spent 11 days there and on the actual day of our anniversary, I took a class in Hawaiin quilting. The kit consisted of everything needed to make a square pillow. Being a quilter (mostly by machine) anyway, I was surprised at how much there was to learn about this technique. It didn’t take long to pick it up but I have to say that I admire the amount of effort that goes into the gorgeous bed-sized quilts I saw while there. My hands and fingers were getting sore after only 2 hours of stitching. Luckily, there are available little stick-on pads for the fingertips to protect from chafing or injury from the needle. I worked on the quilt sometimes during the rest of our stay and on the long flight home (12 hours), and I worked on it here and there after returning home. But, that was 3 1/2 years ago and it is still almost finished. I think that I don’t want it to end, kind of like a good book…you know what I mean? All that is left is to quilt through the remaining 6 sea turtles, then I will take it to be matted and framed for my wall. There is no way that I’ll use it or let my pets use it as a pillow after all that time and work. Besides, it beholds some of the most precious memories to treasure. Greg went on a sightseeing adventure while I took the class, and that night, we went to an authentic Hawaiian Luau where I watched Greg in a hula lesson 🙂 and ended the evening with a slow dance together on the beach to traditional Hawaiian wedding music. Nice.

Hawaiian quilts are unique to the world, a birth of beauty from the blending of Hawaiian and American tradition and culture.  Tapa cloth, made from bark of the Wauke tree, was the only cloth available to the early Hawaiians.  Making this cloth was an intricate part of Hawaiian culture.  It took many days of hard work for the Hawaiian women to make and design tapa, which was stacked to make bedding. The first recorded introduction of quilting to Hawaii was in 1820 when the first missionaries arrived in Hawaii.  A group of royal Hawaiian ladies sat on the deck of the sailing ship Thadeus, dressed only in wrapped tapa, where  missionary ladies gently showed the art of quilting. The very creative and innovative Hawaiians soon developed a unique quilting style which closely reflected their own culture and traditions,  giving birth to the beautiful, more intricate Hawaiian quilt. Hawaiian quilting patterns traditionally reflect objects of nature or everyday household items that evoke the memory of loved ones.  Things such as Plumeria blossoms, hair combs worn by Princess Kaiulani, or a Ginger lei.  In general, Hawaiian quilt patterns do not use humans or animals in their designs. Hawaiian families treasure their quilts as possessions of great significance.   It was traditional for a new quilt to be made for a bride or as a present for a new grandchild.  The Hawaiian quilt symbolizes an attachment and a love for Hawaii shared by people throughout the world.  © 1999-2001 Hawaiian Quilt Collection http://www.hawaiian-quilts.com/

 

 

Have Bag, Will Travel!

Ta-dah! I’ve finally finished the Amy Butler Patchwork Handbag featured in her “In Stitches” book. It is made mostly of fabrics from Amy Butler by Rowan, and a couple of Heather Bailey pieces. I should be cleaning up after myself in the kitchen and sewing room but I couldn’t wait to post the photo.  This was an easy (and messy) bag to make for someone who has made bags before. I’ve made several in the past and have even designed a couple so I wonder why I thought I needed to follow this pattern. It would have been faster on my own because the instructions were overly spelled out and I wonder if that would make it easier for a beginner ~or maybe more difficult. Anyway, it is now my new knitting carry all for taking projects on the run. It’s nice and long to fit my longer knitting needles. It measures 6″ x 6″ x 16″ and is completely lined. I didn’t make any pockets because I find that I never use them anyway. Rather, I may make a zippered pouch to match that will hold smaller items and fit nicely inside the bag.

 

This new little project will be great for taking along in my new bag. This sweater is out of Debbie Bliss’ “Simply Baby” book and will be my very first attempt at tackling cables. One sleeve is finished and has seed stitch around the wrist. It is my first time doing seed stitch – on purpose, that is. I love the yarn. It’s Bernat’s Soy (half soy, half acrylic) in the color ‘Seasalt’. It has a soft drape and sheen, making it perfect for this baby sweater. Hopefully, it will hold up well in the wash as I’ve never heard about or read any reviews on the characteristics of soy yarn before. Okay, onward to cleaning up my stuff so I can get knitting!