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Over the past month or so I’ve seen a few quilts that are so unique I just have to share. Last week I posted about the Capital Quilters show in Bismarck, ND. One of the quilters who was in my Beginning Fiber Art class, Colleen, had a quilt in the show that really made me smile. It’s called Mod TVs (I apologize that I don’t have Colleen’s last name, nor the quilter of her quilt – the picture of the card on the quilt was too blurry to read):

Colleen said she made it from a pattern, but the special part was she picked some of her favorite cartoon characters from the past and her long-arm quilter came up with patterns to put them on the tv screens.

What a trip down memory lane. Thanks Colleen!

The next quilt I want to share was made by Debbie Hawver. She was asked by a friend to make a memory quilt from her granddaughter Grace’s clothes. Debbie did an amazing job of fitting the clothes together:

She kept many of the flounces, straps, and ruffles, and even repliquéd Grace’s name in her favorite colors. What a treasure! Great job Debbie!

Debbie is a regular in my Open Lab class, as is Jean Casey, who also made a fascinating quilt for a friend. Her friend’s husband died unexpectedly and Jean was asked to make a memory quilt from his shirts and ties. She decided to match them up and created this amazing quilt in a “quilt-as-you-go” fashion.

Jean used the collars along with the ties, and then quilted each block in a pattern to match the tie.

The border is made from leftover shirt pieces and she even put a few pockets in for fun! Well done, Jean.

Three very different and delightful quilts. Thanks for letting me share them ladies.

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Also – last week I mentioned a great idea for making sample quilt sandwiches to practice free-motion quilting on:

Purchase pre-quilted muslin fabric with your 50% off coupon at JoAnn’s and simply cut it into smaller rectangles. I spent a few days teaching for the Shawnee Quilters in Carbondale, IL this past week (a wonderful group) and tried it out. It worked great! No basting sprays, no pins in the way, and it’s quite easy to ignore the cross-hatching in the background!

While I was in Carbondale I had a delightful surprise. Nancy had been at a meeting where I presented my Quilt Tales lecture – complete with tuxedo.

She snapped a pic of it and created her own  😀 ! front:

and back:

I love it – hope it made you smile.

My friend Nina emailed me shortly after reading about the Sister City challenge on my blog. In her email she wrote about two topics I think you’ll find interesting. The first was related to the post I did concerning the exhibit of Rumi O’brien’s story quilts in Madison (please click here to read that post). Here’s what Nina had to say:

Another item Nina shared in her email to me was triggered by the mention of the sister cities quilt challenge between Madison, WI and Freiberg, Germany (please click here to read that post). This is a portion of that email:

“I have to say, the blog about your challenge with the two other cities caught my eye.  Freiberg is near the place my father was a GI prisoner of war, and the town his rescuers were born in.  They met at a farm near Brand-Ebersdorf (on the map just south of Freiberg) and remained best friends for life. I went there in 2013.  I can’t recall if my father’s book came out while I was still trekking to Waukesha? If not, you may find it interesting.  Let me know, and I will send it to you.  The book has grown legs, and I have been invited to groups (churches, libraries, community groups etc) to speak about it all over the country. It is in part a book about faith, and choosing to do the right thing in the wrong place.  Maybe up your alley.”

I was not familiar with the book about Nina’s father, so she sent me a copy, and I read it in 2 nights – I literally couldn’t put it down. It is an amazing story. I highly recommend it!

Thank you, Nina, for your friendship and the information you shared!

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, and I’d like to share my thoughts with you.

I am no longer a member of the Milwaukee Art Quilters, but I am part of a new fiber art group in the Milwaukee area called the Threadbenders. I’m very excited about what’s going on with this creative bunch and I hope to share pictures and ideas about the group in a future blog.

So, what makes someone a fiber artist? I couldn’t find a definition in the dictionary, but I have my own opinions on this subject 😀 . I feel that anyone who makes quilts is a fiber artist! We have a passion and purpose for creating quilts that keep our families warm, adorn our walls and tables, or help those who are in need. We purchase fabric and supplies carefully, yet with enthusiasm, cut it apart, sew (or fuse) it back together again, and receive joy in the process. What better form of “art” can there be?

Because I do not have a background in art, I never thought of myself as an artist. When I began quilting I chose geometric patterns to piece because I loved geometry and could use a sewing machine.

As I continued to make quilts I started envisioning projects I couldn’t find patterns for. With the encouragement of teachers and friends, I tried to put into fabric what was floating through my brain and, lo and behold, I was happy with the results (most of the time).

Since, as I said, I have no background in art, I have always felt that there is creativity inside of each of us. That’s what I try to share with my students.

But this opinion has evolved over the years. Artists are inspired by many things and my faith in Jesus Christ is a huge part of my inspiration.

As I’ve grown in my faith I’ve come to realize that, because we are created in God’s image, and His amazing imagination created everything – we must each have some creativity inside of us! I know that my abilities and opportunities are all a gift from Him and I praise and thank Him for it every day! What a blessing it is to be able to do what I love and have others want to know about it. Praise the Lord!

Coming to know Jesus as my Savior has changed my life and my attitude. I realize I have a purpose: to bring God glory. I don’t always succeed, I’m a work in progress, but it is my goal and my joy to share this with others. That’s why I’m a fiber artist!

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For those of you in the Milwaukee area, I’d like to share a special opportunity to take a class in fiber art. My dear friend Laura is hosting a special workshop with Barbara Yates Beasley on June 11th. I’m already signed up! Here’s the flyer with all the information.

This is a Christmas story I think you’re going to love! It may be a little long, but it’s worth taking the time to read 🙂 !

Connie came to my Open Lab class with a unique project idea. She had inherited a huge bin of handmade doilies from her husband’s grandmother – and she had a plan!

She wanted to make them into tree skirts, but didn’t have a pattern. I started by asking her the story of the doilies. She told me the story of:

“Anna Yersin” Cookie Nana

“Anna Yersin’s hands were never idle. Her days were filled with the duties of wife and mother. In the evening she crocheted or tatted, for many years by the light of an oil lamp. Hand crocheted whole table cloths have been passed down to family members through the years. The crocheted doilies, dresser scarves and table runners used in these tree skirts were found in the homes of her and her children. While Anna may not have made all of them, certainly the bulk of them were her handiwork.

Anna was also a great cook and baker. Her chicken and dumplings with apple strudel for dessert were family favorites. It was, however, her cookies that inspired her oldest Great Grandson Michael Scott to call her “COOKIE NANA.” At the age of 3 he had no idea how appropriate the name was.

During WWII Cookie Nana sent cookies to service men, not a simple task since sugar and butter were rationed. She continued this practice even after the war, always supporting those who served. Her children, now married with families, always had cookie jars in their kitchens filled with her cookies. Her cookie baking was especially prolific at Christmas. She began her baking after Halloween.   Not too early when you understand that she baked 25 to 35 different types of Christmas cookies, many of which were decorated and intricately done. She also doubled and tripled many of the recipes. The cookies were packaged for mailing and sent all over the United States to family and friends. She filled large sturdy department store gift boxes with cookies for her children and grandchildren. This was her Christmas gift to her family. In turn, we never had trouble deciding what to give Cookie Nana for Christmas or Birthday gifts. We gave her flour, sugar, butter, postage, nuts, chocolate, the list was endless.

Cookie Nana gladly shared her recipes, loved to share her secrets, but, no one in the family has ever been able to exactly duplicate her cookies. She was blessed with a gift, and we are blessed to call her our “Cookie Nana.”

The story continues with Connie’s memories:

“The process of designing and sewing the tree skirts triggered many of my own memories of Grandma Yersin, “Cookie Nana.” When I married Bob, Grandma gave us a wedding gift that I came to realize carried great meaning. I was now a Yersin, and every Yersin household had a Kitchenaid mixer. In 1970 Kitchenaid was not sold in department stores. It was purchased through the Hobart Co., maker of heavy duty commercial mixers. At the time I wondered what I was supposed to do with this tall machine sitting on my counter since it didn’t fit anywhere else. Forty five years later it is still on my counter. It has never been repaired and is continues to be the workhorse of my kitchen.

When I was pregnant with Jill(1973), I spent one whole very hot summer day at Grandma’s house learning how to make strudel. She gave me a special table cloth to be used when I “pull” the dough. Yes the dough is pulled from the bottom and stretched until very thin, later to be used in the layers of the pastry. “You have great fingers for pulling the dough” she said, but, though I may have great fingers, I didn’t have her stamina. I never again made strudel by pulling the dough, not after I learned about phyllo dough!

I fondly remember, The Farm. Cookie Nana and her husband Anton bought 6 acres of land in Franklin, WI on 35^th and Puetz Road in 1945. The 2 buildings built closest to the road were summer homes for Adolf and Philip. The lower building close to the pond belonged to the senior Yersins. There was electricity, beds, stoves, and sinks, but no running water and no bathrooms in these buildings. The outhouse was centrally located on the land. While most of the acreage was grass, large gardens were planted every spring. Many of my unforgettable memories were from the frequent summer picnics on a 20 foot long picnic table housed in a large screen house. We never knew how many relatives, friends, or neighbors would stop by.   Cookie Nana came from the old country where the women were the cooks and the men always came first. The Yersin women were all outstanding cooks and always made plenty to share. These wonderful meals were then followed by card playing and baseball games.  

In closing Grandma’s house I chose 3 things that are currently used in my home.   I have Grandmas cake decorating kit. I absolutely love it. It is made of stainless steel, with interchangeable decorating tips. I use it every Christmas for my decorated Christmas cookies. I also have her oil lamp. Phil always told me it was the lamp he used for studying before they got electricity. It is displayed on an antique Singer treadle machine in our entryway. I also have a glass basket. It had a paper taped to the bottom, “Wedding Gift from Mama 1912.” Inside the basket, I have placed her tatting tool with about 18” of tatting. It was labeled the last tatting Grandma was working on. I found the tatting in the box of crocheted items used in the tree skirts.”

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After a bit of brain storming, Connie decided to make the tree skirts “dresden plate” fashion and to place a doily at the rounded end of each “blade”, whether they were round or not.”

Now the question was, how do you attach the doilies and keep packages from catching on them. The answer: cover each blade with tulle (sparkle tulle added to the Christmas charm), layer and quilt.

Once they were quilted, she sewed them together with the “reversible quilt as you go” technique I’ve shared previously (click here to read about it).

Then she finished the outer edge by attaching lace with a facing.

Connie set a goal that she’d have them all done by Thanksgiving – and she did it!

She printed the story shared above on labels she has lovingly handstitched to the back of each tree skirt. What wonderful Christmas gifts her children have to look forward to!

Great job Connie! Thank you so much for sharing your talents and your family story with us!

If you enjoyed Connie’s story as much as I did, feel free to comment to this post. I’ll make sure she receives any and all comments 😀 !

A lot of excitement has been arriving in my mailbox recently! First came the latest issue of Quilting Arts and an article about the Milwaukee Art Quilters and our award winning Jennings quilt (more about that to follow :-)). Then came the Summer issue of the National Quilting Association‘s magazine – “Quilting Quarterly” – and Wendy Rieves and I are cover girls! Our quilt, “Welcoming the Son Into Our Garden” is featured on the cover of the magazine!

We are thrilled and I have to give Wendy a lot of credit because those beautiful sunflowers are her creation. Thanks Wendy!

So, now for this week’s actual topic:

I’ve mentioned the Milwaukee Art Quilters in previous blog posts and during the AQS show in Paducah this year, a group quilt we made won an award. I believe the Jenning’s Homestead Quilt was the first project made by this group that wasn’t made for competition and it’s been winning awards in every show it’s traveled to – go figure :-).

The Jenning’s Homestead quilt is an example of a slice quilt and here’s the story:

When Marq began we would hold our monthly meetings in member’s homes. As our numbers grew this became a bit difficult. One of our founding members, Suzanne Riggio, came to the rescue. Her daughter and son-in-law, Theresa and Paul Jennings, owned a business and made space available for us to meet. Over the years they never charged us anything for this privilege and Suzanne suggested to the group that we make a slice quilt of their beautiful, historic home as a “thank you”. Another member, Judy Zoelzer-Levine, had had some success with this technique and volunteered to enlarge a photograph of the home and divide it into 24 portions. All willing members were given a picture of the home (for color and continuity),

an actual sized “cartoon” of their chosen section (this was mine),

And a mapped “cartoon” showing how the portions fit together:

We were allowed to use any techniques of our choosing and were asked to leave at least 1″ extra fabric all around our block to aid in putting things back together. Suzanne preferred the colors/theme to be early Spring so that the house would not be blocked by foliage. Once the blocks were completed they were assembled and the quilting was done by Terri Kirchner.

We invited Theresa and Paul to a meeting where we presented them with their quilt. They were stunned and overjoyed. Suzanne then informed them that she wanted to enter it in a show or two because it did turn out so well and … the rest is history!

Marq and the quilt were even featured in the most recent issue (June/July) of Quilting Arts magazine. It is such a blessing to be a part of this talented group!

Have you ever been a part of a slice quilt project? Please comment and tell us about it!

PS My daughter-in-law sent me this picture of Sommer at Discovery World on the lake front in Milwaukee. She seems to be reaching for the Calatrava designed Quadracci Pavillion at the Milwaukee Art Museum. It made me smile!