BIG STAR QUILT

Many months ago, in another lifetime, I got a hankering to make a star quilt. My vision was tiny stars, sprinkled across a blue sky. And then I made this quilt instead. This is one of those pieces that just happened, each step demanded to be the way it was and I felt like a vessel for it, just saying yes and putting needle to fabric. In the end it is a big star quilt. It was also my constant companion this last year, a piece of work I felt pride for even when it was just a stack of fabric.

The top is made from reclaimed linen with a few hemp scraps from Yoke Handmade in the mix. It’s quilted with two shades of blue linen thread which stand out on the stars and melt into the blue background. The batting is unbleached cotton and the back is a vintage sheet from my dear friend Jane. It is machine pieced, hand quilted and hand bound.

Completed in October, 2020.

54” x 70”

PINK MOON QUILT

I pieced this quilt entirely while listening to Nick Drake- could you tell?

The pattern used in this quilt is a log cabin variation called courthouse steps. I think it’s one of the most calming patterns to piece, and I chose to work with it for just that reason. This quilt was pieced during the first weeks of the pandemic’s rise in Chicago and I was looking for comfort in every step of its making. I chose warm, calm shades from my most prized stash of reclaimed linen. The centers of each square are a mix of reclaimed linen and hand woven, indigo dyed cotton. The back is a vintage sheet, complete with a few chickadees. It is filled with unbleached cotton batting and hand quilted with white, cotton thread in rows just under an inch apart.

Completed in August, 2020.

48” x 54”

YELLOW BARN QUILT

When I finished this quilt I put it on our bed and it hasn’t really come off since. It didn’t cross my mind to haul it into the alley for some pictures- because in my mind it’s not that kind of quilt! But after living with it for a few months my regard for it (and for the work put into it) has grown and I think it fits right in here.

This quilt was made to rescue an old and beloved quilt from disintegration. The original quilt was already on its second life, a 1930’s 16-patch recut and quilted with lumpy raw cotton batting and some 50’s cheater cloth. I traded for it in that form at a flea market and it has since covered every beloved human who has spent the night on our couch.

The new top is made from a handful of Sears work shirts, cotton pillowcases, and worn-out chambray shirts handed down to me by a couple of friends. I processed the fabric years ago, removing seams and cutting strips of two different widths without much of a plan. And then when the original quilt began to show batting I hauled the pile out, pieced strips, made a few decisions for overall composition and then sat down to quilt through many decades of raw, compacted cotton. The top used all but a few inches of my strips and the backing is a vintage sheet.

The resulting quilt is dense, weighty, and heavily rippled. I faced the old quilt top towards the back and on a sunny day you can see the original quilt peeking through the thin backing sheet.

Completed in August, 2020.

54” x 68”

SPACE BABY QUILT

But it’s really like Space Baby Baby Quilt.

The first quilt my love and I collaborated on at the beginning of the pandemic. I ran the needles and thread, she ran the iron and the rotary cutter. I’m not sure why we started calling it Space Baby, but now that it’s finished it reminds me of the cover of a Sci-Fi novel, all saturated and futuristic and alluring. The top is pieced entirely from scraps, mostly cotton, a mix of reclaimed garments and vintage linens and special things. It’s backed in a perfectly faded vintage sheet, and quilted all over with both red and green/white variegated vintage thread. The batting is cotton and the binding is mustard rayon.

Completed in August, 2020.

31” x 36”

SISTER FRIEND QUILT

A quilt for my beloved sister as she embarks on a new phase of life. Pieced entirely with naturally dyed cotton (dyed by ME!) and bound in the softest German cotton sheet that reminded me of our childhood. This quilt took years of work- from gathering the fabric to foraging for the dye plants to the actual dye days, and only then was I able to start making a quilt. It is all of the colors that my sister loves and it is so steeped in my love for her.

I understand now why people dye their own fabric for quilts- this brought me to a whole other level of investment and joy in the making. Also- this quilt was almost impossible to accurately photograph. It is both subtler and more complicated then these photos convey (much like my sister). I didn’t take any notes on the dye process, so the specifics of each color are only guessable.

Completed in August, 2020.

38” x 42”

ENGELEIN QUILT

Engelein is German for little angel, which was my Oma’s pet name for any and all babies that crossed her path. Now when I see a tiny little baby it’s her voice I hear in my head, as clear as if she were whispering it over a tiny little me.

I made this quilt for a really tiny baby. It was meant to be a collaboration and a lesson in quilting for a buddy, but the pandemic got in the way of any co-sewing plans. In a time of so much fear and uncertainty working on this peaceful quilt was a gift to me as well as its recipient (and his Momma). The top is pieced in linen reclaimed from a variety of garments and the back is a cool 70’s sheet. It’s hand quilted with indigo space-dyed cotton thread, and filled with the fluffiest wool blanket.

Completed in June, 2020.

ORPHISM QUILT

A log cabin quilt so non-traditional that you can’t even spot the houses. I pieced this quilt almost entirely from reclaimed garment linen, holding a goal in mind to use up every last inch of my scrap basket.

The top is machine pieced, using thrifted thread and entirely secondhand fabric. The batting is a vintage woven wool blanket. The back of the quilt is a vintage sheet (my favorite pattern!). It is hand quilted with vintage, red, cotton thread, and hand bound using more reclaimed linen. No new materials were used in making this quilt.

Named in honor of Sonia Delaunay, whose energetic work echoes in this quilt.

Completed in March, 2020. 45” x 46”

NORMA JOYCE QUILT

There are so many schools of quilting- and I admire them all. But depression era feed-sack quilts have a special place in my heart. I find them so clever, so practical and sweet. I made this quilt in that vein. It’s a scrap quilt, made up of gifted fat quarters, the half-moons left behind from cutting a neckline, a reclaimed short sleeve, a pair of discarded breast pockets. Like many feed-sack quilts I paired the loud patterns with a solid color, so they never touch and compete. The quilt is named after a beloved and resilient favorite fictional character from A Student of Weather.

The quilt top is mostly cotton, with a few pieces of linen and a wee bit of mustard rayon. It is hand quilted, and hand bound with cotton fabric and rounded corners. The back is a vintage Marimekko sheet from 1979. The batting is a vintage wool blanket, which makes the quilt super warm and poofy. No new materials were used in making this quilt.

Completed in March, 2020. 60” x 64”

APRICITY QUILT

Noun. The warmth of the Sun in winter.

When I gave up my indigo dyeing practice I missed the color- so I was thrilled when a sweet friend offered me unused scraps of handwoven, indigo-dyed fabric that she had gotten in India. I paired the fabric with some old pieces I had tucked away from my practice- bits of reclaimed linen in two shades of indigo blue. I machine pieced the quilt in a sort of modern architecture take on a log cabin quilt, adding one rectangle at a time where they seemed to fit best, working in a loose spiral. The resulting quilt top used every inch of precious fabric.

The quilt is hand quilted in vintage cotton thread. The backing is a vintage Marimekko sheet (from 1979) and the batting is a vintage, woven, wool blanket. I chose the binding (reclaimed linen) because the top looked so beautiful next to my robe of the same color.

Completed in January, 2020. 42” x 43”