Jules, or my Arkison in Australia Quilt

Jules

85” x 66”

I’ve never been so sad to finish a quilt. Seriously, a few tears were shed.

This was an epic quilt making journey that started on my teaching trip to Australia back in 2016. I was demonstrating improv curves for some students and grabbed the first two interesting fabrics from the little shop onsite. Over the course of my trip I did a few more demos with that fabric, then collected fabric from both my students and a screen printing adventure. When I came home it made sense to me to keep playing with all those fabrics, like they were meant to be. I added a bit more from my stash and away I went.

Improv quilting can be a total free for all and work wonderfully, but it also works really well with guidelines or even limitations. In addition to my limited colour palette I restricted my improv components to a few key shapes/techniques: curves, diamonds, triangles, and little bits. It may sounds like a lot, but it actually isn’t. Not when it comes to improv.

I basically kept making components until I ran out of the fabrics, leaving a little behind to help me create a quilt top. I did not pay attention to size of the blocks when making or squaring up. When I felt finished making all the components I moved on to my favourite part - making them all play well together in the quilt top. Design wall play is the absolute best. It’s all about making it work as both a composition and simply to use up all the pieces.

And then she sat. And sat and sat. That’s just how things go in my world. I even had the backing fabric - gifts from Emma Jean Jansen, an Aussie designer and one of my students in Australia - but wasn’t ready to quilt her yet. The truth is that I knew how she deserved to be quilted and I wasn’t quite up for the challenge.

When I was asked to put together my show for the Heritage Park Quilter of Distinction display I knew I had to include this quilt. It was time to face the work.

My plan from the beginning was a combination of machine and hand stitching. And most of the machine stitching with would in the ditch. On a quilt like this that meant a lot, a lot of starts and stops. Which also means a lot of burying threads. Nothing like taking on this much work on a deadline! Did I mention the hand quilted elements too?

The bulk of the handwork was finished on an epic road trip we took in May. At least, the parts not done in front of the TV while I ignored the world. It even required a stop at a quilt store in Kelowna and I was very sad I did not have time to shop for anything other than a tool to help me bury my threads. There is at least 20 hours of handwork in her. She is full of my love.

Sure, it was a lot of work and every single stitch was worth it. The quilt came out exactly how I wanted it to, how I envisioned her.

The machine quilting was all done in a pale blue thread from my stash. It might have been a Presencia 100% cotton collected years before the quilt even started. The hand quilted touches were all done with Wonderful Perle cotton, in a couple of different blues and yellows. This included stitching down the binding, on the front, with big blue stitches.

I won’t lie, I was also intimidated by doing that much handstitching, even though it was my own idea. But thankfully, quilting an entire quilt for Morning Make last year built my confidence and comfort.

Did I mention there were a few tears when she was finished? That trip to Australia was formative for me. It was her furthest and longest I’ve been gone from home. I developed and delivered multi day workshops which were an absolute dream. The people I met were incredible and I am still in touch with many of them. This quilt also defined one of my favourite ways to make a quilt - by playing.

She is named for Jules. Jules McMahon was the woman who brought me to Australia. We knew each other online and had met at the early QuiltCons. But that trip solidified a friendship through road trips, sweets exchanges, late nights with wine, creative bonding, gluten free Chinese food, exploring for Lyre Birds, a love of circles, and one chilly ocean swim. We have similar levels of insanity and drive and I am grateful to her for the trip to Australia, yes, but also for continued friendship and inspiration.

Label Your Quilts!

Everyone has a different approach to labelling a quilt. Some don’t do it at all, others design and make embroidered labels. Some simply sign it with a marker, others screen print fabric and make it part of the back. Some just add a ‘signature’ bit of piecing or binding, others have custom labels made and sew them in. Truth be told, there is no right or wrong way to do it. What is most important is that you put your name to the work.

For one, be proud of the work you did. You made that! Put your name to it, on it, in it.

Secondly, give your quilt the history to live beyond you.

There are various schools of thought about what should be included on a quilt label. Here is what I think should be on it:

• Your name

• Date the quilt was made/finished

• Material make up

Anything else is just gravy. And gravy is good, so I include other things. I like to name my quilts so that is always there. If there is a specific inspiration or starting point, then that gets included. If I used a pattern I acknowledge it. If it is a gift, I like to put the recipients name on there too (and wedding/birth date if it is for that.)

Your name and the date is important. This is the history part. Should your quilt live beyond you or be separated from you (by choice or not) there is a record of the maker. If your grandchildren uncover the quilt one day they will want to know! So will the historian, the neighbour, the treasure hunter, the buyer.

Material make-up is very useful information for care instructions. I work almost always with cotton, including cotton batting and thread, so this helps any recipients present and future know how to wash it and care for it. If I use something different, then I include that. You could get super detailed here and list the thread used, batting chosen, and even fabric lines. The level of detail here is personal, but at least include material make up.

I know that labelling is a pain. We are so excited to finish the quilt, to wash it, to cuddle with it that we very often skip this system. Including myself in that majority. But I always label a quilt before gifting it. And lately I’ve been feeling the guilt of not having all my quilts lately. Might be the Covid stress and fear of the unknown - what quilts will outlive me? The solo show I had recently forced me to label a bunch of quilts as I did not want them going out into the world with no record.

As for ways to make labels, there are as many ways as there are quilts. I’ve seen people screen print fabric and sew it into the back of the quilt, embroider and stitch on a label, write right on the back of the quilt, sign the front, get custom labels printed, and appliqué something. Myself, I’ve done fancy ones where I’ve used leftover fabric for framing before stitching it onto the back, printed ones with special papers, intricate traced designs, and plain writing on white fabric. The last one has been my go-to of late. I use scraps of white fabric and a Micron pen to write it. Every now and then I might decorate the label with fabric markers. Nothing fancy, easy, and gets the job done. Unobtrusive too. Most importantly, it is there.

One last thing, a little tip I learned years ago. If you are gifting a quilt that will be used in a public setting like a dorm or care home, undo the binding and write some info on the inside of the binding before stitching it back up. Labels that are stitched on can be removed if someone really wants to claim the quilt as their own. But having a signature hidden in the binding then ownership can always be proven.

Hermia

Hermia

72: x 65”

Not known for her stature, Hermia is known for her passion. Her Shakespearian namesake was an apt inspiration. She is always willing to engage in a debate and will fight fearlessly for the rights of all. She’s marched, written letters, educated quietly, and interrupted when necessary. Perhaps her size makes her less intimidating? Or is it that she is ignored, assumed to be worth ignoring. Never make that mistake.

These particular curves started in a Small Piecing workshop with Chawne Kimber. I wanted to see how small I could go. It turns out that ¾” curves are the answer to that question. Chawne encouraged her students to try for smaller and smaller, as well as gave tips for managing the size. Once I started I couldn’t stop! The quilt is the size it is more because I ran out of a number of the fabrics but I was tempted to make it bigger. Small pieces + big quilts = heaven!

Improv curves are a comfort block for me, something to feel good sewing when I am not sure what to sew or need the joy in the act of sewing. Curves are always the answer. Truth be told, I was sad to finish this quilt. It gave me such joy to work on it. The quilt is great! But this is one of those times when process wins over product.

I had a few ways to go with quilting. No matter what, I knew it would be easiest choosing an all over design. I also chose to do straight line quilting with my walking foot to manage any potential headaches with all those seam bumps! Essentially, I quilted her twice. In one direction in various blue threads. Why various? well, I had a whole bunch of more than half empty spools so decided to use them up. Then I did the same thing in the opposite direction with yellow.

My original plan for binding was to use the black and white print I used in bits on the front. This is one of the prints from my one and only fabric collection. In the end, though, it felt too busy as binding here so I swapped it for the Famous Last Words print. Perfect!

It took the motivation of my first solo quilt show at Heritage Park to finish this one. Otherwise, I might have kept making curves. Once I found my fabric, of course.

Fall Inspired

So technically, this is a fall inspired quilt. Well, it was when I started it last fall. The colours and energy reminded me of a oh so brief yet spectacular fall season here in Alberta: blue skies and all the colours of the changing Prairie. I’m not sure what motivated me to pull out the blocks, add some more, and finish the top this past week. It certainly wasn’t the snow covering the sprouting crocus and green grass growing. Or maybe that is precisely what did it?

The blocks began in my Improv Square in a Square Playdate hosted through Quilters’ Playcation. I was enamoured with the technique and the colours that I committed to a quilt top. Just five blocks put together in a free hour here and there. No pressure making, just the way I like it! Play for the sake of sewing. I think that is what I needed over the Easter/Passover long weekend - sewing for the sake of sewing. Then, when I counted the blocks, I realized that I was pretty close to finishing up the total needed. Some quiet evenings, a snow storm, and a sick kid home from school meant that I was not only able to finish the blocks, but get the quilt top pieced!

These blocks are all improvised. That means points are sometimes cut off and they don’t always match between blocks. On a moving, used quilt though that will never be noticed. This construction technique is so much more relaxed than a paper pieced or precision pieced version, at least for me.

This entire quilt top was also an excellent way to play with fabric and colour. I chose my colour story - blue, coral, orange, and yellow - and explored value, hue, and tint in each block. Some blocks have bold contrast, some are subtle. Some move from light to dark, some are less prescriptive. The constants were the construction method, overall size, and the transition from warm to cool with each square in a block. Then I made half the blocks starting with warm, half starting with cool. That meant for a great overall pattern when assembling the quilt.

The weather is doing it’s normal, indecisive thing these days. Not yet spring but not really winter. When my son - who helped me with the photos because he is out of school with a bad cold - lamented that now we would have to baste the quilt I told him not to worry because it is definitely not fall. This quilt, well, it makes me think of fall. Don’t worry, son, we’ll probably be basting it next September! Or the one after that.