Mary Kerr's Old Textiles in New Quilts

Twisted: Modern Quilts with a Vintage Twist  is Mary Kerr's newest publication. Vintage quilt blocks and fragments star in new, modern quilts created by 22 amazing quilt artists.

Beautiful photographs show the original vintage textile, how it was used in the new quilt, and the finished quilt. These are bed-sized quilt projects.

I was impressed by the originality of the final quilts. They have the hallmarks of a Modern Quilt: lots of negative space, use of solid color backgrounds, complicated machine quilting, and an overall graphic quality.

Mary wanted to blur the demarkation between traditional and modern quilts. She distributed the vintage pieces to her artists and allowed them to "work their magic". 

Shown in the photo above, Dahlias in the Snow is a remarkable quilt, but you'll have to get the book to see the completed quilt! The use of the original blocks is thoughtful and unusual.

Mary's previous publication A Quilted Memory: Ideas and Ispirations for Reusing Vintage Textiles similarly illlustrates how textile fragments can be employed in a new quilt.

These are small scale projects inspired by her own heirloom textiles and family history.

Kitchen linens, embroidered linens and dresser scarfs, handkerchiefs, doilies, buttons, and even vintage clothing are repurposed to make sweet wall hangings.

Mary shares images of her family and the original textile associated with them and the completed quilt employing the textile.

The photograph above shows Mary's grandmother and the painted kitchen linen she created. Mary paired her grandmother's work with fragments of an 1890 quilt for her completed project.

Mary used her mother-in-law's scarf and a red jacket to make a pillow.

If you don't have heirloom textiles, you can always purchase some! Mary found a set of day-of-the-week embroidered applique towels in an antique shop and used them to make the colorful quilt shown in the above photograph.

I can't wait to have time to play in the quilt room. I have a nice collection of unfinished vintage tops, blocks, and fragments. I am so imspired by Mary's vision!

I previously reviewed Mary's book Recycled Hexie Quilts which you can read about here.

These books by Mary, plus several more she has written, are available now.

I received free books from Schiffer Publishing in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.




Twisted
Mary Kerr
$19.99 soft cover

A Quilted Memory
Mary Kerr
$19.99 soft cover

AQS Grand Rapids 2015: Quilts By Friends, Real and Virtual

It was cool to see quilts at the AQS Grand Rapids show made by people I actually am friends with, or have meet, or who are virtual friends.

Theresa Nielson is a local quilter in my guild and weekly quilt group. Her embellished quilt was in the Quilt Alliance Contest, Animals We Love.

Theresa is a prolific quilter who loves crazy quilts. She is also an author and mother to a houseful of birds, dogs, and cats.

Virtual friend Tim Latimer had two quilts in Animals We Love--based on his beloved companion Teddy.

If you don't follow Tim's blog you have to check it out. Tim is a hand quilter, restorer of unloved vintage quilts, and master gardener. What better way to spend a few minutes than seeing quilts, gardens, and Teddy?

Tim's contest entry was Reindeer-Go-Round, his original hand cut paper snowflake pattern brought to wall quilt size, quilted by hand with trapunto.

Two years ago Tim won best in show for hand quilted wall hanging at AQS Grand Rapids. I was able to meet him at that time. He also has an Etsy store where you can buy the pattern for the Reindeer Snowflake Quilt.

I reviewed Mary Kerr's book Recycled Hexie Quilts earlier this year. Her Quilt Alliance entry was adorable, incorporating vintage embroidery and hexie quilt.

See all the Animals We Love quilts at the Quilt Alliance website here. They will be auction online in November 2015.

We lived for ten months in Norton Shores, MI. I met three great ladies at church who were part of a weekly quilt group and they invited me to join them. The group was founded by Pat Holly. One member was Lynne Osborn whose Caribbean Sangria was in the show. It is a BOM designed by Pat Holly and Sue Nickels.