Quiltfolk Issue 08 Highlights Michigan Quilters

When I heard that Quiltfolk Issue 8 was about Michigan quilters I went to my local Barnes & Noble to pick up a copy.

The articles include quiltfolk I was very familiar with and some who were new to me.

Divided into sections by geographic location within Michigan, the first is Up North, the "top of the mitten" on Michigan's lower peninsula and the Upper Peninsula.

First, readers met Rachel May, a professor at Northern Michigan University whose book An American Quilt I reviewed earlier this year on this blog. Rachel has also written a book on making Modern Quilts.

The next profile is Gwen Marston, who recently retired from teaching. I was lucky to have taken a workshop with Gwen many years ago through my local quilt guild. Her "Liberated" quilting techniques freed quilters from the perfectionism required by the big quilt contests.

Gwen Marston quilts I photographed in 1996 at Crossroads Village, Flint Michigan

Some of Marston's books from my personal library

Readers meet Ann Lovelace, two time Grand Rapids Art Prize winner, whose landscape quilts are just awesome. I reviewed her book Landscape Art Quilts, Step By Step here.

Ann Lovelace and her award-winning quilt. From Ann's website.

Other North folk profiled include Monte and Carol Graham and their featherweight clinic.

The "thumb" of Michigan is where I now live and where I grew up. The population-dense Metro Detroit and Ann Arbor include quilters from the Great Lakes African American Quilters' Network and "Detroit Star" Carole Harris, and former fabric designer and quilter Lizzy House whose new venture is in gardening.

Mid-Michigan--Lansing and Grand Rapids--is an area rich in quilt heritage. Readers meet teacher Lynne Carson Harris and learn about sisters Pat Holly and Sue Nickels. I have seen Pat talk about her award-winning The Beatles Quilt at the Capital City Quilt Guild in Lansing long ago, and also was on a weekend retreat with a Muskegon-based quilt group she helped to organize and returns to attend. Seeing how Pat worked on her machine appliqued quilts was a marvel.

Sue Nickel's quilt Alberta Rose photographed at the 1995 Ann Arbor Quilt Guild Show

The "Dream Team" at the Michigan State Museum are quite familiar to me. Marsha MacDowell brought a talk and slide presentation to Hillsdale, MI when I was first quilting. Seeing the quilts from the Michigan Quilt Project was an inspiration. I knew I had to make the Mountain Mist pattern Sunflower Quilt.

This Sunflower Quilt was my first applique project

MacDowell has written many books including To Honor and Comfort on Native Quilting Traditions.

Marsha MacDowell's To Honor and Comfort from my personal library.

Quilt pattern book from MSU museum quilts by MacDowell. from my personal library.

I met Beth Donaldson through the Capital City Quilt Guild and for a while a group of quilters created a reproduction quilt from the museum's collection, meeting in my husband's church. A year ago, I saw her presentation on the Detroit News History Project at the CAMEO Quilt guild in Clawson.

Beth Donaldson's book Charm Quilts from my personal library

Mary Worrall is another familiar name from my Lansing days. And Lynne Swanson is the last of the "team."

Michigan Quilts includes discoveries from the Michigan Quilt Project
Published by MSU Museum. book from my personal library.

The Michigan State Museum has a large collection of quilts This team created and maintains the Quilt Index, a resource for searching thousands of quilts and quilt-related materials. Readers will learn about this amazing resource, including the great perennial favorite quilt The Sun Sets on Sunbonnet Sue.

The legacy of Mary Schaffer is included through doll quilts she gifted to Gwen Marson, who first discovered and promoted Schaffer's quilt legacy.

Mary Schaffer American Quilt Maker by Gwen Marston. from my personal library.

You can "look inside" this issue at the Qulitfolk link by clicking here.

The idea of this magazine came to Mary Fons, daughter of quilting icon Marianne Fons whose Fons & Porter television show and magazine are well known among quiltmakers. As Mary describes it on the website,

At some point in my ongoing, passionate love affair with quilts, I realized something: No one was taking pictures or telling stories about the passion part. Wonderful teachers shared their expertise in person, on TV, and online; plenty of patterns were available; and there were friends with whom I could talk about my big love. But I wanted to see it. I wanted to read about it.

Then came Quiltfolk.

In late 2016, Quiltfolk published its first issue, and everything changed. Here was a magazine without ads, on gorgeous paper, with the most beautiful photographs I had ever seen of quilters and quilts — and it seemed to care as deeply about stories and people and quilt history as I did. Who were these Quiltfolk people? 

The magazine is 180 pages of articles and photographs without advertising. It comes out four times a year, each issues concentrating on a specific state.

A Fabric Challenge!

My weekly quilt group held a fabric challenge. Two of us choose a challenging fabric at a local quilt shop. People had to use the fabric in any kind of project. The variety of projects will amaze you!

Bev O saw rock houses in the design and embroidered faces and doors on the fabric

When our member Joanne proposed the fabric challenge the group was willing to give it a try. Joanne and I went to a local quilt shop to select a fabric. We worked with the shop owner to find a fabric with lots of color and something most would not have chosen. When the group saw the fabric many were perplexed about what to do with it! But as you will see, they figured it out!

Shirley W. made multiple projects including a purse, a candle mat, a rug mug

Shirley W. used every bit of her fabric in these projects!

Lucy L. made a placemat 

Shirley L. made a color wheel

Linda W. made a pillow case

Linda P. made notebook covers

Karen C. made a baby quilt

Joanne B. made an original applique design. Note the use of the doily!

Sue S. made a sewing machine organizer; it goes under the machine and had pockets for tools

Theresa N. made a small quilt

Theresa N. also made a table runner

Verna's table runner

Madeline made a steering wheel cover for her car!

Cheryl's purse

Betty C. saw gumdrops in the fabric and found this Gumdrop quilt pattern

Sharon made a mug rug to match her favorite mug

Jan used the fabric in a Christmas ornament

Lucy made several projects including this fabric pin

Shirley K's wreath shows how the fabric against white becomes light and airy

Shirley K. transformed a Christmas wreath pattern into a spring-like wreath

Ladies saw turtles, houses,or gumdrops in the print; I saw mushrooms. I searched for vintage illustrations of wee folk painting mushrooms for my design.

I made an applique based on the illustration. I used fusible and hand applique, machine quilting, and also used colored pencil.

Quilt by Nancy Bekofske

The ladies look forward to doing this again! What will be next year's fabric challenge?

Almost everyone in the group participated!

Quilters Showcase 2018

This past Saturday I attended the 6th Annual Quilters Showcase, presented by The Stitching Well of Bay City, MI and held at the Frankenmuth Credit Union Event Center in Birch Run, MI.

200 quilts and 30 vendors kept us busy for over two hours.

Here are some of my favorite quilts from the show.

The Story: Finding Home After the War by Ginny George tells a heartbreaking family story.

In the center of the quilt is a block with this story:

Finding Home After the War
Sisters taking a wrong turn find themselves in the Korean War
The year was June, 1950
Struggling to hide in the villages and people until the times would change until the War ended in 1953
How to find their way back to the South would lead to difficult time
Many obstacles along the way, block by block, until they reached
Water to sail to safer
Ground only to find the bridges to cross
Would family be there?
Would the soldier that helped them be there?

I love color and this house quilt made me smile. Village by Joan Quinn, quilted by Judy Becker has such wonky trees and animal surprises among the houses.

This prize-winning original quilt is so adorable, and those eyes just glow with love. Eyes of Innocence by Carol Cote of Ontario was a real crowd pleaser.

My weekly quilt group loves hexies and I loved this great hexie scrap quilt. Over the Rainbow was made by Regina Smith and quilted by Sandy Kipp.

Ombre Overload by Norm Jacobs and quilted by Jack Bennett really caught my eye with the wonderful use of color.

Pat Sloan's Splendid Sampler show up at many shows, including this example by Sue Nolff, quilted by Karen's Quilting.

The most gorgeous crazy quilting is found on My Crazy Days by Ericka Joerke. Look at these details. It's crazy good!

A 1910 crazy quilt was made by Kathryn Barnes Hodge's grandfather includes pieces of his Civil War uniform.

'Ewe'-Uniquely Baltimore by Barbie Brooks, quilted by Beckie Binder, is made of wool. She embellished a pattern by Petals and Blooms. It is amazing.

Another wool quilt is this wonderful Pomegranate by Brett Johnson. The populatrity of wool quilts was reflected by all the vendors selling wool kits.

 I love Jacobean inspired design, like Delectable Pathways by Linda Britton.

I would like to share so many more quilts but I hope you enjoyed seeing these.