Showing posts with label Quiltmaker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Quiltmaker. Show all posts

Saturday, April 23, 2016

Joe the Quilter, Returned to Michigan

Joe Cunningham with his quilt honoring his ancestral line
CAMEO quilt guild hosted Joe Cunningham this week. Joe is a 'local boy' from Swartz Creek, MI. He admits to a life long love of books, writing, art, and music.

Joe Cunningham's spoof on state bird quilts
He had a ten year music career when he met Gwen Marston. She was documenting the quilts of quilt historian and quilter Mary Schafer of Flushing, MI. Joe offered to assist Gwen by contributing  the quilt catalog copy. To educate himself Joe read extensively about quilts and even learned how to make quilts. He went professional, writing books and creating quilts with Gwen.

Memories of Italy and Flint MI inspired this quilt by Joe Cunningham
Joe Cunningham's take on Michigan Winters
Honoring the standards set by traditional quilt maker Mary Schafer became limiting to Joe's creativity and he allowed himself to leap off the path into a new style. His quilts often have a sense of humor. Some are abstract, others are naturalistic but using flat planes of color in the images. Joe often uses large pieces of fabric, or cuts a patterned fabric and repieces it. He has mastered computer quilting.
Joe Cunningham used photos of tar road repair for the embroidered designs
Joe's presentation was a blend of songs, the story of his artistic development, and a trunk show.

Rock the Block, Joe Cunningham's workshop quilt
Everyone had a wonderful time. Joe is personable and down-to-earth, funny, and a natural entertainer. We even learned some new tricks, like how to fold quilts to prevent creasing and a new way of finishing quilt edges.

Joe Cunningham
Joe has authored 11 books, including Men and the Art of Quiltmaking.

Read about Joe the Quilter at
http://www.flintexpats.com/2009/09/joe-quilter.html
See Joe's quilts at
http://www.joethequilter.com/gallery.html

Joe's brother Jeff attended a quilt display I helped create in Pentwater, MI. He was involved with the Coopersville Farm Museum show, Quilts and Their Stories. Jeff was excited to see Ann Sole's Gee Bend quilt.
Jeff and Ann looking at the Pentwater quilts

Monday, January 28, 2013

Memory Quilts

This month my father-in-law passed away. He was 96 and had Macular degeneration. We all knew his life had lost it's meaning after the death of his wife in January four years ago.

I brought home Herman's shirts to make a memory quilt. I made my first memory quilt after my mother died in 1990. Mom was 57 years old when she learned she had cancer, and died two weeks later. Mom was a painter and had a collection of plaid shirts which she wore when painting. I turned these shirts into quilts for my grandmother, my aunt, and myself.

I found an fan block called Dobbin's Fan which I used to make two quilts for Mom's sister.An adaptation of this pattern was accepted to appeared in Quiltmaker Magazine. That was an exciting day!  I also had a Christmas tree pattern accepted after that.


A simple four-patch with an appliqued heart used two plaid fabrics from Mom's shirts. This was the second quilt I ever made. I was still doing everything WRONG when I started. Then a quilter taught me the basics. You can see my progress in this quilt as my applique and quilting stitches improved.


I made a lap quilt for my grandmother using blue and beige shirts.This was also made withing my first year of quilting. I used the Sho-Fly block.


I made this Flying Geese quilt for my dad using some of Mom's shirting fabrics but mostly new fabrics. I choose the feather print first and coordinated the scraps. After I finished, I was told it was an ambitious pattern for a new quilter to tackle. At this time, I was using templates and not rotary cutting and easier techniques that developed shortly afterwards!

After her death, I used my mother-in-law's hand work to make memory pillows for the family. Laura did amazing work, and embellished every shirt and sweatshirt she owned, as well as finger tip towels. I used the shirt fabrics,  Laura's handkerchiefs, and rick-rack and buttons from Laura's craft room.


Making a quilt from men's shirting fabric has been around for centuries. I have several  in my collection. This one was made from factory remnants and printed markings appear along the edges of some blocks. It is a summer quilt and is reversible.


A quilter friend uses men's shirts to make amazing one-patch quilts for charity. She buys the shirts at the end of rummage sales and likes stripes with bright  background colors, like yellow, pink and green.


Herman's shirts were to be donated to charity, along with most of his few possessions. Living in a small apartment in assisted living, and being blind, he left behind little. His real legacy lives on in his three sons and  grandchildren. But it is nice to have something tangible as a constant reminder of those who have shaped our lives and made us who we are today.