At the June meeting of Kitsap Quilters Guild, our guest speaker was Susan Underwood, member of the American Quilt Study Group and co-founder of the Washington State Quilt Study Group. The American Quilt Study Group establishes and promotes the highest standards for interdisciplinary quilt-related studies, providing opportunities for study, research, and the publication of work that advance the knowledge of quilts and related subjects. Susan has researched and collected quilts since the 1980’s, with a particular interest in 19th century signature quilts and the 20th century quilts that we are likely to find on the West Coast.

This beautiful quilt top is a spectacular example of an 1840’s signature quilt and is from Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The style is like those made by the Quakers but the names are Dutch and can be traced back to Dutch immigrants from the Dutch Reform Church. Signature quilts may be useful for genealogists especially when there are dates and blocks with the names of several family members. This quilt top traveled from Pennsylvania to Eastern Washington and Susan purchased it at the estate sale of the daughters of Mary Vanartsdalen. Mary’s signature is shown below along with the date of 1843.

The quilt top has a great variety of turkey red fabrics including several better quality pieces from France, England and Scotland. The lower quality pieces were made in the USA where the production process was not yet as sophisticated as that used by manufacturers in Europe. The 64 red and white Turkey Tracks blocks are all signed in the center white squares, except for the final column of blocks on the left side which are blank. In this Victorian era, fancy stationary was all the rage and people used inked stamps with ornamental designs, then added signatures. They used these on fabric as well. Some examples are shown below.

Thank you to Susan for permitting me to share this incredible quilt top.

This stunning raffle quilt, There’s No Place Like Home, 90″ x 90″, was hanging at the June meeting of Northwest Quilters in Portland when I lectured there. The Log Cabin is such a classic pattern and I love this star setting which is offset beautifully on the wide white border with floral applique. The Beautiful Cascading Roses applique pattern was designed by Joy Nichols. Joy, Nancy Tubbs, Gunnel Seitz and Trish Barrilleaux hand appliqued the roses. Long-arm quilter Debbie Scroggy of All Quilted did a spectacular job on the machine quilting. Several guild members pieced the blocks and helped with the completion of this gorgeous quilt.

Raffle tickets may be purchased from Northwest Quilters members and at their 42nd Annual Quilt Show, May 6th and 7th, 2016 at the Portland Expo Center. The drawing will be on Saturday 7th May at the end of the quilt show. The proceeds go to cover room rental for community quilt project sew-ins and materials. The quilts are donated to Habitat for Humanity, Quilts of Valor and Portland Firefighter’s Toy and Joy Program (dolls and teddy bears are wrapped in quilts).

One of the many things that I enjoy about traveling and teaching, is staying in the homes of kind quilters who share their quilting treasures with me and are inspiring. On my trip to Texas last month, I stayed with Deborah Woolley at her lovely lake side home in Cypress on the northwest side of Houston. This quilt, Deep in the Heart of Texas, was hanging in her living room.

Blue is my favorite color, so I was immediately drawn to the quilt and then enjoyed looking at all the details invoking Texas in the blocks. Carrol Stewart, a long-arm quilter and teacher in the Cypress area, altered a pattern by Glenda Stephens called Nowhere But Texas. Deborah pieced and assembled the quilt and Carrol quilted it. Of course there are plenty of cowboy accessories, long-horn cattle, a windmill, stars, the lovely Texas bluebonnet and the central map. Here some shots to help you catch the wonderful details that include embroidery and embellishments.

Here’s the second beautiful raffle quilt that I saw in the Houston area when I was teaching there. This one was made as a fundraiser for the Mainland Morning Quilt Guild. This group meets on the morning of each third Thursday of the month at Bayou Vista Community Center.

The queen-sized quilt is called Bird’s Eye View and was pieced by Carolyn Hughes and machine quilted by Errol “Pete” Hughes. Here are a couple of detailed shots so you can get an idea of the intricate pictorial quilting patterns.

At two of the quilt guilds where I lectured recently in the Houston area of Texas, nearby quilt guilds brought their raffle quilts to sell tickets and promote their guild activities. These quilts were gorgeous so I wanted to share them with you.

This stunning red quilt was presented by the Bay Area Quilt Guild. Pearl Anniversary, 68″ x 82″, was pieced, appliqued and quilted by Marcia Brenner and Melba Brenner. It is based on the design “Robin’s Roost” by Cyndi Walker of Stitch Studio, found in Pretty Patchwork Quilt, Traditional Patterns with Applique Accents, published by Martingale & Company. The guild’s biennial quilt show, entitled Through the Years, 1985-2015, is coming up soon on April 10th and 11th in Pearland. If you are in the area, it promises to be a great show and not to be missed.

See the blog next week for the second raffle quilt.