Louise's "Scrap" Book of Quilts
Back in June 2022, the Elmira Piecemakers quilt guild issued a Ruby Jubilee Challenge to celebrate the guild's 40 year anniversary. Members were given a 10-inch square of red fabric to make a quilt to be displayed at the December 2022 meeting. That day, I decided to make a forty-page quilted book using designs from my favorite newspaper series quilt patterns. The following day I started outlining what was to be included.
I have an outline embroidery book in my collection designed by S. Agnes Putnam in 1895 and while doing research on that I found another cloth book by Louise Bourgeois called "Ode â l'Oubli" or Ode to Forgetting. I always thought that someday I would like to make a cloth book too.
Inspired by these cloth books I started on my journey.
It took a while to actually start stitching on the book as I had a speaking commitment at the National Quilter's Hall of fame at the end of July. I presented on my research on Ann Kerven, the artist behind the Nancy Page columns written by Florence LaGanke Harris. Florence was the 2022 Legend Inductee to the Quilter's Hall of Fame. While there I got to meet Eleanor Burns, who got me started quilting back in 1999 with her PBS quilt show. Eleanor presented information on Florence and the Nancy Page Quilt Club columns.
The first page was started on August 10, 2022.
I went through my sewing room and pulled out anything that was an orphan - something done at a guild meeting or quilt class that never went anywhere. I had a baggie of Hexies of various sizes, a Bobbin Embroidery sample, some embroidery I did back in the 1970s, things my mother had made, several baggies of scrap triangles, etc. You get the drift.
I piled up selections of fabrics that might go together, found some vintage blocks and fabrics and started assembling them into pages. One of the hardest blocks I made was in honor of my mother - I used some of her needlework pieces I saved from the flood of 2011, right before she passed. A swan Huck Towel and a floral doily she had crocheted the edging on. Cutting into them was very nerve racking.
I also struggled with the memory block for our son Isaac who passed in 2009. I had an old bib of his that I was able to darn a bit so it could be added to the book. I tried to use everything from my stash, but did end up buying a little silver trumpet charm and trumpet fabric for his page.
Walter, for whom this book is for, also provided inspiration.
For an art project in middle school, Walter made a drawing, then a painting based on the drawing. I scanned and printed it out on fabric, then used fabric markers to color it in. I tried to use a similar color scheme as in his, with the markers I already had.
Years ago I made him an angler fish embroidered applique picture. Armed with a baggie of snowball block triangle remnants, I made a sea of triangles to house a new angler fish. I couched some fibers to make him some sea grass to hide in.
Too Many Quilt Patterns, Not Enough Pages
Along about page 34, I realized I had way more ideas than pages left. I wanted to add May Day Baskets and several more quilt designs. I studied all of them that I wanted to include and realized they all had one thing in common - elephants. Trying to get all the elephants into one basket proved to be quite a challenge. The May Day Basket pattern had 32 to choose from. Once I chose one, I had to eliminate the handle to fit them all in. After the elephants were completed and the backgrounds chosen, I embroidered the basket in coordinating colors. The math fabric is a bonus (to me at least) since I was an engineer for close to 20 years prior to being a full time mom.
The Last Block is Quilted January 9, 2022
I used many different methods in designing the book. I did most of the page layouts in PowerPoint since I was space constrained to a 10-inch square. Images were scanned in or drafted first, than altered to fit the page. I used everything from an 1862 pattern (Comic Patchwork), to a technique offered in September 2022 by Catherine Redford, the Scenic Route, and everything in between.
I sent pictures of the progress for each block to several of my quiltie friends - and friends I have known all my life, but do not quilt. Even my sister-in-law got the texts. It was a lot of fun going back through all of them and seeing the comments they sent back.
I will post the Page Sets next. It was a joy to make, now my husband asks if there will be a volume two? Not right now, as I am gathering fabrics and ideas to make a quilted coat. I will be taking Rachel Clark's quilted coat class this coming summer at Quilting by the Lake. It's so much fun being retired!
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