CUCHARA CABIN

When I want to make a quilt that is easy and not taking much thought and uses many different fabrics from my stash, I usually figure out a traditional log cabin variation.  This is "Cuchara Cabin".

THE STATS:  Cuchara Cabin, 2022, 28"x28", Paper pieced, machine pieced, machine quilted.

I love that I was able to grow up in the quilting world where no one ever thought of purchasing a pattern.  The closest thing was maybe a pattern in one of the family's copies of "The Farm Journal".  Or you could trace pattern pieces from another quilter. These were usually made out of cereal box cardboard, and in translation, not that accurate. To me, the best way was to have a great geometry teacher in high school where you learned to figure it out yourself.  In the beginning, I received very little advice from those few quilters that I knew  --- "Use up your scraps; be frugal, and every quilt needs a little red in it."  Also, my favorite -- "The ugly blocks make the others look better". This lack of advice has stood me well, because it has challenged me to find my own personal quilting style.

In this quilt, I randomly picked fabrics without much thought for each block; the 'ugly block' theory is definitely at work!

The name I chose is from childhood trips I took with my grandmother to Cuchara, Colorado.  When the summer got so hot in southeast Colorado, she and I with my uncle driving would head to the mountains to cool off for a week. We always stayed at a log cabin that was owned by generous family friends.  Fond memories!

Photographed in Pueblo, Colorado City Park, a WPA 
project from the 1930s

INCLUSION

 I always enjoy playing with my fabric scraps.  It is interesting to me to see how similar colors and patterns react to each other.  The slightest change in hue and value always surprises me in their interaction to their neighbors.  This quilt is playing with yellow, rust, burgundy, and brown all trying to get along -- inclusion in the neighborhood.

THE STATS:  "Inclusion", 2022, 30"x33", Machine pieced, Machine quilted.

 My designs for quilts evolve from many sources.  Some begin with a memory from my past that evokes pleasant (or not so pleasant) thoughts.  Some just come out of my mathematical brain, as I have always loved geometry and architecture.  Others evolve from fabric or an old traditional quilt that captures my fancy.  Travel near and far is a good motivation for a quilt.  Some are learning quilts -- a new skill or a sharpening of an old technique. This particular quilt covers several ideas --- learning more about color value and hue; the political news about voting rights and inclusion; and, along that line, it brought me to thinking about the memorial to the murdered Jews in Europe that I saw in Berlin, Germany.  Inspiration is out there just waiting for a personal variation. Not all of my quilts appeal to everyone, as they are not what we always think of as a traditional quilt.  They are created from my own introspection, then interpretation.

 I can't wait to start a new quilt!

REPLAY, REPLAY AGAIN, THEN MAYBE AGAIN

 With football constantly on the TV, I needed to have some handwork to do in the evenings for distraction.  I decided on a small, simple project combining applique units with patchwork units.  I haven't done any hand applique for a while finding it difficult with my arthritic hands. I kept it small with just three 9-inch blocks enough for a table topper. 

THE STATS:  "REPLAY", 2022, 13"x33", Hand appliqued, machine pieced, machine quilted.

This got me through the play offs --- just the super bowl remaining.  Maybe I'll just take a nap then!! 

ABC DELIGHT

This is an older quilt made in 2001 with some of my favorite words written on it.  I ran across it in my attempt to document in photos some of my older quilts.  The words still resonate in me today 20+ years later.  Some of the words are just fun on the tongue; others have deep meaning for me and in my lifestyle.

There is a word for each letter of the alphabet:  aubergine, brilliancy, chocolate,

detail, eclecticism, family, grace of God, hospitality, integrity, justice, kitsch, liberty, mementos, naptime, observation, porcelain, quilts, remembrance, solitude, triptych, unemcumbered, vintage, wintertime, xanadu, yard goods, and zephyr.

Photographed on the steps of my childhood, hometown library.

The Stats:  "ABC Delight", 24"x27", 2001, Machine pieced, hand inked, hand quilted.