A Hometown Gem

On Saturday, March 23rd Dawn and I had the privilege of attending the opening day for Mimi Dietrich's Hometown Girl exhibit at the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore MD. This is a year long exhibit featuring the designs and works of the fabulous Mimi herself, and it is certainly not to be missed!

Mimi welcoming the full auditorium to the opening

The program was kicked off with words from Mimi, starting with the first quilt she ever touched and followed her quilting history to her discovery of Baltimore Album quilts and her love of teaching quilters. It was amazing to see the auditorium filled with quilters, family, and friends. The talk was followed by a reception with wine and cheese and then we were onto the quilts!

Even the wine bottles were celebrating our "Hometown Girl"!

The exhibit features three galleries of quilts, an interactive "Build a Quilt" Lego station, and a video of Mimi. As a quilter, this exhibit is a must see. Mimi and the Historical Society have put together an incredible exhibit.

 

It was a truly enjoyable day; full of laughter, friends, and of course the quilts. The exhibit will be open for an entire year, and we highly recommend going to see it!

Just a handful of exhibit visitors!

Dawn and I caught up with the Hometown Girl herself!

...We'll definitely be going back again!

Enjoy the Day!
~ Heather

Thank You, Marine...

I enjoy the privilege to quilt other people's ("OP") quilt tops a lot as part of my job...it's wonderful! All of them are special, but sometimes I feel particularly honored to work on a special project for someone.  This lovely patriotic quilt was made by a grandmother for her grandson who has given the last few years of his life serving us in the United States Marine Corp.

I won't show his name here as I don't know him personally, but what I thought was so very special about this quilt is that Grandmother wanted me to quilt in the names of his duty stations while he was a Marine.  

So in the red stripes of this patriotic quilt, I stitched in words (click on the photos to make them larger if you need to, my phone-photography is not great)...

 Of groups that he served with...

 Bases where he was stationed...

 Ships that he manned...

 ...Far away lands where he was deployed, and risked his life to protect and preserve our nation.

It was an honor and a privilege...Thank You for your Service and Sacrifice Marine!

Tomorrow is Veteran's Day.   Join us at the shop for our Free Veteran's Day Quilts of Valor Sew-In! Come for the whole day, or stop by on your lunch break to help us sew together blocks to be put into quilts for Quilts of Valor.

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

Confessions of a Simple Meandering Quilter...

We spent an afternoon the week we were in Houston walking through the amazing quilt show at the International Quilt Market, and as my photos like the one above will attest, I was in awe of the quilting.  The hours and talent that were poured into those quilts resulted in some magnificent pieces of art and certainly classifies them as what we think of as heirlooms.  It really humbled me and reinforced the thought I had that I'm not an "heirloom quilter".

So when I returned home and went back to work on the pile of quilt tops that I have in line for my Handi Quilter ~ all of which are receiving a simple allover meander quilting design ~ I was feeling less than inspired, and questioning my quilting talents.  (...Not that I don't do more custom quilting treatments occasionally, but frankly most of the time a simple allover meander is what I'm doing to get a quilt finished.)

...While working on my next quilt that was one of two that I pieced and was now quilting for my cousin to gift to her grandsons for Christmas, I was muttering about my lack of "heirloom" quality quilting on these simple quilts ~ then I happened to glance over at my little granddaughter who was cuddled up on the floor of my studio to take her afternoon rest, with her favorite quilt that she has claimed (a simply pieced and allover quilted quilt)

...and I teared up. 

(...yes, I'm a little menopausal ~ but I don't think that totally discounts my point)

I started to realize that these humble, yet I think beautiful quilts may just be destined to become heirlooms.  These quilts are being given as gifts to two young boys from their grandmother who carefully chose the fabrics to coincide with the interests of each boy.  These aren't quilted in such a "fancy heirloom" way that they will be stored away in a closet because they are "too nice" to use.

...No these are the quilts they might...
Cuddle under when they are sick...or pull up tight around their necks when they are afraid at night.
These are the quilts that they will wrestle on with their favorite dog...watch TV on...and cry under when they are jilted by their first crush one day. 
...And when they grow up, they will always, always remember their Grandma's love when they see them.

...So after standing there pondering all these things, and feeling a little renewed and somewhat inspired, I decided I wouldn't get them done in time for Christmas if I didn't get back to work ~ so I wiped my teary eyes and got back to work meandering...today's heirloom quilts.

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

PS ~ As I write this blog post, the cat and I are now curled up in my comfy chair, sitting under the quilt that lives draped over this chair in my living room... and yes, it's simply quilted with an allover meander :)

"Why Do You Quilt?"

 

I’ve often been asked why I quilt.  It’s a legitimate question.  After all, historically quilting was a utilitarian craft.  People needed to make quilts to keep warm at night.  Generally, resources were scarce so the small pieces from used fabrics were sewn together to make a larger piece of fabric to create a quilt.  

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Well resources aren’t scarce anymore (remember my fabric stash pictures), and I can just buy perfectly warm blankets already made ~ cheaper than I can make them myself in many cases. 

…So why do I quilt?  Why do I cut up perfectly good fabric, just to sew it back together? And why do I like to do it so much? I’ve made a bunch of quilts.  Complicated quilts and simple quilts, large quilts and small quilts.  I enjoy picking the colors and fabric textures, and the serenity I get from stitching them together (In that I feel a kinship with women of long ago).   I enjoy the creative process, and how that fulfills me.  I enjoy giving quilts as gifts... 

I own quilts that were made by my Great Grandmother, and I cherish them ~ I somehow feel a connection to this woman I never met through these quilts, and hope that someday someone will feel that connection to me through a quilt I’ve made. 

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Even after my Dad really couldn’t recognize me as his daughter any more because of his dementia, he asked me one day as I sat stitching while visiting him at the  nursing home, “Don’t you ever get tired of doing that?” …He made me chuckle.

 

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...I smiled because he asked me that question while this quilt was draped over his legs.  This simple quilt started out as a sample for the quilt shop, but when I was making it I thought of my Dad, so it became a Christmas gift for him in 2007.  You would have thought I had given him gold bars.  Even though it was a throw size quilt, it always laid over his full size bed and he used it nightly.  Then it followed with him to the nursing home as one of those cherished familiar treasures from home.   This humble quilt gave warmth, comfort, and I believe connections when those connections were both fleeting and precious.    

...So no Dad, I don't ever get tired of doing that :)

Why do you quilt?  I’d love to hear!  

Enjoy the day!

~ Dawn