The Writer’s Block—Quilts and More with Author Catherine Castle

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Not Your Grandma’s Quilt–Quilts as Art

Welcome to The Writer’s Block Quilts and More series. I hope everyone has been enjoying this series. I know I am.

Today I’m not going to talk about one of my quilts, but a quilt that I had the privilege of photographing and writing about when I was writing for the local newspaper in the 1990s.

This beautiful piece “Ukranian Dance” is art disguised as a quilt.

Ukrainian artists Iren and Oleg Kirilenko, who had been introduced to quilting by a member of the Ohio Valley Quilter’s club, made the quilt pictured above. Until the visit of the Ohio Valley Quilters member, the couple had not seen a quilt. Once Iren learned about quilting she was very interested in quilting as an art form. Using fabric donated by the American guild and a few solid colored European fabrics, the Kirilenkos began fashioning quilts.  “Ukranian Dance” was their second quilt.

Not only does this quilt look different than your grandmother’s patchwork quilt, it’s constructed without applique or piecing.  The Kirilenkos started in the center of the quilt, overlapping the edges of the fabric in a technique they called “fish scale.”

I was there when the quilt was unveiled at the home of one of the Ohio Valley guild members, and I still remember the gasp from the ladies assembled there. Mine included. At the time I had never seen a quilt as art. Even today, I have to say I haven’t seen an art quilt that matches this one. I wish you all could see in up close and personal, because the quilt is absolutely breathtaking!

Have you ever seen an art quilt that took your breath away?

 

Catherine Castle has had a love affair with quilts since she was young and watched her mother hand-piece squares of fabric into fascinating designs. While she loves to quilt, she has more UFOs (unfinished object) quilt tops than she has completed projects. Still she keeps buying more material and starting more projects. Someday, she’ll get them all finished. When she’s not stitching UFO quilts or gardening–two of her favorite pastimes, she writes inspirational and sweet romance. You can learn more about her and her award-winning book right here on this website or her Amazon page.

 

The Writer’s Block–Quilts and More with Author Gail Kittleson

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Getting to the Heart of Quilting

by Gail Kittleson

Quilts speak comfort to me, though my creative gifts definitely lie elsewhere. I’m reworking a novel right now, and my heroine’s mother sent a hand-stitched quilt with her on the Oregon Trail. Meta, from a rural Iowa German community, commits herself to Garrit, ten years her senior, and his Wyoming Territory dreams.

In their wagon train, Meta meets a wonderful new friend headed for The Dalles, Oregon, and together they face unspeakable loss on the trail. In the lavender-scented folds of her mother’s quilt, my heroine finds comfort.

The pattern? Tulips in a Basket—what a cherished gift. And even more so because her mother used Papa’s trousers to fashion the baskets—Papa, who died when Meta was a little girl.

A few years ago, my husband prepared for his second twelve-month-plus deployment to Iraq, so I decided to do something for myself. A friend offered to make a quilt for cold winter night snuggling, and one day in the fabric store, she taught me the ins-and-outs.

All I wanted was yellow, for cheer, but she said, “You must choose a contrast.” When no other color struck me, and I re-emphasized my longing for yellow, we went with shades and textures. In the end, she liked the results with the Garden Lattice pattern. I edited her memoir in exchange for her quilting, and voila!

Okay, that IS me, with my hair longer and doing its natural thing …

My mother-in-law, nearly ninety, still quilts. I so enjoy her lovely creations—such a lifelong, worthwhile vocation. Although I’ll never create a lovely quilt, I admire them and the patient skill they require.

I wonder, has anyone out there completed a quilt in either of the two patterns mentioned here?

 

About the Author:

Gail Kittleson has enjoyed quilts for decades, though her sewing skills leave a great deal to be desired. Her favorite thing about quilts is their history and the comfort they bring people, and she uses that aspect in several historical women’s fiction novels. You can learn more about Gail and her debut novel at her website.

 

 

 

 

 

The Writer’s Block–Quilts and More with Author Joanne Guidoccio

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Quilt Collage photo by Joanne Guidoccio

 

At the Quilt Show

It was one of those spur-of-the-moment ideas that seemingly came out of nowhere. But thinking back, I do recall hearing about the “Quilts on the Grand Show” for several weeks before the actual event. The advertisements appeared in local papers, and several establishments—including the library branches—proudly displayed the work of these talented artisans.

When I found myself with several free hours on that Saturday afternoon in early June, I headed up to Fergus, a short thirty-minute drive away. Having never quilted, I didn’t anticipate spending too much at the show and planned on visiting other shops in the area.

Pulling up into the parking lot of the Centre Wellington Sportsplex, I had to circle twice before finding an empty spot. When I entered the building, I found the foyer bustling with activity. Later, I learned that some attendees had traveled 300 miles to see this show.

As I walked around the auditorium, I felt dwarfed by the bed-sized quilts, wall hangings and other pieces that made up the 160 items on display. And I was in awe of the extraordinary workmanship displayed by the 140 artisans, one of whom was a ten-year-old junior member!

I stayed for the entire afternoon and circled the room several times, stopping to admire and take pictures of my favorite quilts. I also chatted with several artisans who shared their techniques. As I listened, I discovered many similarities between quilting and writing.

• Like the three-act story, there is a definite three-step process to quilting: beginning (preparing and cutting the fabric), middle (piecing, batting and binding), and end (quilting it all together).
• A quilt is made one piece at a time, just as a story is written one page at a time.
• While many quilts have established patterns (Log Cabin, Wedding Ring, Lone Star), some are combinations of patterns or original designs. The same applies to stories. Some authors prefer to write in one specific genre (romance, mystery, fantasy) while others (myself included) prefer to cross several genres.
• Quilters play with color, texture and composition in the same way that writers play with setting, characters and plot.
• Quilters can be nitpickers, ripping seams apart and starting over. Hmm…
• Creating a quilt is a time-intensive project and artisans get little recognition until they sell or win awards. Sound familiar?

 

About the Author:

In 2008, Joanne took advantage of early retirement and decided to launch a second career that would tap into her creative side and utilize her well-honed organizational skills. Slowly, a writing practice emerged. Her articles and book reviews were published in newspapers, magazines, and online. When she tried her hand at fiction, she made reinvention a recurring theme in her novels and short stories. A member of Crime Writers of Canada, Sisters in Crime, and Romance Writers of America, Joanne writes paranormal romance, cozy mysteries, and inspirational literature from her home base of Guelph, Ontario.

Visit Joanne at her website

 

Quilt Art on the Heritage Garden Trail

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Last year I visited the Heritage Trail Quilt Garden and at each stop artists had painted beautiful quilt patterns on the walls of adjacent buildings. I made the hubby take pictures because there’s nothing I love more pictures of quilts, unless it’s a quilt garden. So, here’s a few of the photos we took of the painted quilts on the Heritage Trail Quilt Garden route.

Wouldn’t this be a bear to piece?

 Can you see the motion created by these colors?

 

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