Quilting

A favourite website is being updated again, Pioneer Melissa's. On Friday, June 4 she posted pictures of a cool quilt she just finished, "Log Cabin on Acid."

I am intrigued by quilts and but right now will continue to admire them from afar rather than make them myself because 1) I don't have the SPACE, and 2) I am overwhelmed by all the choices and decisions that go into quilt making.

I have picked up a couple (only two!) books on quilting from used books stores. The Mountain Artisans Quilting Book, © 1973, documents a quilting cooperative program in West Virginia. Besides quilts for beds or wall hangings, the book has pictures of very 1970s-esque quilted skirts! Piece by Piece: The Complete Book of Quilt Making by Dianne Finnegan is about quilting in Australia.

My great-grandmother made quilts, some of which my mother has. I currently use a "church quilt" my mother passed along to me. When my parents were missionaries, they were the beneficiaries of small church women's groups' generosity. These women's groups made quilts from used and scrap pieces of fabric. The quilts certainly are not "art" quilts but have their own charm.

The quilt on my bed is made of three-inch squares of random fabric and is backed with a flannel print. Each square is tied with yellow acrylic yarn. I've only recently started noticing the actual fabric in each square. I suppose some of fabric would be labeled "vintage" these days. (Perhaps my mother will leave a comment giving the exact provenance of my quilt.)

Church groups still donate large numbers of quilts. For example, in 2003 Lutheran World Relief's quilt project sent 406,560 quilts to various countries around the world.