Last week I wrote about my friend Shari and her diary quilt. Well, yesterday, she got a chance to deliver the completed quilt to her dad. All reports were that he was delighted and loved it! I thought you might like to see the recorded event for yourself…Shari had this picture taken with her infamous cell phone and sent it to my infamous cell phone (those phones used in the binding stage of said quilt 
)
Shari and her Dad, Jack Chavous
© 2009 Beverly Hicks Burch All Rights Reserved.
Mission Completed
By Beverly Hicks Burch
Many of you that have been following my blogs know that I started a project a few months back called The BamaSteelMagnolia™ Diaries. The concept is based on a book I picked up by Mimi Dietrich. A diary quilt tells the story of your life or what is important to you in quilt form or in “textile art”.
I’ve been told many times, by many people that I needed to write a book…and people, you don’t even know the latest…lol! So, I decided to take the diary quilt concept and combine it with my urge to write and love of writing and create The BamaSteelMagnolia™ Diaries. So far I’ve written about it here (Introduction), here – Chap. 1, here – Chap. 2, and here – Chap. 3. Believe me when I say…I’m not finished…there is more to come, but life has just been so crazy lately and dropped some unexpected “stuff” on us…and what’s a diary for, right?
About the time I decided to start my diary quilt I was teaching a friend of mine to quilt. Her first project was a quilt for her big, tall, sweet handsome son. Did I mention he is tall? 
Now, Shari will tell you she is a Type A and is compelled to finish a project before she starts another one. I tried to explain the quilter’s UFO theory, but so far Ms Shari just ain’t buying it…but…
As she was working on her mystery quilt, one of the (many) projects I was working on was my diary quilt and the concept began to grow on her and actually grabbed hold of her. The girl had to make one…and soon…and swiftly as it turned out.
We went fabric shopping and designed her quilt on my EQ6 software. She had decided her quilt would be a diary quilt for her Daddy. (I’ve explained how us Southern gals about our Daddy’s…) She named it Quilted Memories of Daddy’s Life.
Well, this weekend, Ms Shari finished that puppy…her second quilt. She started it in March and finished it in seven months…pretty darn good. I’d moved about a month ago, so we did the bias binding learning via texting, phone and email…and the gal got it, so what does it tell you about this pupil? Pretty impressive, huh? Oh by the way, I can now assure you…there is a very legitimate reason to have a camera phone!
So, I’d like to proudly share Shari and her diary quilt, Quilted Memories of Daddy’s Life.
© 2009 Beverly Hicks Burch All Rights Reserved.
Momma’s Closet
By Beverly Hicks Burch
In 1986 I took up needle and thread and began a mostly self taught journey on the road to becoming a quilter or as some of the more “artsy” of our kind call themselves, “textile artist”. I was greatly inspired by the work of my maternal great-grandmother, Rebecca Shaffer McGee. Even though she passed away in 1971 a few months shy of her 97th birthday she had a lasting influence on me…one I dare say she would be surprised…and I hope pleased to know about.
Becky, as she was called, raised 10 children…my grandfather included, who each in turn had children of their own. The family grew into a sizeable family and Becky and Dan (my great-grandfather) had a passel of grandkids.
In addition to raising her family Becky was renowned for a variety of things. She was a respected midwife in Lawrence County, Tennessee. Not only did she deliver a good number of the children of Lawrence County during those years, she also delivered the majority of that passel of grandbabies…my Momma included. Becky was a top notch gardener…and she was a quilter. She made quilts for each of those grandbabies…no small feat if I might say so. This was in the day before rotary cutters and all the fancy bells and whistles we have that lend us ease and speed in our craft today.
Momma and her three siblings received Lone Star Quilts and it was the vibrant splashes of color in Mom’s quilt that gave me the latent quilting bug as a child. It lay dormant, incubating until 1986 when I couldn’t stand it any longer and I took my first tentative steps down my quilting journey.
Momma’s Lone Star is close to 45 – 47 years old now. She recalls her grandmother working on it when my youngest sister was a baby. At the time Becky was staying with my grandfather (Becky’s son) and grandmother. Mom said she remembers seeing her sit in a chair surrounded by boxes of her fabric. She would watch as Becky reached in the boxes for each piece to artfully put in its perfect place. The Lone Star itself is hand pieced, the extended background sections were added by machine…just proving that Grandmom did have enough sense to use the latest modern technology of her day to aid her in her work. The morale here for all you quilters…don’t let anyone put you down if you machine piece instead of hand piece!
Momma’s Lone Star – by Rebecca Shaffer McGee
Momma’s Lone Star – Center Detail – Made by Rebecca Shaffer McGee
Momma’s Lone Star – Fabric & Quilting Detail – Made by Rebecca Shaffer McGee
For a while it seemed like the quilting bug might have skipped a generation…or two. Mom had sewn dresses and such when we were little, but I had never seen Momma quilt. Then, not too long after I took up quilting, the bug bit Momma too, and she didn’t let moss grow under her feet. Even though she’s taken care of my mentally and physically disabled sister for over 40 years and become a grandmom herself, Mom found time to oil paint, tole paint, do needlepoint and amass a tidy little closet full of quilts and quilt tops waiting to be quilted. She’s like most of us quilters…she has plenty of UFO’s (UnFinished Objects) hovering around begging to be finished.
I didn’t realize…or had forgotten… just how many projects Mom had done until we were working in her new sewing room organizing things a little and arranging her new sewing closet. When I saw them, I knew it was time to take out the camera and start documenting (something I strongly recommend for you and yours). I realize I have to come up with a better way of displaying quilts when I photograph them, but until then preserving them in pictures is the important thing.
Documenting your quilts and the quilts in your family is extremely important! I would estimate thousands of quilts have been lost to the passage of time to families and their heirs because the quilts weren’t documented in one way or another. How many quilts can you think of in your family at this very moment that are laying around but no one has the slightest idea who the maker was or when the quilt was made? In addition to making a photographical record of your quilt, I strongly encourage you to label each and every project you undertake. Believe me, your heirs and future quilt makers will thank you!
So, in the spirit of sharing, I hope you enjoy the contents of Momma’s closet…
This was one of Mom’s 1st projects – wall hanging by Juanita Hicks
“Amish Spinning Stars”, by Juanita Hicks. Mom made this wall hanging for a guild challenge.
Christmas Basket, by Juanita Hicks. This is a little wall hanging Mom has waiting to be quilted. She’s quite fond of Christmas pieces!
Christmas Rail Fence, Juanita Hicks
Christmas Rail Fence – Top Detail, by Juanita Hicks
Christmas Rail Fence – Border Detail, by Juanita Hicks
Christmas Sampler, by Juanita Hicks
Running Hearts, by Juanita Hicks. A table runner Mom made…waiting to be quilted.
Maple Leaves, by Juanita Hicks. This is a wall hanging/lap throw Mom made and I quilted for her a few years back.
Snowman in a Cabin, by Juanita Hicks. Mom made this little wall hanging by embedding a novelty panel, the center snowman, within a Log Cabin block.
Pastel Nine Patches, by Juanita Hicks
Pastel Nine Patches – Blue Square Detail, by Juanita Hicks
Pastel Nine Patches – Green Square Detail, by Juanita Hicks
Pastel Nine Patches – Yellow Square Detail, by Juanita Hicks
Pastel Nine Patches – Pink Square & Quilting detail, by Juanita Hicks
Pastel Nine Patches – Border Detail, by Juanita Hicks
Peacock Mystery, by Juanita Hicks. This is Mom’s mystery quilt. It is her finished top and a result of a class I taught. The pattern is the same as my mystery quilt “Oh Say Can You See…It’s a Mystery” and my friend Shari’s “Stars Shine on Philip”
Peacock Mystery – Top Detail, by Juanita Hicks
Peacock Mystery – Border Detail, by Juanita Hicks
Rose Corners, by Juanita Hicks. Mom won several of these blocks in a Block of the Month drawing at a local guild she was a member of for several years. She plans on making a few more and adding borders.
Red & Green Applique. Mom also won these blocks in a Block of the Month drawing at a church group she belonged to…hers is among the rest.
Chicken in a Barn, by Juanita Hicks. Mom has a weakness for chickens.
© 2009 Beverly Hicks Burch All Rights Reserved.
Let the Fun and Games Begin
By Beverly Hicks Burch
A few months ago while I was visiting Asheville, NC with Tall & Handsome, we stopped in the Asheville Cotton Co., a local quilt shop. I have to confess it wasn’t our last visit either.
While there we both fell in love with a line of fabric by Benartex. The collection is called Gotham and to me has a very Art Deco look. And, that for some reason reminds me of some of the architecture of Asheville itself. I guess it’s the city’s history with the Biltmore Mansion and Estate and the Grove Park Inn.
Anyway, we both fell prey to this fabric and purchase enough fabric to do individual projects…wall hanging size. It would be T & H’s second project and his first solo project.
He’s finished his top and it is stunning. I need to check and see if it’s packed yet for the move. If not I’ll snap a few pics and share them. I quite proud of his results.
I finished mine also and have started the hand quilting. We both followed patterns that were suggested by Benartex but of course with our own variations and twists. The pattern I adapted was called Pachisi. It may look complicated but it was really quite easy to do.
Since I changed mine up a bit, I’m thinking about naming mine “Let the Fun and Games Begin”…
Let the Fun and Games Begin…with basting stitches
Let the Fun and Games Begin – Quilting Detail 1
Let the Fun and Games Begin – Quilting Detail 2
© 2009 Beverly Hicks Burch All Rights Reserved.
South by Southwest©…in Pictures
By Beverly Hicks Burch
Well, it took just a little over seven months start to finish to complete our first joint project…but, YAY!…it’s done! Binding? Check! Rod pocket? Check! Label? Check! See…I told you so…
Tall & Handsome and I began machine piecing the project on New Year’s Day 2009…a nice way to begin a New Year, right? I put the last stitch in the binding on Monday July 20, 2009…and Viola, c’est fini! Just a refresher…this quilt is a nod to our combined heritages…The pattern is the Tennessee Waltz to commemorate my Southern-ness and the state where I was born. We used Southwestern fabrics for a nod to T & H’s southwestern roots and his home state of New Mexico.
So here are a few pictures I snapped indoors and outdoors today to give you an idea of what our new “baby” looks like…
Enjoy!
South by Southwest on a warm summer day…
South by Southwest indoors
South by Southwest Border Corner Detail
South by Southwest – Quilting detail, Block 1 – the snowball block
South by Southwest – Block 2, the Star Block
South by Southwest – the label
South by Southwest – Rod Pocket detail
South by Southwest – back view
Of course I had to include a picture of T & H taken with to quilt top shortly after we had finished piecing it…his 1st ever project and our 1st joint project…
© 2009 Beverly Hicks Burch All Rights Reserved.
One Diary Down
By Beverly Hicks Burch
I do apologize for the lack of postings lately. It has been an extremely busy spring and summer for me. I spent about a month away from home…had a doctor’s appointment and some personal “stuff” to take care of…some of which I’ll share later. But, all has not been quiet on the quilting front either!
South by Southwest is nearing completion! I’m working on the third side of the border…so less than two border sides to go and then the binding and a large quilt will be finished! It’s Tall & Handsome’s and my first joint project…
If you recall earlier this year I started a combined project inspired by Mimi Dietrich’s book A Quilter’s Diary: Written in Stitches. The book chronicles the idea of crafting “diary” quilts or quilts that tell the story of the quilter’s life…or the story of any given person’s life. Her book inspired me to start The BamaSteelMagnolia ™ Diaries a combined written and textile project. Currently, in addition to the introduction, there is Chapter 1, Chapter 2 and Chapter 3. Yes, there is more to come…when life settles down a bit. As a matter of fact, there are blocks made…waiting in the wing…just waiting for their chapter to be written…
But, I have to say…the diary quilt if a contagious little character! My friend Shari caught the bug! She picked a diary quilt as her second (ever!) project and last night she finished sashing the blocks together, and after putting the borders on and we basted that puppy and got it ready for quilting! Shari just took up quilting after the first of the year! Her quilt commemorates the life of her daddy and will be presented to him after completion.
I just couldn’t help but share some pictures of the beautiful top and the proud quilter.
Enjoy!
Quilted Memories of Daddy’s Life, by Shari Alexander
Quilted Memories of Daddy’s Life and Quilter Shari Alexander
© 2009 Beverly Hicks Burch All Rights Reserved.
One of the First
By Beverly Hicks Burch
Several years ago when I was the president of a quilt guild I would occasionally do a program called “Here is where I started and here is where I am…”
The program was usually prompted after a newer member said, “My stitches will never be that small!”
In the program I brought out my very first (humbling) project and had it next to my latest project. It was a study and comparison in extremes. This is where I was…and this is where I am…if I can do this, so can you… This is how lousy my stitching was and this is how improved it is…
Well, today’s pictures are not of that very first project, but it’s close.
This is a small wall hanging I made using the traditional log cabin pattern. There are things that are “wrong” of you will. I folded my backing to the front for the binding, and looking at the fabric I do believe is a poly/cotton blend. And the quilting…oh, my…, but, hey, it was an improvement over the very first. I made this in 1987 about a year after I started quilting. Thankfully by then I knew enough to start labeling my quilts.
If you don’t already do it, please find a way to label you work for future generations…they will thank you!
Log Cabin 1987
Log Cabin 1987 – Quilting Detail
© 2009 Beverly Hicks Burch All Rights Reserved.
Blocks Without Borders
By Beverly Hicks Burch
If you DO NOT have a sense of humor, please don’t read any further, because YES! this is a pun…a play on Doctors without Borders, Engineers without Borders, Teachers without Borders, Librarians without Borders, Journalists without Borders, TV Reports without Borders and any other wonderful, altruistic groups out there without Borders doing great and wonderful works for humankind.
You see, my head is too muddled from days and weeks of number crunching bills, tax extensions, tea parties, billion and trillions of dollars of future generational debt, trying to sell a wonderful house in a crappy real estate market just to have people think that’s a license to steal it from you AND a bug that makes my poor weary head feel like I have 50 pounds of cotton batting stuffed in every cranial cavity.
Other than that…I’m doing just fine…
…and even with all that I’ve managed to be semi-productive…
Rather than show you my final two Southern Stars block of the months, I thought I’d show you one step further. I have actually managed to sash the blocks together and all I need to do is add borders…and of course quilt it!
So, if you will…feast your eyes upon my blocks without borders …
Blocks without Borders, by Beverly Hicks Burch
© 2009 Beverly Hicks Burch All Rights Reserved.
Two New Baby Southern Stars BOM
By Beverly Hicks Burch
I’ve had a very productive week. T & H also has even though he arrived back home from a conference sick as a puppy dog. His temp was almost 101°!
Among the other things I accomplished this week were the completion of blocks number 9 and 10 of the Southern Stars block of the month (BOM). That leaves two more blocks to finish and then I can sash them and add borders!!
I picked up another batik I couldn’t resist and have incorporated it in the BOMs.
Once again these blocks were machine pieced and the rotary cutter was used to cut all the fabric…no templates!
It just so happens T & H and I watched a Fons and Porter episode (#1301) couple of weeks ago that demonstrated the diagonal piecing method. (You don’t cut triangles…you use squares you sew into the corner of another square and the trim the excess for a seam allowance.) If you have a chance to catch the episode I would recommend it!
Take a gander at the two new blocks in the BamaSteelMagnolia™ solar system…
Southern Stars BOM #9 – I used the new batik in this block. You can see it in the corners and surrounding the center.
Southern Stars BOM #10
Blocks # 9 & 10 together
© 2009 Beverly Hicks Burch All Rights Reserved.
A New Table for Work
By Beverly Hicks Burch
I can’t tell you how much I dread cutting my fabric sometimes. Why? A big resounding “ouch” as in pain in the back and/or hips!
You see my health isn’t the best in the world. Among other things I have joint and muscle problems. Then about a year ago I was diagnosed (although I suffered with it for a long time not knowing what it was) with bursitis in my hip. It is a pain beyond description…almost like trying to birth a 12 pound baby out you joint!
Cutting fabric for a quilt can add to the stress and pain of back and joints, especially if you cut your fabric on a short (or even standard) height surface. After a while you begin to feel like Quasimodo…and after awhile my back and hip are screaming! I can feel the pain stretch all the way down to my foot.
But, most of us just don’t feel comfortable sitting down to use our rotary cutter
My house in Alabama had an island in the kitchen and it was just the right height for rotary cutting. I would use it on occasion to cut my fabric. If you have one, give it a try…you’ll be surprised at the relief off your back.
Unfortunately when I left that house, I couldn’t carry the island with me, so for the last several years I’ve been doing my best painful Quasimodo imitation. Until this weekend…
Tall & Handsome and I had run into Sam’s to check on a couple of things. Suddenly I saw his blue eyes light up and when I followed his gaze I immediately knew why. He was looking a table I knew was bound for our quilt room…
The table top is made out of durable, hard impact plastic. The surface measurement is approximately 24” x 36”…just the right size for a large rotary mat. So, what makes this table so different from any other table I could have purchased that size? Two things.
First, the legs can adjust to three different heights…the tallest is 36”. Just the right size for no more hunched up cutting! Second, the table folds in half for easy storage and putting away…there’s even a handle on the side for carrying. All that and it’s priced under $45.
Needless to say, one found its way into the back of the Jeep. I thought I’d share a few pictures of the table at work…
The New Work Table – just right for rotary cutting
Another View
The Work Surface
The extendable Legs
© 2009 Beverly Hicks Burch All Rights Reserved.
