Fun with Barb and...

Have you seen my friend Barb's new blog, Fun with Barb and Mary? It’s a dialog between two quilty friends who maintain their relationship in spite of one family's move from the East Coast to the Midwest.


Hmm, why does that sound so familiar? Because before there was Barb and Mary, there was Barb and Diane. We had our share of fun too, until one family’s move from Chicago to New Jersey forever altered our quilty friendship.


I wish Barb and Mary well with their new blogging venture. What a great way to stay in touch! As they share news and photos of their projects, quilt shows, bee get-togethers, fabric shopping escapades, holiday decorating and more, you’ll begin to feel like they are your best quilt friends too.

Barb and I collaborated on this Churn Dash quilt back in 2002. The pattern came from the January, 2002 issue of Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine. We exchanged blocks made from reproduction fabrics that we both love to collect. There were enough fabric combinations that no two blocks are alike.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

The blocks are 5" and my finished quilt measures 64" x 85". It is machine quilted.

Barb has a very similar "sister" quilt in her collection.

Thanks

Thank you for your kind comments on my AIDS Quilt post. For the past couple of years, I've intended to post about World AIDS Day but couldn't do it without sounding too personal or political. This year I thought I'd just share the facts and imply my connection to the NAMES Quilt ~ easier for folks to handle. As one reader pointed out, "No matter how personal or political the issue is, underneath it is HUMAN and that's the message you were putting out... it is the world's problem, not a gay problem or an African problem."

It will never be displayed in its entirety again but if you have a chance to see a portion of the quilt, I strongly recommend it. Poignant and moving are not strong enough words to describe the experience. It is truly life altering to witness the enormity of the memorial and realize what a small portion of AIDS related deaths it actually represents.

The cost of storing, maintaining and exhibiting the quilt has become prohibitive. Who knows what will ultimately become of this massive yet fragile monument. All I know is, the stitching of quilt panels helped me deal with the grief of my family's loss. It was an honor to participate in what is now the world's largest community folk art project.

The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt:
Number of visitors to the Quilt: +18,000,000
Number of names on the Quilt: more than 91,000

(representing only about 18% of all U.S. AIDS deaths)
Size: 1,293,300 square feet (6 city blocks)

Viewing time: To see the entire Quilt spending
only one minute per panel - over 33 days
Total Weight: More than 54 tons
Last Full Display: The Mall in Washington, D.C. in 1996

Goal of the Quilt: to bring awareness to how massive
the AIDS pandemic really is, and to bring support
and healing to those affected by it.

The face of AIDS has changed dramatically since the mid 1990's when I made these panels to honor both my brother, Wayne and his partner, Don.

CLICK HERE for worldwide statistics and how you can help prevent the spread of AIDS.

Happy Thanksgiving

As I count my blessings today,

know that you are among them!

Fondly, Diane

Injun Summer

Indian Summer has come at last. Two glorious days of warmth and sun lured my husband out of doors with rake and mower to complete his final yard clean up (and snap a couple quilt photos).

If you grew up in the Chicago area, Indian Summer may have a special significance to you. As kids, we looked forward to the official pronouncement of the season by the Chicago Tribune. Each year, as the autumn air became hazy with the smoky perfume of burning leaves, we’d scout the newspaper for “Injun Summer,” *the classic story and cartoon by John T. McCutcheon.

This little quilt evokes Indian Summer with its autumnal colors and harvest inspired name. I call it Spinach and Squash because of the fabrics I used. The colors were inspired by early Pennsylvania German quilts.

I made this doll quilt by hand back in 1990. That was long before quick piecing methods became popular. Products like "triangles on a roll," or "easy angle rulers" weren't available to quilters yet. I used two triangle templates (1" and 3") to mark my fabric and enjoyed the slow process of sewing by hand. It seems kind of archaic now, but there is a romance to handwork, same as burning leaves and dreaming of Indians on an autumn day. *

Spinach and Squash Sawtooth

15" x 18"

hand pieced and hand quilted

© DJB, 1990

A Wandaful Day!

Strawberry Patch doll quilt

The yellow berry print fabric is for the back.

Thanks for all your suggestions on how to elevate my mood over the coming months. My favorites were, of course, the quilty ones: keep an inspiring quilt book nearby, purchase fabric just to bask in its color, plan a new project (that’s easy~ I’m a dreamer rather than a doer), change out light bulbs for those simulating natural light (sounds like a good excuse to invest in an Ott light), invite quilt friends over more often, and if all else fails, eat chocolate!

I had a great day recently which included several of those very suggestions:

~ My friend Wanda (Exuberant Color) came by for lunch and some sewing. She brought the lunch as well as her freshly baked chocolate chip cookies!

~ Wanda assembled my little Strawberry Patch doll quilt for me. It was a pleasure to watch her sew, chain stitching squares into rows, nestling finger pressed seams together as she coaxed them through the machine. I rarely saw her clip a thread; she never used a pin, yet every seam matched perfectly.

~ She brought new fabric for me to pet…

~ and helped me start my Christmas shopping by selling me several of her beautiful journal covers.

~ The final treat was a test drive of a Baby Lock Quilter’s Choice sewing machine. It had some awesome features, like automatic needle threading and thread cutting. I could operate it with the push of a button rather than a foot pedal! It might help me sew for a bit longer, but with two kids in college, I can’t warrant the expense. It's fun to dream though.

Thanks for a truly "Wandaful" day, Wanda!

Weekend Gratitudes

Need I say more?