Part of the Woodwork

1992 was the first year we lived in Wisconsin. I was literally grieving for Cincinnati, and trying to console my kids, who'd left the only home they remembered. My husband was busy and happy with his new job but it was a tough year for the rest of us.

One of my big solaces was the quilt guild I joined here. They offered a workshop that year with area teacher Harriet Schoeninger--such a delight. We all brought scrap strips to trade and then could pick a mystery quilt to make.

The main result of that workshop, my Old Fashioned Ninepatch (above), remains one of my favorite quilts ever. It hangs in my laundry room, where I pass it many times a day and almost forget to look at it. But when I do, it always makes me happy.

I love what the circular quilting does for the square lines of the piecing. This was a dumb luck choice that was smarter than I knew at the time. And look--actual hand quilting. From me!


After all the scrap strip trading at that workshop, I had a lot of leftovers. We were building our house that year, and to soothe my ragged and raw nerves (real estate issues just make me physically ill), I worked those scraps.

I made this Square in a Square, using the most pastel strips.



And I made this simple Ninepatch, doll quilt sized.


Both these latter quilts hang in a powder room. Again, they're part of the woodwork here. But they both please me a great deal. These last two have been exposed to more sunlight and have suffered some fading. Those doggone unstable blues and purples...

The edges of the Ninepatch look wonky for a reason. I was experimenting with binding ideas. One of my antique quilts is bound with the backing fabric just brought around to the front and tacked down. That's what I did on this quilt too. Needless to say, this is the ONLY quilt I ever finished in this way.



I was pleased with the quilting on this one too, also kind of an experiment: "Hmm, I wonder if it would be OK if I tried this..."

Back then the quilt police were more of a concern.