Quilt Showcase: Listen Carefully

Once a month, we will try to showcase a quilt from one of our MPS members.  Whether we’ve been quilting for decades or are just beginning our quilting journey, we are a talented bunch; and we inspire each other regularly with the many wonderful quilts that are created.  So it seems fitting that we showcase a quilt in hopes it will inspire others.  (You can click on any of the images to see a larger view.)

Umbrellas

You know that little voice that pops into your head mid-project and whispers, “What if…?” Kathy knows it well. In fact, she might just be our reigning What If Queen. While quilting “Rainbow Stars”, a spiderweb quilt top that had been patiently waiting its turn in her studio, that voice spoke up again. What if the kites became the background? What if each web had its own color? And like any good quilter who listens when creativity taps her on the shoulder, Kathy thought, “I just had to find out!”

Out came the paper to make the foundations—an old phone book, no less (yes, those still exist somewhere!)—and soon she was drafting, tweaking, and piecing away. The kites are calm and textural in monochromatic whites and beiges, while each triangle boldly shows up in a single bright color. Along the way, Kathy discovered that some triangles are mirror images of each other… a lesson well learned, judging by the impressive stack of mis-cut proof.

But when the blocks came together? Magic!! Suddenly, umbrellas appeared, floating across the quilt top.

This joyful quilt is all the more satisfying because every bit of it—right down to the binding—came straight from Kathy’s stash. When she looks at it now, she imagines gazing down from high above Portland on a rainy day, spotting cheerful umbrellas sheltering the people under them. And really, shouldn’t bright umbrellas be required on gray, drizzly days?

Kathy listened to her what if, followed where it led, and ended up with a quilt that’s playful, thoughtful, and full of color—proof that when inspiration speaks, it’s worth listening carefully.