American Tradition
by Gail Lang
Part 3 of 5

Most work their art into the top layer by piecing or appliqueing fabric into the design they see in their mind. A patchwork quilt is created by taking various pieces of cloth and working them together into an artistic design. I can remember in my early years of quilting laughing when a friend once told me, "I don't understand? You take perfectly good pieces of fabric, cut them into the tiniest of pieces, only to sew them back together again?" Of course she hadn't yet seen one of my finished quilts and when she did she was quick to marvel at the art that had been created.

To truly appreciate the precision of working with tiny scraps of cloth, consider that if the measurement of just one edge of one piece is not perfectly cut, aligned and sewn, the plan and shape of the entire quilt can be jeopardized. The picture at the right shows a pattern called "The Star of Bethlehem." It is composed of over 2700 pieces of cloth cut into diamonds measuring only 1.75 inches. If you had the opportunity to examine the quilt up close you would see that no seam is misaligned, and all pieces are perfectly cut, placed and sewn. The larger image (obtained by clicking on the small icon) will show more detail, but a quilt can only really be appreciated by touching it and holding it close for inspection.

As an example of the feelings behind a design you should look to the quilting in the open areas on the "Star of Bethlehem" above. I created each design with three thoughts in mind that I wished to work into this quilt. In the center square panels there are two alternating sets of eagle designs, one of an eagle holding olive leaves symbolic of peace, the other of an eagle in flight symbolic of freedom. These eagles and the thousands of diamonds were eventually surrounded by numerous designs of roses symbolic of love. In the top image shown above, the quilt was four years old yet still unfinished. Many years, and many drops of blood were put into the completion of this masterpiece and it now rests proudly on my own bed.

Other examples of star quilts are shown below. The star is one of many geometric shapes that women have embellished and drawn from to create exquisite designs. The two stars on the left represent one of my most popular quilts while I had my "Patchwork Shop". I averaged making and selling at least twelve of these designs per year (in addition to other orders) in various color combinations and variations. I called them my "Lone Star" quilts and there are dozens of them adorning beds across the nation. The other quilt was made by my husbands grandmother and is a sample of a "Starburst." The names of a quilt generally reflect either the design of the quilt, the feelings of the quilter, or both.

Previous / Next