No doubt, the gift of a handmade quilt is the gift of love. The first time I saw quilts that were not just standard log cabin patterns or square blocks was when I was in high school. I went to high school on the Sioux and Assiniboine, the home of these Indigenous Tribes where a Native women would create items to morn the death of a loved one. Approximately a year after the death of the loved one the woman would give away handmade objects to people that helped during the time of insurmountable grief. Frequently you would see beautiful star quilts given away reflecting their thanks for kindness and friendship. My mother received such a quilt that is somewhere tucked away in a closet. Many indigenous women are known for their craft skills, and for their knowledge and knowhow in making star quilts.
Unlike these Native women from my childhood, my sister-in-law, Barbara Wotherspoon is making quilts and fabric art-craft projects out of relentless joy and perhaps a little self-torture. Every new monumental project provides untested horizons with challenges, requiring the development of additional forms of quilting expertise.
Wotherspoon seriously took up art-quilting craft after years of working as a college administrator at University of California, Riverside. She now rotates between her home in California and Montana, and recently presented me with a handmade quilt, it was not a surprise, I knew she had been working on it for at least a year. It was a work of art, with hours of labor, that included moments of complications and persistence. The quilt came with a title: “Night Sky Quilt”. The overall design that Wotherspoon worked with were bright pastel stars that used contrasting colors of tints and shades giving each star a powerful popping effect against a black background. If you squint, and look through your eyelashes, you can just imagine it is a photo from the James Webb NASA telescope traveling through the greater outer space.
To acquire the needed variations of shades in each color to be used in the star block, Wotherspoon ordered online the needed fabrics from a variety of quilt shops around the country. Some shops allowed for the needed fat quarter, however many online shops had a minimum purchase of one yard. Thus as you can imagine, she has fabric left over for future projects. The definition of a fat quarter is cut crosswise from a 1⁄2 yard piece of fabric-an 18x44” rectangle cut in half to yield an 18x22” “fat” 1⁄4 yard piece.
After acquiring the required fabrics, Wotherspoon started to cut the required fabrics from around the country. To accomplish this effort, one might need an advanced degree in geometry: there are shapes of diamonds, odd shaped left and right triangles, trapezoids and instructions on how to rotate the ruler 180 degrees to cut the pieces just right. Next she started the assemblage process, first sewing the half blocks, then creating these long strips of arranged half blocks. This assemblage becomes tricky as each block must maintain its angled points otherwise the overall composition would lose its star-shaped quality. Exactitude is required to obtain the overall layout, and it is not for the faint of heart or those who do not have the stamina for precision.
With the quilt top pieced, choices regarding batting, thread color, and quilting design were determined. Wotherspoon contracted with Laura Finkbeiner, a Montana rancher and custom quilter to complete the three-layer quilt sandwich: top, batting and backing, that were assembled on a long-arm quilting machine. Finkbeiner was selected due to the large size of the quilt and her expertise in custom quilting. In consult with Finkbeiner, 80/20 (80% cotton/20% polyester) black batting was recommended, as opposed to cream colored batting, to prevent the batting from showing through the stitching. Wotherspoon selected a gray-silver thread and the diamond quilting design to accentuate the stars. Finkbeiner was given liberty in the remaining quilt design which is done in feathers.
Upon return from the quilter, Wotherspoon started the finishing process, including trimming and building the bias binding. Once completed, she created a fabric signature block, using the latest in printing technology on fabric. The signature block included a dedication note. Likewise, it came with a paper note: “Your quilt was made with love, remember you are loved when you use your quilt”. Also there were instructions about quilt care, perhaps we should all understand that cotton quilts should be machine washed on a gentle cycle and then tumbled dry.
Unlike these Native women from my childhood, my sister-in-law, Barbara Wotherspoon is making quilts and fabric art-craft projects out of relentless joy and perhaps a little self-torture. Every new monumental project provides untested horizons with challenges, requiring the development of additional forms of quilting expertise.
Wotherspoon seriously took up art-quilting craft after years of working as a college administrator at University of California, Riverside. She now rotates between her home in California and Montana, and recently presented me with a handmade quilt, it was not a surprise, I knew she had been working on it for at least a year. It was a work of art, with hours of labor, that included moments of complications and persistence. The quilt came with a title: “Night Sky Quilt”. The overall design that Wotherspoon worked with were bright pastel stars that used contrasting colors of tints and shades giving each star a powerful popping effect against a black background. If you squint, and look through your eyelashes, you can just imagine it is a photo from the James Webb NASA telescope traveling through the greater outer space.
Queen Sized Quilt
Title: Night Sky
The quilt pattern was designed by Julie Herman of Jaybird Quilts, and it reminded me the Don McLean song entitled Vincent: “Starry, starry night, Flaming flowers that brightly blaze, Swirling clouds in violet haze, Reflect in Vincent's eyes of china blue.” Based on Herman’s recommendation in the pattern, Wotherspoon used Kona Cottons which are trademarked and created by the fabric designer Robert Kaufman. The pallet of solid colors offered through this fabric line allows for shades and tints of the same primary color-perfect for the creation of beautiful monochromatic stars with depth and detail with colors that brightly blaze. To acquire the needed variations of shades in each color to be used in the star block, Wotherspoon ordered online the needed fabrics from a variety of quilt shops around the country. Some shops allowed for the needed fat quarter, however many online shops had a minimum purchase of one yard. Thus as you can imagine, she has fabric left over for future projects. The definition of a fat quarter is cut crosswise from a 1⁄2 yard piece of fabric-an 18x44” rectangle cut in half to yield an 18x22” “fat” 1⁄4 yard piece.
After acquiring the required fabrics, Wotherspoon started to cut the required fabrics from around the country. To accomplish this effort, one might need an advanced degree in geometry: there are shapes of diamonds, odd shaped left and right triangles, trapezoids and instructions on how to rotate the ruler 180 degrees to cut the pieces just right. Next she started the assemblage process, first sewing the half blocks, then creating these long strips of arranged half blocks. This assemblage becomes tricky as each block must maintain its angled points otherwise the overall composition would lose its star-shaped quality. Exactitude is required to obtain the overall layout, and it is not for the faint of heart or those who do not have the stamina for precision.
With the quilt top pieced, choices regarding batting, thread color, and quilting design were determined. Wotherspoon contracted with Laura Finkbeiner, a Montana rancher and custom quilter to complete the three-layer quilt sandwich: top, batting and backing, that were assembled on a long-arm quilting machine. Finkbeiner was selected due to the large size of the quilt and her expertise in custom quilting. In consult with Finkbeiner, 80/20 (80% cotton/20% polyester) black batting was recommended, as opposed to cream colored batting, to prevent the batting from showing through the stitching. Wotherspoon selected a gray-silver thread and the diamond quilting design to accentuate the stars. Finkbeiner was given liberty in the remaining quilt design which is done in feathers.
Upon return from the quilter, Wotherspoon started the finishing process, including trimming and building the bias binding. Once completed, she created a fabric signature block, using the latest in printing technology on fabric. The signature block included a dedication note. Likewise, it came with a paper note: “Your quilt was made with love, remember you are loved when you use your quilt”. Also there were instructions about quilt care, perhaps we should all understand that cotton quilts should be machine washed on a gentle cycle and then tumbled dry.
Title Block and Dedication
Wotherspoon’s gift of the “Night Sky” quilt, reminds us of the power of transforming sleep where we carefully wrap ourselves into a night of rest, and wake refreshed, and where an everyday object becomes an object of love and something special beyond words. |
| Unveiling of the Quilt Anthony Waller and Barbara Wotherspoon |
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©2022. Waller-Yoblonsky Fine Arts Blogspot: Waller-Yoblonsky Fine Art is a research collaborative, working to track artists that got lost and/or overlooked due to time, changing styles, race, gender and/or sexual orientation. Our frequent blogs highlight artists and art movements that need renewed attention with improved information for the researcher and art collectors. The blog was created by Mr. Waller and all written materials were obtained by the Fair Use Section 107, of The Copyright Act. #waller-yoblonskyblogspot #walleryoblonskyblogspot #barbarawotherspoon #barbwotherspoon #nightskyquilt #juliehermanquilts
What a beautiful gift from a beautiful person.
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