Steeplechase Quilt —– Finish!
A couple of years ago I showed you a photo of a quilt in process and I am happy to share with you the final product.
As a little background, Charlotte Warr Andersen and I are best friend and have been so for well over 20 years. She and I met back in the very early 1980’s when we were both starting out as quiltmakers. For the record, Charlotte took her first quilting class from me…… and that is the last time we were equals!
Anyway, back to my story, during that first meeting we realized that we were practically neighbors (just a half mile apart in location); our oldest children were the same age and in the same elementary school class.
We became fast friends and supported one another in everything from school car pools to swapping recipes to walking buddies to, most important of all, a support and sounding board as we plotted our separate careers as professional quiltmakers. And even though Charlotte’s chosen quilting techniques are innovative and mine are traditional, we have found common ground in every aspect of our lives.
When I moved away about ten years ago we both felt a great void in our lives. But with so many easy ways to stay in touch, we have. Charlotte is always the first one I turn to for advise and/or sympathy when things get tough.
Back in 2008 Charlotte was working on a new book, One Line at a Time. Its subject is Charlotte’s own innovation on how to mark and stitch complex geometric designs for machine quilting. She asked me to supply her with a quilt top (traditional, of course) for her to quilt and to be included in the book to show that her designs work well on traditional as well as innovative quilts.
So my Steeplechase quilt top went off to Charlotte. She completed the quilt and the book. She has kept the quilt since then as an aid in promoting her book.
There is now a new book in the works and Steeplecase has returned home to me. I got the quilt back a few weeks ago and I am still in awe as I look at the skill and fine workmanship Charlotte consistently exhibits in her work.
And now I own a piece of it! What an amazing gift from a long time great friend.
P.S. My Journal has been behaving badly for quite some time, i.e. rejecting comments and making posting most difficult, but now my web designer (Charlotte’s daughter I might add) has updated Jeana’s Journal with a new version of Wordpress and it is working like a charm. So feel free to comment, it should be easy now.




















