Jeana’s Journal

It snowed today and the sky has remained overcast all day. Inside our snug house it is cozy and warm. It is a perfect day for staying home and stitching. I am finishing the binding on “Autumn Fair”. This quilt began as an idea for using my “stash” of original fabric from the nineteenth century.

Many years ago when I began traveling and teaching I noticed vendors at quilt conferences who sold only antique quilts. Along with the quilts, these vendors inevitably had a box, or a basket, of stray blocks and small packets of fabric scraps. Although I could not afford to buy a quilt, I could afford the $2.00-$3.00 the blocks and small bags of fabric cost back then. At the time I was not sure why I bought them, nor did I know what I would do with the bits and pieces I bought, but I was drawn to collect them anyway. I was attracted by the straight-forward colors and simple, linear graphics the fabrics contained.

Over the years my purchases of new fabric have been influenced by the elements of design and color I found on nineteenth century fabric. In analyzing my attraction to antique fabric, I decided that if fabric one hundred and fifty years old was still appealing today, the elements it contained must be classic. And, if it is indeed classic, then similar characteristics in the fabric used in my quilts will make them timeless too. One of my goals for the quilts I make is for them to be interesting and attractive to my current audience and to the generations of my family that follow. A lofty goal no doubt, but why not. Leaving a part of myself in the work of my hands is far more personal than a legacy of money.