Sewing Projects in 2019
Comfort Quilt for Michael Reisch
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Bob's volunteer work for the Carlisle Council on Aging introduced us to our neighbors Michael and Ileana Reisch as he was facing treatment for a life-threatening illness. Bob got him a laptop computer to use while in isolation in the hospital and I made him a "comfort quilt" to keep him warm. Such quilts are made simply, quickly, and sturdy enough for many machine washings. We're pleased to report that he's back home, doing well, and Ileana has requested a hanging sleeve so the quilt can now be enjoyed on a wall. |
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When my neighbor Carol Cox read that I finished a quilt for Leona Briggs in 2017, she called to ask for help with a quilt she couldn't finish herself. She had pieced the top years ago and got 70% of it hand quilted before her fingers could no longer make neat little stitches. |
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I picked up the quilt from her and used her patterns for Celtic knots, tiny hearts, and tiny clovers to hand quilt the rest of the blocks. I added the binding and carefully washed the pencil marks out of the quilt before returning it to her for use on her bed. She thanked me with a generous donation to the New England Quilt Museum. |
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Last year I showed you photos of the quilt I made for our cousins Kate and Mark Reid before it was finished. Here's a close-up of the custom machine quilting by Jean Konopacz who was still living in the Boston area last year. She put a Celtic knot in the center of the mariner's compass, stylized sailboats in the points of the compass, and fish nets around the stars in the border. The print background has a ripples watery, wavy pantograph pattern. |
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And here's the quilt on the 4-poster bed in their Rockport vacation house. It fits perfectly with the nautical accessories in their renovated antique post and beam barn with views of the harbor. |
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This colorful Tree of Life quilted wall hanging is the result of the continuing friendship of the Temple Isaiah Quilt Group which held design meetings beginning in October 2016, after successfully completing the pall requested by the temple’s bereavement committee in Spring 2016. After more than a year of discussing and revising various design ideas, in April 2018, Sandy Whitecross drew a full-size pattern for this tree based on the design of the temple chapel ark. From that point until Spring 2019, the design progressed smoothly with Evy Megerman leading the group and inviting a team of quilters to help piece the rainbow colored background, applique the tree trunk and branches, and, finally, add leaves and peace doves in the top corners. |
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When Ben's sister-in-law asked where she could buy a tallit for her son's upcoming bar mitzvah, I said she didn't need to buy one, she could design one. I know she's talented and I had already sewn a tallit for me and one for Bob. I sent them website links to see design ideas and Zach liked a jewel-toned silk tallit with a hand painted tree of life on the back and a white wool one with burgundy and black stripes. Karen combined the tree of life idea with the burgundy and black colors to send me this small sketch which I enlarged to fit the back of the tallit. |
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The leaves are red Ultrasuede left from the roses I stitched on Ben and Lori's chuppah where Karen was maid of honor and almost 2-yr-old Zach walked down the aisle in a tuxedo. The stripes are made from red and black polyester lining fabrics saved from the outfits I made for me and Bob to wear at their wedding. The tree trunk and branches are hand embroidered on a ready-made rayon fringed shawl. |
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Here's a picture of me taking a "selfie" in the hall mirror to show the front with stripes and fringe. I used Cathy Perlmutter's "Atarah on a roll" to trace the Hebrew lettering with black fabric markers. I taught Zach and Karen how to tie the first tzitzit and then he tied the other 3 with his Aunt Lori, his dad, and his grandfather, Lou Newman. |
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I made a tallit clip for Zach using beads and charms from a local bead shop and clips from Michaels craft shop. |
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The tallit bag is made of the white polyester satin I used for Bob's tallit. The stripes match his tallit and have his Hebrew and English names and his Bar Mitzvah date traced with black fabric markers. I made it to fit a ready-made plastic zippered cover ordered from Israel Book Store in Boston to keep it clean. |
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When 4-yr-old Elijah outgrew his crib, I asked Jonathan for suggestions for a pieced quilt for his new twin loft bed. He suggested a word search since they enjoy doing them together. Jon fit 18 words into the 10 rows across and 12 rows down. I used my Electric Quilt software with Shirley Liby's paper pieced alphabet to design the quilt and offered 8 different color options. Elijah selected this rainbow background with black letters. I bought a quarter yard of 20 different solid colors and Elijah watched me piece several of the 120 letters on my sewing machine. |
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Since his favorite color is green, I added green cotton for the border, green fleece for the back to make it cuddly, and green satin blanket binding all around the edge. The machine quilting is straight lines between the blocks in changing colors of thread which continue into the border. The "goldfish" colored label says that Elijah watched me make it for him. |
Updated December 2019
