Not a Ruth McDowell Quilt

Because we are mindful of copyright, aren't we? And besides, if you want to see Ruth McDowell quilts there are lots on her website. However I thought this post really needed a quilt photo, so here is one of mine. I made it some years back for a challenge called "Spots, Stripes, Checks and Plaids". Hence every fabric is a spot, stripe, check or plaid. This at a time when the relevant fabrics in our local shops were mostly in rather dull country colours (the North Island quilt shops seemed to have much more exciting fabrics). Nevertheless I managed. I was somewhat inspired by the quilts of Ruth McDowell, but of course mine doesn't have anywhere near the complexity of hers. I could blame the poor fabric availability, but her years of hard work probably have more to do with it. 400 quilts in 20 - 30 years - Ruth, not me. And as she says "these are not 'quilt in a day'". She also finds time to travel and teach extensively. she's a legend. And one of my quilt heroes.

Last night I was privileged to be able to attend Ruth's lecture given here in Christchurch. She is in New Zealand to conduct week-long master classes which I am not taking for two reasons. Firstly, budget constraints. And secondly, more than I need yet another workshop, I need to develop mine own habits of observation, practice, and hard work. Otherwise I just accumulate more unfinished class samples.

Her lecture was a slide tour round some of her recent quilts, with explanations of the subject matter and of some of the finer points of her fabric choices and piecing methods.

As for mine, it didn't make it into the exhibition. Deb was talking on her blog about judge's comments. Nothing about "quilting needs improvement" on mine. Rather it was the composition the judge thought needed improving - though she did say "the mushrooms looked good enough to eat". I dragged it out and pinned it up to photograph today, and decided I like it enough to leave it up for a while. It's pinned on the bulletin board wall above my sewing machine.