Twinkle, Twinkle

Twinkle, Twinkle, Kathy's Star

This happy quilt came to me with several tears and some weak and splitting fabrics, which I patched.  The owner is taking the quilt to someone in her area that does long arm machine quilting, who can help replace at least some of the missing quilting.  The thread has weakened and snapped throughout the quilt.

There's nothing unusual to tell about the repairs.  It's the design and story that make this quilt special.

Here's the inscription on the label:

"TWINKLE, TWINKLE, KATHY'S STAR"
Machine pieced by her mother, Margaret Holden Lee
Machine quilted by her stepfather, Bill Lee
Completed February 11, 1994
Merriam, Kansas
Made especially for Kathy Chiavola

The original label was typed, and the ink has just about totally washed out.

I made a new label by typing it into the computer, printing on paper, and then tracing onto the fabric with a Pigma pen.  Here a photo of the transfer process from a previous post.

Kathy is pretty sure her mother designed the block.  Its basic structure is a 9-patch, with the squares divided to make tinier 9-patches and star points.  Very creative - and a fun design made with relatively simple piecing.

The Quilt Alliance recorded an uplifting and inspiring interview with Margaret Lee about her life as a quiltmaker.  My favorite part is this:

QA: What do you think makes a great quilter?

ML: Oh, the one that picks up a needle and has fun quilting. [both laugh.]

Reading this interview inspires me to remind you of my recent post about my friend Barbara and her oral history business.  And here we have a marvelous example of how recording the people and events in our lives can make memories that live on and on.

As always, it's wonderful to have a quilt with an inscribed date. And wouldn't we all love to have a quilt block designed just for us and made with so much love!