Civil War quilter's Crown of Thorns

When recalling the Civil War, Georgia, South Carolina, even Pennsylvania spring to mind. These were the scenes of major battles, loss of life, and other than Pennsylvania, antebellum slavery.

But the impetus that catapulted the United States into the bloody civil war focused in a Midwestern location: Kansas. The border between Kansas and Missouri became a battlefield long before the war began in 1861.

By the 1850s, pro-slavery and 'free soilers' or abolition factions were racing to claim the new state of Kansas for themselves. The one with the most population could vote to turn the state toward their own politics so that it could enter the union as a slave or a free state.

Caught in the middle of this were the families. In Barbara Brackman's book Civil War Women, she includes a chapter on Bursheba Fristoe Younger. If you have watched many Westerns -- movies and television, you will have heard of Cole Younger and other outlaws who made the West so wild. Until reading Brackman's account, I didn't realize what motivated those men to turn to such a violent criminal behavior.

Brackman imagines that Bursheba would have chosen the Crown of Thorns pattern to symbolize her "trials in the midst of the worst guerrilla warfare ever to take place in the United States." Perhaps she wouldn't have made hers quite so bright nor set the crowns in this configuration, but as you can see from the photo, it looks like a rather prickly pattern.

Her trials were many. Bursheba's husband, Henry Younger, a good husband by all accounts, promoted slavery in Kansas. He voted in the Kansas territorial elections and was a representative in the first Territorial Legislature which is referred to as the "Bogus Legislature". This legislature held a pro-slavery stance and many members were not Kansas residents.

Once the war broke out, Younger returned to his farm and family only to be targeted as an enemy of the Kansas Free State cause. On July 1862, Henry's dead body was found lying in the road near the Shawnee Indian Mission on the state line. Ironically, the wad of cash found on his body was returned to his wife, eliminating any thought that this was a robbery. It is possible he was killed for the crimes his sons were committing as guerrillas. But their father's death only embittered Cole and Jim and made them more determined to exact retribution.

Bursheba inherited an impressive bit of money and land but with the war, lack of a justice system and outlaws, she couldn't make a profit from the farm Soldiers and bandits stole most of her stock and eventually without Henry, Bursheba lost everything. Federal troops threatened to burn down her house, but they allowed her one more night to spare a sick daughter. The cost -- the next morning Bursheba must put the torch to her own home, which she did.

Probably aided by the guerrillas, she and her four remaining children moved from one relative's house to another, sometimes hiding in the woods and caves along the Little Blue and Sni Rivers, according to Brackman.

In August, 1863, several women died under the rock walls of a collapsing jail where they were being held because of their affiliation with the guerrillas and fugitives. In retribution, 400 Missourians raided the Free-State symbol, Lawrence, Kansas. "In two or three hours, the Missourians murdered 185 men and boys."

Bursheba returned to her home in 1870, but her three sons refused to live within the law. They joined up with some neighbors you may have heard of, the James boys, and robbed banks. Bursheba died at the age of 54, shortly after her youngest son, John, was hung and then cut down just short of death, by a mob trying to get him to tell where his outlaw brothers were.

Crown of thorns definitely would fit the tribulations of one lone woman in a sea of trouble on the Kansas-Missouri border during the Civil War. Although with the wars and turbulence of today, I can see the relevance of the pattern now.

Here's a contemporary paper piecing pattern for the Crown of Thorns by Judy Niemeyer.

CBS Sunday Morning features Ricky Tims and Quilting

This note came in a newsletter from Julie Johnson of DRG Network. She writes the Sewing Savvy newsletter:

The CBS News Sunday Morning program with Charles Osgood will be featuring a segment on quilting. It is scheduled to air this Sunday, March 16, 2008. Be sure to check your local listings for exact times. As it is a news show, there is always the possibility of big news bumping it. However, as of today, March 12, the producers have said, "It is on the schedule for this week!"

CBS News Sunday Morning features beautifully produced, personal human interest profiles. A portion of the program will feature the International Quilt Festival in Houston and a portion of the story will focus on Ricky Tims, his quilting and his music. All quilters and quilt industry professionals are urged to immediately notify friends, family, and quilters they know. Forward this message and use any other means possible to spread the word.

This is a not-to-be-missed opportunity for quilters. It will put quilting on the national stage (U.S) for the first time in years.

We also understand that the CBS news website will feature the profile on their website after the show airs so international people will have the opportunity to see it too.

Here is the link for CBS News Sunday Morning - http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/sunday/main3445.shtml

Not as easy as it looks

I've been sewing since I was a child. I've been sewing well since a teenager. As a young wife and mother I made most of my family's clothing -- out of necessity and just for fun. But I haven't sewed now for several years, maybe a decade, maybe longer. I have tried a few small projects -- fabric bowls, an Irish Chain quilt, a Christmas wall hanging.... That's about it.

So this past weekend I put a new audio book on the CD player and started cutting and sewing together an Ohio Star quilt complete with appliqued hearts.

First of all, I couldn't decide on the fabrics. What colors to use and where and why? Purple? Blue? Monochromatic? Two-tone? Scrap? Then I pulled out some patriotic fabrics --red, white and blue stars, flags, variations on that theme. And that solved my color and fabric dilemma, I'd make a patriotic wall hanging. Not that I need one. Not that I'll even hang it for more than a few days each year, yet, I liked the idea of it. I felt it was doable. So I started cutting out squares and quarter-triangles while listening to David McCullough's book John Adams. Great book by the way and soon to be released as an HBO mini-series. The book and quilt seem to be following a similar theme.

But I digress.

I snipped and measured, sewed and ripped and sewed and sewed and ripped. And the poor Ohio Star that developed -- well, lets just say some parts fit better than others. Some of the triangles fit together giving the little block a waistline. Not a good thing.

I discovered that printing out a pattern off of the Internet comes with some problems. Some size problems. It seems that just because it is printed off of a page that has the right sized pattern, doesn't guarantee that the printed pattern will be true to size.

So I got out my trusty copy of Quilts! Quilts!! Quilts!!! by Diana McClun and Laura Nownes
with their carefully prepared patterns and instructions.

I would love to say that the quilt fell together and I am finishing it up. But what I have is an Ohio Star laid out with all of the pieces in the proper places, awaiting a trip to the sewing machine. But first I must work up the nerve to give it another try. It is the first hurdle. Just do it. Don't try to channel Hollis Chatelaine or Kaffe Fassett or Ruth McDowell -- just sew for the joy of sewing.

It has been too long since I did that. But, I'm looking forward to that -- not the quilt, not the wallhanging, not even mastering the basic Ohio Star pattern. But sewing simply for the joy of it. It has been too long.

Quilting Zen

Starting any project requires amassing the various elements necessary to bring your concept, your thought, your imagination, into reality. Turn a mental image into a three-dimensional quilt. Those beginning preparations require lists, shopping, hunting, frustration when the pieces don't come together. And then you hit that moment when it is all working. When you are in the moment and it is good. Everything is going right. The stitches are even, the fabric lays smoothly, feels good against your skin as you maneuver it. The colors reflect your mental vision and you feel like you're living a dream.

That, I think, is a Zen moment in quilting.

Recently I brought out my worn copy of Anne Morrow Lindbergh's "Gifts From the Sea" and began reading it again. She mentioned the small channelled whelk shell -- "Small, only the size of my thumb, its architecture is perfect, down to the finest detail." It reminds me of the teachings whether Zen or Christian of whatever you put your hand to, do well. If the creator made each seashell perfect, shouldn't we strive for the same in whatever we set our hands to as well? Whatever we create, do it to the best of our abilities?

It holds true for writing, too. Whatever I write should be done as perfectly as I can. Writing takes crafting and reworking. Ripping and sewing, standing back and looking at the overall picture or zooming in close to check out each stitch. Our lives, if we want to carry the metaphor forward, should stand up to that same scrutiny. If you think of life as a series of stitches, pattern choices, color choices, scrap or applique or pieced. Harmonic colors, pale, vibrant, what choices have we made in our lives? Would you like to venture into something new? Has your life been lived in pastels and now it is time to give jewel tones a whirl?

Do our lives reflect the choices we make in our quilts?

Wikipedia defines Zen as:

Zen (Japanese: 禅) or Chán (Chinese: 禅) or Sŏn (Korean: 선) is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism notable for its emphasis on mindful acceptance of the present moment, spontaneous action, and letting go of self-conscious, judgmental thinking^[1][2]

It emphasizes dharma practice and experiential wisdom—particularly as realized in the form of meditation known as zazen—in the attainment of awakening. As such, it de-emphasizes both theoretical knowledge and the study of religious texts in favor of direct individual experience of one's own true nature.

I wonder if we approach quilting in this Zen-like attitude of 'attainment of awakening' if we might not find even more delight and fulfillment from our efforts. Mountain Peek Creations Zen Quilt Pattern might be a fun project to start you on your way to enlightenment.

Alternative world of crafts

I admit that I live in the sublime world of ignorance most of the time. What I don't know doesn't hurt me -- well, that's debatable. Closer to the truth, what I don't know usually means I am missing out on something.

And I've been missing out on a total other-world of crafts. Embroidery for those moments when Hallmark doesn't have a message (i.e. Kiss my ass; Bitch; Fuck off); dolls that look like evil-faced zombies or something from that old movie Beetle Juice. Plush toys with eye patches. T-shirts and accessories that include images of birds pooping on your ice cream cone or nerdy birds wearing glasses or snobby cats followed by their snobby, yet adorable, kittens.

All and more can be found at the Crafty Bastards Arts and Crafts Fairs. Another blogger has beat me to the coverage on this, I suspect many have. But they have opened my eyes to another world. For a list of vendors and more information about the Crafty Bastards, check out Washington City Paper's list with links to the vendors that will participate in the arts and crafts festivals.

I keep returning to the Damned Dollies site and wondering just what little girl would you gift with such a creation. You know, I've met alot of little hellions that I might enjoy giving them to. But then maybe I'm missing the point. These are not gifts of vengence, but gifts for the open minded who embrace whatever speaks to them in whatever mood they're in.

It isn't all about damned dollies or profanity or even about bird poop. Artists offer the unusual piece of jewelry that you can't find elsewhere. If you can imagine it, there's probably something even stranger out there. Or something lovely such as the plants and pots made by greenware design -- pots made by one artist, succulent gardens inserted in said pot, by another.

Artists who have grown weary with the commercial fare offered to consumers have dug deep into their creative treasure trove and brought out the most amazing, uncensored, original art. Yes there's a lot of kitsch, but there's something for just about every taste, particularly those who are tired of looking and wearing and buying what everyone else has.

As an artist, (not me, you), ideas abound for you to draw upon for your own work. Will I see devil babies on the quilts at next year's shows? Why not?

Heart Season

Is your fancy turning to love, hearts and Valentine's Day? Want a little something to remind you of romance, something that won't give you thunder-thighs or kick up your allergies? Well, diamonds would certainly fill the bill, but if you're minding your budget after the holidays, maybe a sweet flowery watercolor quilt will make your heart flip. And yes, speaking of hearts, why not create a heart design such as the one on this little quilt, similar to what D. Pappas features on the front of her Quick Watercolor Quilts book?

Of course there is always the log cabin heart quilt -- not too difficult. The foundation pieced heart....well all of these ideas are compiled on a hearts on quilts website.

Down here in Florida and I suppose elsewhere, there is a delightful vine -- well an insidious vine if left unattended -- but it has the most perfect heart-shaped leaves. Whenever I envision hearts on quilts, I see this vine. Hearts twining everywhich way, clinging, blowing in the breeze, embracing.

For a more formal arrangement of hearts and romance, I discovered C. Jean Horst's "Heart of Roses" quilt book. It is such a delightful change from the usual Valentine or heart fare, yet so traditional and reflects on the Amish techniques of the author's Lancaster County.

Of course there is a different kind of heart quilt -- those made for charities that help adults and children dealing with loss, grief, illness, heart disease, neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's, etc. Google heart quilts and you'll find these groups in the mix. Or maybe get a few friends together and make a quilt for an organization or someone near and dear to your heart who is having a hard time of it.

In 2008, we can make a difference. We MUST make a difference. Just look into your heart and find what it is you should be doing to help yourself and your fellow man. Giving to others -- now that's what I call true love.

When we create our fabric art -- are we reproducing the things we see around us or inside of us? Jeff W. Lichtman, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, has won an art award while finding a way to map the brain through florescence. He has named the technique for staining cells and then fluorescing them as 'brainbow' -- a rainbow of the brain kind of concept.

You can listen to an audio recording of a Science Friday program where Dr. Lichtman discusses the process.

Not only is this a beautiful process, it could also be a useful tool in untangling the problems that motor neuron diseases cause in the human brain and cells. For years the researchers have been able to follow one nerve connection, for example, but everything was stained the same color so following multiple connections became difficult. With this multi-colored approach, the entire structure can be seen in its individual parts via colorization.

So the next time you close your eyes and visualize some strange terrain to incorporate into your next fabric creation -- think about it -- are you seeing something external or truly internal structure. Perhaps there is a corollary between what we see in the world and what is inside of us as well.