I learned how to make my quilts by looking at and reading about the quilts made by the women who live in Gee’s Bend Alabama. (I visited Gees Bend in 2015 to meet the women who made the quilts that inspired me)
I always thought of my quilts as abstract paintings made with fabric.
I was never interested in traditional patterns, never measured or thought about matching corners. My quilts tend to be around 70″x80″, not because I’m trying to make them a standard size, but because that’s the size they turn out to be when they’re finished.
I added batting and backing to my first quilt the only way I knew how. And still do it the same way. I lay the front of the quilt, face down, on the front of the quilt back, then place the batting on top of them. I pin them all together leaving an opening at the bottom of the quilt.
Once they’re sewn together, I turn the quilt inside out, as I show in the video.
Then I iron the edges flat and hang the quilt from the beam in my studio (strangely, my studio has a low hanging beam in the middle of it, perfect for hanging my quilts from) then tack it ( knot yarn or wool through the three layers), instead of quilting it, to hold it all together.
I sold my first quilt, off my blog that at the time was called Yes/No Quilts, in 2007 and haven’t stopped making them since.
