Art of Quilting Taken on by New, Younger Generation

Originally published in the March 5, 2014, issue

 

By Dallas Duncan

 

It’s rare for Beverly Hammack to see an ugly quilt.

 

She challenges anyone who considers quilting a mere craft to take a peek inside the Southeastern Quilt &Textile Museum and not leave with a newfound appreciation of the quilt as an art form.

 

The idea for a quilt museum was born 14 years ago, when the Georgia Quilt Council decided to establish such a facility in the Deep South. Now at its home in Carrollton, Ga., the museum features quilt guilds, art quilts and historic exhibits that rotate on a regular basis.

 

“My grandmother quilted. She had 10 children – I assume she quilted out of necessity with 10 children,” Hammack said. “She made use of anything that was available, because back then they didn’t have quilt shops.”

 

The art skipped a generation: Hammack’s mother didn’t quilt. But several years ago Hammack attended a workshop and became enamored with it.

 

“I’m what is called an art quilter. I do small quilts, usually of landscapes and flowers,” she said. “A traditional quilter is one who uses old patterns … that have been handed down for many, many years. An art quilter is someone who goes out of that range. I do my own patterns. I also do my own paintings. I painted some oak leaf hydrangeas in a watercolor and I changed that to a quilt. I’ve got them hanging side-by-side and you can see they match.”

 

Most quilts are done with blocks, Hammack said. Once a certain number of blocks is created, they’re sewn together to create the quilt top, and then combined with the batting layer and back to complete the project.

 

The quilt museum showcases both traditional-style quilts and art quilts. A favorite of April Carlson, executive director, was crazy quilts – a Victorian-era style that created “family stories” in quilts using materials from memorable events, such as a scrap of a Christening gown, rather than focusing on a geometric pattern.

 

“It is traditional in the sense that it comes from the Victorian era, so a lot of people feel comfortable with it being that traditional style,” she said.

 

She also enjoyed a recent art quilt exhibit featuring the work of JoAnn Camp, a Gainesville, Ga.-based quilter.

 

“She dyes her own fabric and she creates these images that look like paintings,” Carlson said.

 

And though quilting is traditionally thought of as something grandma might have done, it’s making headway into a younger generation.

 

Kathryn Trescott learned to quilt from her
great-grandmother Doris Collier. Though they
did many patterns together, such as this
flower garden quilt, Trescott's favorite was
one the two did together for her husband, Sam,
before Collier passed away in October 2013.
Photo courtesy Kathryn Trescott

Kathryn Trescott of Macon, Ga., learned to quilt at age 14 from her grandmother and great-grandmother. Trescott’s favorite quilt was the one she and her great-grandmother made for her husband, not just for the sentimental value, but because it was the last one they made together.

 

“We did all of our quilting by hand,” Trescott said. “It was fun coming up with new patterns, like when I go on vacation and there’s a quilt on the back of the couch I take pictures of it. … I was on spring break one year and saw this really cool pattern and came back and we did a little mini quilt out of it. We always used to use puzzles we would find and arrange them to make squares.”

 

Though Trescott does not search online for patterns, Elyssa Sanner finds much of her inspiration from social media site Pinterest and quilting blogs.

 

Sanner, originally from Evans, Ga., took up quilting as a senior in high school. Her county required seniors to do a year-long project and related research paper, and she said it was the perfect excuse to take her sewing skills to the next level.

 

“My research was on quilting as an art form and I made an album block quilt for the senior project,” Sanner said. “It had white pieces of fabric people could sign, so I had all of these signatures on my quilt.”

 

Now a resident of Marquette, Mich., Sanner took her love of quilting to her new home. She’s made several quilts through the years and has experience both hand quilting and machine quilting.

 

Sanner lets the design and the quilt recipient guide the materials she chooses.

 

“I made a daisy chain quilt for my best friend’s wedding present. I used a combination of fabrics that were old sheets, small floral prints, and bought brand-new fabric that matched that color scheme. That was fun, to mix old and new,” she said.

 

Her latest project is a quilt similar to the one she made in high school, but it will serve as a guest book for attendees to sign at her wedding later this year.

 

Trescott’s advice for new quilters is to not expect things to be perfect, and to just jump in and try different things.

 

“I think it’s becoming more popular for younger people to do quilting. A lot of the blogs I follow are by people 30 and younger,” Sanner said. “Pinterest and blogs have been really accessible sources of ideas. Often you get some pretty thorough explanations of techniques that walk you through it.”