Today's Quilter - UK (2019-07)

7676

OLD TRADITIONS l baltimore album quilts

Join us at http://www.todaysquilter.com

themuseum,soitscoloursarestillas bright

as whenit wasmadein 1840.It wasthe

inspirationformyquiltMarySimon Revisited

(show n on t he prev ious page).

Wasit challengingtomastermaking

complexBaltimore-styleblocks?

I trainedin textilesanddesignin the1970s

andwithmanyyears’experienceof sewingI

didn’tfindit toodicult.Butit washelpfulto

havea tutordemonstratethestitchingprocess

to mewhenI beganthisstyleof appliquéand

quilt-making.I learntmoreusefultechniques

on my first visit to the States in 2000.

Doyouusetraditional motifs in

yourquilts?

WhileI waslearningneedle-turnappliqué

methods,I usedheritageBaltimorepatterns.

Butas myskillsandconfidencegrewover

time,I beganto exploremyown style and

methods of construction.

Areyourdesignsinfluencedby

19th-centuryBaltimoreAlbumquilts?

Thestartingpointforpatternsforthe

originalswereimagesfamiliarto themakers,

as wellas theirenvironment.So,when

creatingmyownBaltimoreblocks,I turned

to my cottage garden for inspiration. Using

motifsbasedonthebirds,flowersandfruits

in mygarden,butin thestyleof Baltimore

Albumblocks,myquiltsbecame‘Baltimore

withanEnglishtwist’.I particularlyenjoy

designingandmakingdimensionalflowers

andmyfoxgloves,variationsof Suolkpu

(yo-yo)flowersandblackberries have become

my signature techniques.

TopLef t ,WildflowerBasket,

detail,byShirleyBloomfield.

Variousdimensionalflowersare

Shirley’ssignaturetechniques

andin thisbasketofwildflowers

youcanseefoxglovesandSuffolk

puff(yo-yo)flowers,aswellas

briarrosesandbuds,andthistles

Left,SummertimebyShirley

Bloomfield.In thisquilt,a great

titis framedbya heart-shaped

wreathofsummerblooms.

Shadedfabricanddimensional

detailsadddepthandinterest

to the composition

FURTHER

INFORMATION

BaltimoreAlbum

Quiltsfromthe

InternationalQuilt

StudyCenter&

Museum,TheFestival

ofQuilts,1-4August,

NEC,Birmingham,an

exhibitionoforiginal

andreproduction

Baltimores.

Ticketoer!Using

thecodeTODQUIL19,

Today ’sQ uilter

readerswillreceive

£2oanadultticket

(£1oconcessions).

http://www.thefestivalof

quilts.co.uk

TheAmerican

Museum& Gardens

in Bathhasa

collectionofmore

than 250 American

quilts,includingthe

BaltimoreBrideQuilt

onpage75,withat

least 50 onshowon a

rotatingbasis.

http://www.american

museum.org

ShirleyBloomfield’s

bookBeyondthe

AppliquéGarden,

pluspatterns,can

bepurchasedfrom

herwebsite.

http://www.country

pleasures.co.uk

Therearemany

booksonBaltimores.

Some,includingtitles

byEllySienkiewicz,

areoutofprint,but

usedcopiesare

sometimes available.