Today, the first Sunday in August, is National Sister’s Day. In honor of this holiday celebrating the special bond between sisters, today’s Q.S.O.S. Spotlight features a unique quilt inspired by the music of The Beatles created by sisters Sue Nickels and Pat Holly.

In her Q.S.O.S. interview at the International Quilt Festival in Houston, Texas, Sue described the quilt and the special experience of quiltmaking with her sister:

“This is a quilt that I made with my sister, Pat Holly. It is a completely machine appliquéd, machine quilted and machine pieced quilt. It is a small version of a bigger quilt that we made together called The Beatles Quilt, which is in the AQS [American Quilter’s Society.] Museum because it won best of show. We wanted to have a smaller version because we don’t own the big quilt anymore. We wanted to have a smaller version of it so I can take it when I teach and travel and lecture, just to show the techniques that are in the original Beatles Quilt…

The meaning of the original Beatles Quilt was a quilt that we made reminiscing about the Beatles’ music and how it brought back memories of us growing up together as teenagers and children. We wanted to put that into a quilt project so we made the original one, the large Beatles quilt as a joint project. It was for us, kind of a memory quilt. Through music, remembering our childhood. This quilt does the same thing. It brought back a lot of memories…

Probably the only thing that I haven’t said enough is that what I find the most rewarding about what I’ve done in the quilt world is working with my sister. Making a quilt with her and winning an award. I always like to give her credit, too. Although you’re just talking to me. She’s not here, but she is just as an important part of what this is all about.”

Want to keep reading? You can find more quilt stories at the Quilters’ S.O.S.- Save Our Stories page on the Alliance’s site.

EmmaParker

Posted by Emma Parker
Project Manager, Quilters’ S.O.S.- Save Our Stories
qsos@quiltalliance.org

How To Trim Flying Geese Without A Specialty Ruler

If you don’t have a Bloc-Loc ruler, you may find trimming these flying geese challenging. But by following these steps, you should be able to get four accurate geese in each color!

First, line up your ruler so the point of the flying geese unit will be trimmed exactly ¼” above the point. Try to line the unit up as straight as possible on the other three sides.

Next, flip the unit over. Line up the edge you just cut on the 2” line of the ruler as shown below, and trim the excess from the top.

Flip the unit right side up again. Line the lower left corner up with the 3 ½” mark on your ruler as shown above. Trim the excess on the right.

Finally, flip the unit over again so the point is pointing towards the 2” line. Align the left edge of the unit with the 3 ½” ruler mark as shown above and trim the excess on the right. Your flying goose unit is now ready to be pieced into your block!

Quilt Documentation Tip

Andrea’s block story is all about the importance of quilt guilds. Quilting can feel solitary, but guilds bring us together. It’s a topic of conversation that was discussed with two Birthday Block of the Month Designers in a recent Textile Talk where the participants all shared emotional stories about their love for their guilds.

Did you know that your guild can document your quilts as a group? Consider hosting a quilt documentation day in your guild! Follow these instructions and have members share three minute stories about one meaningful quilt in the Quilt Alliance’s signature Go Tell It documentation program. You could even host a screening so all of your members can see the videos! Get in touch at: qsos@quiltalliance.org

See You in October for Month Seven!

Thank you so much to everyone who has participated in the Quilt Alliance’s Birthday Block of the Month so far! Our designer for next month, the seventh block we’re making together, is Bonnie Hunter herself!

Be sure to tag @quiltalliance and @3rdstoryworkshop on Instagram with your block photos this month, and use the hashtag #QuiltAllianceBOM. And leave any questions about this month’s block in the comments below!

1 Comment

Melanie in IA on August 4, 2013 at 4:05 pm

Thanks. My sister and I quilt together, too. It’s one of the unexpected pleasures of my adult life.
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Quilt Documentation Tip

See You in October for Month Seven!

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