Great Teachers 07-03-12

If we are lucky we have teachers who change our lives and cause us to swing into a different direction in whatever field we are pursuing.  I have taken classes in needlework and textiles most of my life and two teachers stand out for me:  Ruth McDowell and Constance Howard.  They both have a gift for leading students into experimentation and yet they each teach an exacting technique in which they specialize. 

 
Ruth B. McDowell
Ruth's version of traditional piecing where the patches are cut and sewn face to face, the seam opened and pressed, allows a patient and committed quiltmaker to create just about anything she can sew together. Her analytical mind is able to quantify her ideas and translate them into a language that her students understand.  It was very difficult for me to say goodbye to Ruth in Montana where she was teaching her last classes before retiring.  I'll continue to use her methods and turn to her books and my 22 years of notes for inspiration and solutions to the problems I encounter.  I'll miss her lessons and her wit.
 

 
Constance Howard, the doyenne of British embroidery.  1910 - 2000
The British include many different techniques under the heading "embroidery" and Constance was versed in all of them.  She started the textile department at Goldsmith's College in London, serving as Dean for many years.  She also taught all over the world and wrote many books that are still treasured today.  While taking her classes we became friends and she visited me when she was in California on teaching trips.  She died on July 2, 2000, and I have missed her very much over the ensuing years.  

The ability to be a good teacher is a gift that requires hard work and constant learning.  I appreciate all the teachers I have learned from all my life.  I thank them all. 

More Looking Back 11-05-11

Looking at "Last Walk in Autumn" and thinking about when and how it was made jogged my memory about a previous quilt.  This was one I made for the first round of Journal Quilts, a project started by Karey Bresenhan via Quilt Art list.  For me the project was a 'shot in the arm' or a 'kick in the pants', depending on the angle!  Being forced (by my own commitment) to do a little 8.5" X 11" quilt each month made me focus and spend some time in my sewing room.  I had been in a 'dry' spot (as I am now) and unable to concentrate on any one project.  This was truly my first effort at printing on fabric and I wasted half a dozen attempts before this one seemed to work.  One thing I discovered was that over printing was closer to my vision than printing on solid fabrics.  In a similar way I had previously discovered that marbling on color rather than white gave me more usable fabric.  I don't think this imagery is quite successful as the three shapes should be lighter as they recede in the distance.  I worked on that with the images of Floyd in the 2007 piece.  When I looked more closely at this piece I noticed that I quilted the background with hand stitching.  I don't have a clear memory of why I did that, but I suspect that I felt it needed some quilting but machine stitching, which makes a harsher line, was too much.  I haven't done much hand quilting in the last ten years because of arthritis, but I think I will make a note to use it for a softer line. 

 
"Remembering Constance"  Del Thomas 2002  8.5"W x 11"L

This little Journal Quilt is in memory of my friend Constance Howard of Chiswick, London, England,  who died in July 2000.  She was such a treasure to everyone who knew her and a joy on a road trip.  On one trip we spent a night in a tent cabin at White Wolf Lodge in Yosemite and took a long walk in the woods - as any English woman I have ever met she was a great walker.  She always wore a little self made cap and had designed this great black jacket that she practically lived in.  She was a writer and a great teacher - witty and wise - and told hysterical tales about her travels around the world.