THE SUITCASE COLLECTION

This particular quilt is made in a typical Amish design, popular and widely used because it was quick to put together. All Amish quilts are square and this one is made to a simple formula. The inner bars are half the width of the outer border and twice that of the narrow inner border – in this case the outer borders are 4”, the narrow border 1” and the bars 2”. The quilting is all done by hand and is again typical, although not as elaborate as some, of an Amish quilt.

The technique we used was taught to us by Angela Madden in a Mannin Quilter’s workshop. Narrow strips of gold fabric were cut on the bias, sewn into tubes and then temporarily attached to the background fabric using Bondaweb. They were then hand sewn into place. It was outline quilted by hand in gold thread with additional quilting by machine.

This small quilt has been pieced using ¾" hexagons. It was finished using the "bagging" method (i.e. both top and backing sewn right sides together and then turned right side out) and hand quilted.

The Crazy patchwork block in the Suitcase Collection contain pieces of bobbin lace hand made by the daughters of Marian Cunningham (Kate and Nicola). The quilt also has pieces of lace from Sheila Huxley’s wedding dress. Our crazy patchwork quilt is all hand pieced and hand embellished. Both Sheila and Marian are enthusiasts of patchwork and embroidery, hence all the charms on the quilt being related to needle work. Some of the buttons on the quilt have been donated by other members of Mannin Quilters.

Starting at the top the sky fabric was laid face up onto the backing fabric. The “sea” was then placed face down (and upside down!), machine stitched (to ensure a straight horizon), flipped over and then pressed down. Fabric for the hills was cut freehand and appliquéd by hand using the traditional needle turn method. The house in the foreground was appliquéd in the same manner. The border was created by using a large square of fabric, folding it into four and then cutting away the centre in a decorative curved pattern – in much the same way as we used to make paper dolls! It was then appliquéd over the fabric picture using the needle turn method again. The quilt was then quilted by hand along the lines of the various pieces of appliqué to give texture and depth to the picture.

In this 24”x24” suitcase quilt the central floral fabric is from a World War I cigarette packet and was kindly donated by Monica Linck. This piece of embroidery, with a spray of red and blue flowers, was worked on a rectangle of cream silk. In order to achieve a square quilt it was necessary to mask the edges of the silk with a blue satin ribbon. This ‘medallion’ was then appliqued on point (diagonally) onto a cream cotton square. A series of borders made of triangles and diamonds were then added until the quilt measured the required size. Rosemary machine quilted the piece - in the ditch - to hold the layers together. Angela then hand quilted the larger cream triangles.

This quilt is based on a technique called ‘Pick-Up-Sticks’ learnt at a workshop by Marilyn Doheny at the International Quilt Festival in Houston, Texas in 1997. The background fabric is cut up and narrow strips of fabric inserted. Borders can be added with more slicing and inserting of strips. Appliqué shapes are bonded to the fabric and attached with machine sewing. The quilt is entirely machine pieced and quilted.

The blocks in this sampler quilt are: Peony, Ohio Star, Grandmother's Fan, Dresden Plate, Kings Cross, Kansas Dugout, Rocky Mountain Puzzle, Dutchman's Puzzle, and Jacob's Ladder. These blocks use the techniques of piecing squares, triangles and oblongs, together with the appliqué work of grandmother’s fan and Dresden plate.

The original design of a fuschia was drawn by Jerry Baillie-Searle of Foxdale Craft Centre especially for the Suitcase Collection for Mannin Quilters. The quilt uses silk and bias tape to reproduce the effect of a stained glass window as found in churches. It is machine sewn.

The Earliest known example of Manx patchwork is about 1820. Traditionally the fabric was torn, not cut (probably because scissors were expensive and rare); hand measurements were used, the base equalling the span of a hand (tip of thumb to tip of little finger). The middle square was the length of the middle finger and the ‘strips’ were the width of the inner-thumb length from its base to the base of the nail.

This wallhanging for the suitcase collection is very tactile with its twists, tucks and pleats as demonstrated to Mannin Quilters by Jennie Rayment in her workshops. Calico is the main fabric used along with highlights in coloured cotton.

Our pattern was designed using traditional motifs - a celtic knot in the centre bordered by a star. Feather borders were used in the corner to frame the star. The background was filled in using a grid or cross-hatch pattern. The quilt was hand quilted and bound.