Andean Children Quilt

I was invited to make a few blocks for a fundraising quilt.  The quilt is to support a missionary in Peru, so the blocks look like children from the region.

Here are my two blocks:

The blocks were designed by a wonderful quilter and she shares the patterns, inspiration, and techniques here:  https://andeanchildrenquilt.wordpress.com/

It was fun making the blocks!

Kim Cronin
Sunbonnetsue.com

Sunbonnet Sue Lecture

Wednesday, October 6th I'll be speaking at the Eastern Long Island Quilter's guild. I'm adding depression era quilts into my usual lecture about Sunbonnet Sue. I'll be focusing more on quilts of the 1930. Check out the venue for the lecture at the guild's website .

The following week I'll be traveling to New Jersey to speak to the Love apple quilters. If you are in the area for either lecture, stop by and say hello! My lecture in New Jersey is on the History of Sunbonnet Sue and will take place on Tuesday, October 12th.

Sunbonnet Sue in Heaven

I'm finishing up some UFOs and I found three of these blocks and another one unfinished. I did these back in the 1990s (last century). I decided to finish them up.

I'd like to think that Sunbonnet Sue up in heaven has taken off her bonnet and she's dancing in the clouds. As for finishing the project, I'm not sure how to set them. They are small (8" square) and there are only 4.

I may combine them with some patchwork for a wall hanging.

Sunbonnet Sue Love TV Swap...

The ladies of my sunbonnet sue group are at it again. This time we are swapping Sunbonnet Sue images that remind us of TV shows. The deadline is now and I'm procrastinating, but I did get two sets of blocks done.

My TV shows were Project Runway and I love Lucy. I guess I did a show from this century and last century.

Here is the picture that I got my inspirations from:

And here is the block I sewed. I know it isn't a traditional Sunbonnet Sue. She's wearing the wrong kind of hat! I did let Lucy's mouth show because she is so expressive.

It was fun to do and I can't wait to see the blocks that the others did. I didn't get the project runway blocks scanned, but I'll make sure to share all the swapped blocks once I get the scans.


Kim

Quilt Top Finished!

Today I worked on a quilt top. I had some wonderful blocks of Aunt Martha's "Saucy Suzy" pattern. I used the Book "Turning Twenty - Around the Block" for the pattern.

So all I had to collect was the book and 9 fat quarters. As an homage to vintage 30s quilts, I picked some solids.



Each fat quarter was cut the same, so it was easy. I had to trim the embroidery blocks to 8 1/2 x 10 1/2" and that was a little trickier. I put some painters tape on my square ruler and used it as a guide to place my blocks.



The finished quilt looks great! I am happy with the way it came out. It has vintage blocks, vintage colors, but a modern feeling. I'm putting some kits together for sale on Sunbonnetsue.com!



Around the Blocks quilt - Saucy Suzy!

Old Dutch Cleanser

Sometimes I get requests from visitors to Sunbonnetsue.com about vintage quilt patterns. Here is a picture of an inquiry I got earlier this year.

"I purchased this quilt on ebay. Have you ever seen this figure on a quilt? " The inquirer also send this picture:

The quilt has an interesting layout. Since I haven't seen a published pattern of this sue, I can only guess that it is a hand-drawn pattern. Someone saw a Sunbonnet sue quilt and wanted to recreate one. Perhaps the quilter was trying to recreate the Logos from “old dutch cleanser” packages. Here is a picture:

The outstretched hand, and way the bonnet trails down the back is similar.

So what do you think? Have you seen this design?

Summer Sunbonnet Sue

Now that summer is over, it is time to finish up the Sunbonnet Sue Summer swap. I finished my second design and got the blocks in the mail to Sandy, the swap hostess. Here is my second Summer Sue.

She is a mother Sue, watching her daughter in the water. I made her as a companion to my earlier Sunbonnet sue, playing with her boat in the water.

I can't wait to get the swapped blocks back.

Sunbonnet Sue at the Lake

One of the members of the "Sunbonnet Sue chat" group (an e-mail group on yahoo groups) is sponsoring a "Summer Fun Sunbonnet Sue" swap. I worked on my block this weekend. My Sue is playing with a boat in the water.

This is the first one I have finished. Now I just have 9 more to go! There are two groups of 10, so I need to design another block and get that going as well. I'm thinking Sue under a Palm tree.

If you'd like to read about the Sunbonnet Sue group on Yahoo groups, here's a link:

http://sunbonnetsue.com/email.html

I hope you enjoyed your weekend.

Kim

Honorable Mention at ELIQG Show

Today was the first day of the ELIQG Show and my Sunbonnet Sue wins project runway quilt was entered. I won an Honorable Mention ribbon in the member challenge category. I've been entering the member challenge since 1997 and I've always been an "also ran", so I was thrilled to see the ribbon!

Here it is! There were some fabulous Sunbonnet Sue sightings at the show, so I'll have more to post later on.

Right now I'm doing a happy dance.

Paper Dolls!

I love paper dolls. In kindergarten my teacher organized a gift exchange for Christmas. We had to spend $1.00 for the gift. Luckily I pulled a girl's name out of the bowl of names, so I was buying for a girl. I didn't know who had my name.

I picked out a set of paper dolls. It was 99 cents, but it was a good set. The dolls weren't printed in a book, but they were in a box. That meant the doll was a more rigid cardboard and the dresses were thinner paper. It was much better than dolls cut out of books.

I was so disappointed when all I got for my gift was a pair of navy blue gloves. I cried on the bus on the way home, wanting the paper dolls I'd given instead.

Now some of those same patterns are available online. Here is a link to a great set of patterns of Sunbonnet Sue paper dolls... I see an appliqued paper doll quilt.

Image from http://www.treasuresforlittlechildren.com/

Lots of fun... lots of memories.

Sunbonnet Sue in 1931

When I started putting Sunbonnet Sue information online ten years ago, I didn't have a lot of information. There are not many books about the history of Sue or how the pattern has evolved. I have a unique system for research. I buy things! That way I have quilts and books to draw my research from.

When I see a unique quilt, pattern or item on ebay, I try and buy it. I search the textiles at yard sales and look in old book shops. Recently I came across this clipping.

It is from the Jun 13, 1931 issue of "Capper's Weekly". This magazine has been published for 125 years out of Topeka Kansas. According to http://www.cappers.com/information-cappers, the magazine promotes American values. What could be more American than Sunbonnet Sue?

The article shows 12 sunbonnet sues busily engaged in summer activities. At the end of the article is tells where to send away to get these images printed on fabric with different colored inks. Twelve of the blocks (9 inches square) can be ordered for 35 cents.

I own a partial set of these blocks, so I was excited to find their history. I've been calling them penny squares, but at 12 for 35 cents, they are really 3 cent squares! By finding this clipping, I can now properly date the squares. I also know who printed them.

Here is what the article says:

Sunbonnet babies, working, playing, eating, cooking, visiting as the decorate Baby's crib quilt are boon companions for the little fellow, for they teach lessons of thrift and industry and are ever interesting sources for story-making. Twelve embroidered quilt blocks, each one a different sunbonnet baby picture, each 9 inches square, make up this clever nursery quilt. The blocks are stamped in colors on fine white muslin, the color stamping serving as a guide for the placing of embroidery floss, which is worked in the simplest stitches -- outline and a French knot or two. Now that school is out and Little Sister is at a loss for something to do, start her out at her first fancy-work and her first quilt. Hers will be a double pleasure -- the pride of workmanship, the added joy of making something really nice for Baby Brother or Wee Sister. Or by joining the embroidered blocks with strips of the Little Maker's favorite color, the quilt will do nicely for the little girl's own bed. The dozen blocks stamped for embroidery cost only 35 cents and the work is so little, that I'm sure if there's a child in your home, no matter what size or sex, there'll soon be a sunbonnet baby quilt too. Order the Series R.D. from Needwork Services, Capper's Weekly, Topeka, Kan.

What a great find! I love matching up textile items I have with documentation that explains how old they are and where they were made.

Modern patterns are still being printed that use these same designs. I carry some at SunbonnetSue.com. Click here to see a list of the patterns currently in stock.

Mend on Wednesday

I was lucky enough to win a collection of "Penny Squares" on ebay. As the seller mentioned, they are in rough shape.

They are stained, dirty and poorly stitched. They are not a complete set either. I am still happy to have them and the Wednesday block intrigued me. Sunbonnet Sue is mending as she rocks a baby's cradle with her foot. She appears to be mending pantyhose, but they weren't invented until well after this block was done. They are probably some sort of leggings for the baby.



Her bonnet style is different than the bonnets drawn by Bertha Corbett. It looks like the early postcards done by Bernhardt Wall. So I went looking through some Wall postcards and found this one from 1905.



And there is the image from my penny square! She is mending a baby's romper.

So I decided to make a redwork pattern from the design. Here is a link to the PDF file.

I simplified the hands in my drawing. The original penny square had fingers. I'll have to keep looking for more days of the week.

Enjoy,

Kim

Old Bag Challenge finished

Yea! I finished the old-bag challenge with time to spare. Here is what my quilt looks like:

I used a lot of the junk that was in the bag. I even made a Sunbonnet Sue doll out of the red hat charm. It was fun. The quilt is 20" wide, so it isn't a big one.

The Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt

at Stony Brook University

November 29th, 2007

I'm taking graduate classes at Stony Brook this semester, so I was pleased to see that sections of the Aids quilt were going to be on campus on one of my class nights. After class was over I went over to the Student Center to check out the quilt show.

I didn't know what an amazing experience it was. It was like no other quilt show I have ever been to.

First the quilt panels are laid on the floor. You walk among them. As you make your way around the exhibit, it is almost like the quilt is a living thing and the people are part of it.





Then there is the realization that these quilts, for the most part, were not made by quilters. The panels were created by people who loved someone and then lost them to AIDS. There were various skill levels and techniques used. The panels were very personal.

This one shows a loved one in various pictures printed on fabric:




This one takes a suit of clothing. It is laid out on an old quilt. I can only imaging that it was his baby quilt.







An of course, whenever I go look at quilts, I look for Sunbonnet Sue or Sam. Here a precious moments character is captured on the panel.



And as you are looking at the panels, there is always someone at the microphone, reading names. That is the point of the project, the names. The list of those who died of this disease is very long and the constant reciting of names in the background is a reminder of what the project is all about.

The full panels each measured 12' x 12'. Here is a picture of one of the panels that was standing.



Many different sections make up a full panel. Only 25 panels made it to Stony Brook that night. I was in awe of the stories that each victim had to tell. The entire AIDS quilt is now more than 45,000 panels, which represents a small portion of the more than 500,000 people in the United States who have died from AIDS.

I can't imagine that many names.

For me the panel that summed it up was this one... an unfinished life.



It was an amazing quilt show.

You can get more information here: www.aidsquilt.org

Lecture and Workshop with Mark Lipinski

My guild - Eastern Long Island Quilters - hosted Mark Lipinski on Friday and Saturday. He had lectured at our guild before and the ladies lobbied to get him back. I have to say, that although I found his talk amusing two years ago, I didn't like his use of the F-word.

Well he has improved with age! Since his visit to our guild two years ago, he started "Quilters Home" magazine. It is one of my favorite quilting magazines. It is fresh and fun. You can get subscriptions now.

His talk was much more fun. This time he was definitely a star of the quilting world. I really enjoy his fresh take on things. He did talk about how he is just not accepted by some members of the quilting community, but I'm glad that there is room for all kinds of quilters. He also toned down his language, which I appreciated.

Not to mention his stunning trunk show. This is one man who can quilt!

I also took his workshop on Saturday. We made three dimensional blocks to surround a Geisha panel. Here is a picture of Mark with the class samples:




I decided to appliqué the oriental Sue pattern that is free on my website Sunbonnetsue.com. I surrounded that with the blocks that we learned to make in the workshop. Although my top isn't done, there are only a few seams left to sew. I consider that a successful workshop. Here is my top:



Here is a picture of me sewing at the class,




It was a great day to sew with friends and learn new techniques! Now I have to get the top finished!

-- Kim

The quilters in my family

Last time visited my parents, I searched through some of the old photo albums. My parents have a scanner on their computer now, so I can scan the pictures that I want and put the photo right back into my mother's album. She doesn't like to lend them out.

I found this one taken in 1960. It is my Mom, Grandmother and Great-Grandmother. My older sister is the little girl. I was an infant then and I wish my mother had put me in the picture as well. They wanted the "one from each generation shot", so I sat out.




Great-Grandma Whitney (far right) was the quilter in the family. It was the Sunbonnet Sue quilt that she made for my mother in 1941 that got me interested in Sunbonnet Sue quilts. Here is a picture of that quilt:



She used clothing and feed sacks. It is a summer weight quilt with no batting. Because my mother treasured it, it was kept in a trunk and never used. Now I have it in my trunk show when I lecture. I hope Grandma Whitney would have approved.

By the way, my family is participating in the leukemia walk this weekend to support my mother. If you'd like to help out, just look at the prior posting in the blog.

How I spent My Summer Vacation ....

The quilt is finally done! I mailed the Good/Bad Sunbonnet Sue bride quilt off to Texas. I didn't realize what a huge project it was until I tried to put the two-sided quilt together. Lining up the blocks was a challenge. The beading and embellishments made it difficult. And did I mention that none of the blocks were the same size!

But with the help of Beth and Roberta, the quilt made it down to Texas. Here is a picture of it hanging at the show:



"GOOD" Sunbonnet Sue side



"BAD" Sunbonnet Sue Side

I can't begin to thank the ladies who all made blocks for the quilt. It truly was an international effort with blocks from all over the world on the quilt.

The blocks that didn't make it into the quilt were made into smaller quilts that will be auctioned for the charity.

Great job ladies and I have to say that I'm happy it is finished!

I have to give a big thank you to:

• the 61 women who volunteered to make blocks
• Piecefulquilting.com who donated fabric
• Sunbonnetsue.com (my website) who donated the batting

Alex Anderson Insults Sunbonnet Sue!

I subscribe to "The Quilt Show", the new quilting show on the internet. I have been enjoying the videos of quilters sharing tips, patterns and ideas. In the beginning of episode 104, Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims begin by talking about their personal discovery of quilting. They talk about finding patterns, quilts shops and guilds.


Ricky says, “I did not know about drunkard’s path or your favorite Sunbonnet Sue. I know Alex loves Sunbonnet Sue”

Alex says, “The day I make one, just check me into the home. . . sorry if I offended anybody”

"Some of them are fun, some Sunbonnet Sue quilts are really great,” Ricky counters.

They continue on talking about other things.

I don't know of any other quilt pattern that takes the abuse that the "Sunbonnet Sue" pattern takes. When I started Sunbonnetsue.com ten years ago, frankly I wasn't sure if the website would be well received or not. Of course the quilting community has welcomed our patterns and Sunbonnet Sue information with open arms.

I just don't understand why people dislike the pattern so much. You think someone who is an industry leader in promoting all things concerning quilts would be a little more diplomatic.

That's my thought for the day.

Kim Bunchuck
Sunbonnetsue.com

Eastern Long Island Quilt Show

Well I did it! I vended at the weekend's quilt show and lived to tell the tale. When I signed up for a vendor spot months ago, I didn't realize how crazy things would be. I had classes to finish, little league games to attend and work. All this is not to mention the Bridal project.

Here is what my booth looked like:



It was great to see all the people and talk about quilts for two days straight. Now I have to get the books back on the shelves in my web-store at home.

The brides came to the show too, for their first public showing. Here is a close up of them on the wall:



We are sewing the blocks together in July. If you are on Long Island and can help, there will be more posted.

Whew, I'm tired...

Sunbonnet Sue fights Breast Cancer

So I volunteered for a charity project. I'm hoping to recruit Sunbonnet Sue fans to make and donate a block for a charity quilt. The quilt will go to support the group "Brides Against Breast Cancer". http://www.makingmemories.org/ is the URL for the group.
Here is the quilt design that I worked up.

Each of the pink squares is a Sunbonnet Sue block. The sashing and borders will be sewn with the donated Brides' dresses. I'm excited about it. Right now I've recruited 8 people, so I hope more sign up. You can read about the project here: http://sunbonnetsue.com/badsuegetsmarried.htm

I'll be recruiting for the next month or so. It should be a fun project.