As I was learning to quilt, I had this crazy idea to make a quilt for each of the members of my dissertation committee. It is traditional when you graduate from a graduate program to provide thoughtful gifts to the members of your committee. I was so broke when I graduated from my MA, that I couldn’t do it. I really wanted gifts for my PhD committee. I would graduate in May of 2024, and defend the dissertation in March of 2024, which basically gave me three years to learn how to quilt and make three quilts. When I graduated in May, I did indeed have one quilt for each committee member.
The first quilt I completed was for Ann Shivers McNair in June 2022. I don’t remember any of the fabrics. This process went so smoothly, no hiccups. I loved the metallic colours.
Next, I finished another double-sliced layer cake quilt for Jacob Bricca in July of 2022. The layer cake was given to me by my mom. It was the Robert Kauffman 2021 line. This one was a challenge because I’ve always had a very professional relationship with him, and I was not sure about his favorite colors or anything. I took a risk with the bold colors, but I think he really liked it!
Because it was simpler in pattern than the others, I wanted to take some time to make it special. I decided to hand quilt this one. I used pearl cotton and went for big stitches. I learned that I really like hand quilting!
I completed the second quit for Aimee Mapes in August of 2023. This quilt actually took me the longest because I started working on it when we still lived in Tucson. First, I participated in a swap with some of my friends to complete the little ladies around the border. My mom even joined the swap! The pattern was really cute; it’s called We Women. I wanted to make something SUPER feminist for Aimee. This was my first time paper piecing–I became addicted. It was so fun making all the different ladies! I used them as a border to the Badass Quilt.
Then, I sent this quilt off to be long-armed! It was my first time sending off a quilt, and I was very happy with the results. It was quilted by Quilting by David. They are so fast!
This project helped me realize how hard it is to baste in a tiny living room. I missed my Tucson house. I also learned that colors vary. All of the quilt was made with a brand called Kona Spa, but I did not buy enough for the whole quilt the first time around. When I re-purchased it, I got a slightly different hue. I also messed up the alignment on the banner, which made me note how important perfect seam allowances are with foundation paper piecing.
I finished the final dissertation quilt in March of 2024. I loved the fabrics I used in this quilt. I purchased the Celestial Batiks fat quarter bundle during Black Friday 2021, and I had always planned to make this quilt with it. The pattern is called New Horizons, by Suzy Quilts. It took me a while to realise who the quilt would go to, but my professor, Cristina Ramirez, has suns and moons in her living room. This is my first quilt on point.
This was also the first quilt I long-armed by myself! I cannot say enough great things about Quilting for Community in Chatsworth, Ca. The low-cost long-arm rental is a godsend. Everyone there is amazing. Around this time, I started volunteering at quilting for the community, teaching the low-cost quilting classes.
