LatinosUSA

Hi everyone, its Robbie Cheadle here today with my January post for Different Kinds of Art on LatinosUSA – English Edition.

This month, I have an wonderful guest, Sue Carmichael Spitulnik, who is sharing about her wonderful quilts.

Welcome Sue

My name is Sue Carmichael Spitulnik and I live in the Finger Lakes region of New York State, Fairport to be precise. I grew up fifty miles from here in a small rural town with my three older sisters. They all learned to sew in 4-H and I learned from them. We made most of our dresses for school in the 1960s and then two of us turned to quilting as a hobby. I have no idea how many quilts I have made in the past 55 years, probably more than 1000. Some were for family, some were class samples when I was teaching while working in a fabric shop, and others were commission pieces.

Currently I create quilts in my 600-square-foot sewing studio located in the basement of our home where I use both Pfaff and Elna sewing machines. There are at least four different size ironing boards and a pile of quilting rulers that help me rotary cut (looks like a pizza cutter) fabric into the precise sizes of small squares, triangles and rectangles that are then pieced (sewn) together to form a quilt top. Some people hand sew, but I’m a machine girl as I like to get things done in a timely manner. I have a huge supply of fabric on hand, called a stash, that I choose from when I want to start a new project.

These days I know who the quilt is for before I start, so the fabrics are chosen to please that individual. The first quilt I want to share was made for cousins whose house interior is mostly white. They love their coffee so the print fabric is colorful coffee cups. The quilt design is called a Stack-n-Whack because you stack eight layers of the same fabric, lining up the design, and then cut all the layers at once to get eight triangles that are exactly alike. Those are then sewn in a clockwise fashion to create the pretty pinwheels you see. I used the same print fabric for the quilt border, and on the back, I used grapes because they live near Napa, California. The stitching you can see is the actual quilting that holds the layered top, back, and batting together to form one stable quilt. The stitching is not close together which makes it more supple to form to a body shape when used as a cuddly blanket. You can also see where I signed the back of the quilt. It adds value over time.

Click on the slideshow to see the front and back of the quilt.

My husband has a large family, and a quilter needs homes to send her «babies» to. The next quilt was made for another cousin who attended the University of Michigan and still follows their football team no matter where he is living. I don’t know if the blocks have a specific name. The capital M is appliquéd, sewn on top of the background fabric. The backing is solid blue.       

Next we have a letter quilt that was made for another cousin. Of course, the S is for Spitulnik. This recipient did his engineering college thesis on particle flow, how particles, rather than water, would move through tubing. I never forgot his explaining that to me so I created my own loose depiction of particle flow. Finding the correct fabrics to make flowing color was a fun challenge. As I said, I have a lot of fabric to choose from in my cupboards. The back is a solid purplish blue.

All of my quilts are cat-approved. This one was made for a special friend who is a drummer. When I asked him what his favorite color was, he said he didn’t have one, that he liked all of them. The result, a quilt with no dominant color. The backing fabric is a pictorial of a jazz band so I added his name to the bass drum. He was very pleased to receive the unexpected gift. My quilts are made with 100% cotton fabrics and, in my opinion, can be washed and dried like a towel. Some would tell you they need more gentle treatment.

Click on the slideshow to see the back and front of the quilt.

My Maine Coon quilt tester cat is called Big Guy and Levon and I are birthday twins. He gives me the gift of laughter.

Thank you, Sue, for being a wonderful guest.

About Robbie Cheadle

South African author, photographer, and artist, Robbie Cheadle, has written and illustrated seventeen children’s books, illustrated a further three children’s books, written and illustrated four poetry books and written and illustrated one celebration of cake and fondant art book with recipes. Her work has also appeared in poetry and short story anthologies.

Robbie also has two novels and a collection of short stories published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.

You can find Robbie Cheadle’s artwork, fondant and cake artwork, and all her books on her website here: https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/

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