My What-Not Bag and Bog Coat

 

My What-Not Bag and Bog Coat 

About 20 years ago I saw Rachel Clark (http://www.rdkc.com/) on Simply Quilts and was inspired by her sense of design, quirkiness and humor. So inspired, I made a quilted coat, using the Bog Coat method. It won first place in a local quilt show in the wearable category. I remember finishing up the binding the morning of show set up. Later, during the show, someone offered me $300 for it – I of course said no – it was made for me, and I had not even worn it yet. I did for years – constantly, until it started showing signs of wear, now it comes out only for quilt shows and the local philharmonic concerts.

These past few weeks, Quilting Arts has featured Rachel Clark on our local PBS station – and once again she inspired me. In one of the episodes, she showed how to make a What-Not Wallet. I grabbed my pen and paper and started sketching along, writing down all the measurements. Luckily for me, Quilting Daily of Quilting Arts TV posted a pdf file of the instructions https://www.quiltingdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/2512-1_CLARK.pdf .

I had picked up several bags of fabric scraps at Sew Creative down in Maryland on my trip to DC last fall (https://sewcreativeshop.com/) where they have a great selection of African print fabrics. I am making a Wonky Hex quilt with them, with a charcoal gray velvet center. It’s based on an antique quilt top I have - more on that another time.

Anyway, the pieces, that were too small for that quilt, were sewn together ‘crazy patch’ style until they met the dimensions needed for my What-Not Wallet.

It’s a really fun project, and a great way to use up those bits of fabric you can’t bear to part with. If I have fabric left over from the Wonky Hex quilt, I may just have to make another jacket to match my wallet!

Another web site on Rachel: https://suzyquilts.com/meet-a-fabulous-fiber-artist-rachel-clark/

Rachel’s Blog – Whatnot Wallet: http://www.rdkc.com/2016/11/whatnot-wallet/

Image Key: Front of Salt Walter Bog Coat, made in 2009, Back of Coat, Right Sleeve, Left Sleeve, Coat Label, Whatnot Wallet - Closed, Whatnot Lining, Whatnot Exterior, Whatnot Inside - Opened, Whatnot Wallet Outside - Opened.

My Embroidered Pictures for Patchwork

Embroidery Mary by Priscilla M Warner

Embroidery Mary by Priscilla M. Warner, published in 1948 by George G. Harrap.  This is a precursor to the instructional books Pictures and Patchwork (1950) and Embroidered Pictures and Patchwork (1960, 1964) published by Dryad Press.

Mary Grant, age 12, visits her Aunt Helen and Uncle George in Tolton for vacation with her little dog Hamish.  Candy, the friendly cat lives on the farm.  Aunt Helen teaches her niece and her friends how to embroider and sew useful objects.  Stitch diagrams and project illustrations are woven throughout the story as they enjoy their visit.  There is even a bit of math involved as they measure fabric needed and draw hexagons.  Mary turns 13 while there and receives a hexagon patchwork quilt, and then plans to make a doll-sized one for her little sister Penny.  It is a very endearing story and the projects are designed for beginners – both sewing and embroidering.

Earlier this spring, I started making the embroidered hexagons from  Pictures and Patchwork.  I traced out 48 hexagons on a piece of muslin and began stitching.  There are only 40 designs in the book, but I am going to incorporate images from Embroidery Mary and Dryad Leaflets 136. Embroidered Dresses for Children and 141. Embroidery for the Nursery – both by P.M. Warner.  Here is my work in progress.

Hexagon Quilts (Cot Cover) – Pictures and Patchwork

Embroidered Pictures & Patchwork Cot Cover

In 1950, Priscilla M. Warner wrote and illustrated a book called Pictures and Patchwork, published by the Dryad Press Leicester, and by 1964 the third edition was published, under the name Embroidered Pictures & Patchwork.  The latter version has a slightly larger format, and the crucial difference is the “eye” of the squirrel motif is added (not sure if this was corrected in the second printing, as I do not have that version). 

The 1950 version has a colored image of the project on the covers, along with a black and white photo/illustration in the book.  The 1964 version has a graphic of the pattern on the front. 

I've done some measuring, and the motifs in the book fit nicely in the 5-inch wide hexagon fabric die cutter by AccuQuilt (2.5-inch sides) - though I will probably hand-cut my embroidered blocks to size, rather than process through the machine - I would be nervous about shifting, centering, etc.  The fabric hexagons, on the other hand, I am going to die cut.  You could make a twisted hexagon block, by cutting the die-cut hexagons in half and surrounding the embroidered hex.  This is probably what I am going to do, I might even add some setting triangles, like on the quilt top I just recently received. 

You can see that vintage hexagon quilt top, done with embroidered centers at:  http://quiltpapers.blogspot.com/2020/03/102-hexagons-vintage-quilt-top.html