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| Ginny Radloff speaking. |
On January 28 quilter
Ginny Radloff presented her quilting to our guild. Ms. Radloff is living the dream, turning her quilt hobby into a business as a certified instructor of Judy Niemeyer quilt patterns. Wyoming-based
Ms Niemeyer, whose son Brad is now also involved in her enterprise, is a quilt designer whose patterns are ultimately derived from the Mariner's Compass and New York Beauty quilt traditions.
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| Antique New York Beauty quilt. Source: http://www.rockymountainquilts.com/files/antique_quilts_18.php |
Ms. Niemeyer has perfected a method for piecing these types
of quilts using paper piecing techniques, in which over-sized fabric
pieces are stitched onto a pre-printed paper substrate; each piece is
trimmed before the addition of the next piece. The paper is removed when
the blocks are finished. Ms. Niemeyer's patterns and methodology are very popular, so she has licensed a team of certified instructors to meet the demand for workshops and lectures.
Team Ginny included her three children, who were obviously, and justifiably, very proud of their mother's accomplishments as they displayed her quilts.
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| Three offspring, three quilts. |
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| Influenced by the Red and White quilt show at the Armory, perhaps. |
I really liked the red and white quilt above, and it was refreshing to see solid fabrics used, as opposed to the ever-present batiks. Ms. Radloff quilts her own tops; her machine quilting is lovely and would show up even more on solid fabrics, so I hope she might consider using solids in some of her future work.
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| One of Ms. Niemeyer's newer designs. |
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| Table runners too. |
For those not ready to commit to a large quilt, Ms. Radloff sells Judy Niemeyer patterns for table runners and placemats too. This is a good way to "get your feet wet" with the techniques.
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| Quilt top. |
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| Another quilt top. |
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| Judy Niemeyer patterns as beautifully interpreted by Ginny Radloff. |
As is usually the case, prior to the quilt guild presentation the instructor led week-end workshops. Ms. Radloff is a very good teacher - organized and clear but still fun, helpful and enthusiastic, as was her helper Susan. We each made one block of a Niemeyer pattern called Desert Sunrise.
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| My finished block, in sorbet colors. |
