Louisa Enright's Blog

Turkey Tracks:  October 3, 2016

“Winter Blue Jays” Quilt

My oldest grandchild turned THIRTEEN in late September.

How did that happen?

Of course I sent him a quilt for his quilt collection.

One of my childhood memories is playing in the sandy, rock-lined paths of my grandmother’s Reynolds, Georgia, garden when some baby Blue Jays fledged.  They were beyond adorable, and, of course, I tried to catch one.  The next thing I knew, Mama Blue Jay was flying around my head, pulling my hair, beating my head with her wings, and making a terrible racket.

Up here in Maine, I don’t see Blue Jays much in the summer.  But in winter, they arrive in flocks at my feeders, and they are so pretty.  They like a flat feeder, so I have one for them.

I bought the backing for Bowen’s quilt a few years back because I instantly fell in love with it

I put my childhood story on the label so Bowen would always see my deep attachment to the wonders of nature.

This quilt came out of the four-patch journey I went on two summers ago where I sewed all the two-inch blocks into light/dark four-patches.  I also used the 3 1/2-inch strips I had already cut and stored to make the light/dark half-square triangles–with the Easy Angle ruler.  ( I use Bonnie Hunter’s stash management system, as I’ve written about many times on this blog.)  The block in this quilt is the classic Jacob’s Ladder block–a 9 patch.  I had some light shirting fabric that I thought went really well with this quilt for the binding.

The quilt is a classic, like Bowen.

I used a soft blue thread and a gently curving feather pantograph.