Mother & Daughter Combine Their Talents To Create A Special Family Heirloom
Mother & Daughter Combine Their Talents
To Create A Special Family Heirloom
Elizabeth OâConnell of Sandy Hook was honored recently when one of her quilts was selected for inclusion in World Quilt Show â New England.
An internationally diverse event for the world of quilting and textile arts, the event was presented at the Radisson Hotel & Convention Center in Manchester, N.H., August 17â20.
Mrs OâConnellâs quilt, âThe Art of Grace â A 3 Yr Old,â featured a series of pictures Mrs OâConnellâs 3-year-old daughter, Grace, had drawn to represent her family (âfamblyâ). Mrs OâConnell spent eight months on and off, making the king-size quilt, which was entered in the competitionâs Innovative Category.
Mrs OâConnell and her husband, Terry, were delighted with their daughterâs artwork and decided to display it.
âSince paper is such a fragile item over time, I decided to create a more permanent way to preserve it,â Mrs OâConnell wrote for an artistâs statement at the show. âI started to make this as a Christmas surprise for my husband, but he finally received it the following Fatherâs Day.â
The quilt measures 108 by 108 inches. It is machine quilted in a âcomplete freeform random pattern,â according to Mrs OâConnell. It features iron-on appliqué with satin stitching on the edges. Crazy quilting fills in spaces between the blocks.
Most blocks are embellished, especially the ones depicting the family members. Grace helped determine how embellishments were used.
Because the quilt is Graceâs view of the people closest to her, Mrs OâConnell decided to also incorporate the word family into the quiltâs design, âand since this is [Graceâs] view of family I included her pronunciation, fambly.â
According to Terry OâConnell, many of his wifeâs friends and family are quilters. âThe Art of Graceâ is just the second quilt Mrs OâConnell has done. âThe Art of Graceâ was initially done just for fun, and it was Mrs OâConnellâs Aunt Rose who suggested the family enter it into competition.
World Quilt Show â New England offered an exhibition of quilts, plus more than 30 programs, lectures and workshops. Quilterâs Newsletter Magazine sponsored The World Quilt Panel & Forum; the festival itself was presented by Mancuso Show Management. The four-day event lived up to its name, representing quilters from around the globe. Best of World went to Yoshiko Miyamoto from Japan. Other quilts were done by quilters in the United States, as well as Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa and the United Kingdom.
Winning quilts will now go to the World Quilt Competition in Chicago in November, but the OâConnell family â which also includes Caitlin OâConnell â isnât disappointed that âThe Art of Graceâ isnât going to Illinois. The quilt is back where it belongs, at home with its fambly.