Becoming more and more popular as each new holiday season approaches are quilted items. They range in size from large quilts for king-size beds to small Christmas tree ornaments. And in between, there are quilted wall hangings, tree skirts, table runners, stockings, bears - even clothing.
Who are some of the local "movers and shakers" creating some of these attractive, impeccably crafted Holiday objects `d art?- Jodi G. Warner of South Jordan is definitely at at the top of the list. Her "Twelfth Night Tally," a quilt filled with 78 hand-appliqued characters from the song "12 Days of Christmas," won third place in the professional applique division at a quilt show held last April in Paducah, KY. This international competition is sponsored annually by the American Quilter's Society.
Since then, her quilt has toured the country with the other winners. In fact, earlier this year, the exhibit was displayed in Park City's Kimball Art Center.
Another of her quilts won top honors in the international competition - the Memories of Childhood Quilt Contest. A co-winner from Utah, she received a judge's choice ribbon for her 1988 quilt "Through McGregor's Garden," a delightful visual account of Beatrix Potter's "The Tale of Peter Rabbit."
She also has won a number of local and state competitions.
At a young age, Warner developed a strong interest in sewing and needlework. Later, she received her bachelor of art degree at BYU in clothing and textiles/fashion design. After graduation, she focused her attention on custom wedding attire. It wasn't long before she gravitated to quilting - a most fortuitous move for her as well as other quilters and quilt lovers.
Quilt-making offers the scope and variety to satisfy Warner's creative interests. Her designs are her own; she has no desire to copy patterns created by others.
But there are many quilters who are anxious to latch on to Warner's highly imaginative designs. In fact, that demand has resulted in Heartsewn, her very own wholesale and retail mail order pattern business.
Warner has been quilting seriously since 1983. During the ten years, she has produced more than 100 quilts.
Seventeen of her delightful story quilts are currently on display on the walls of the Sandy Library, 10100 S. Petunia Way. The exhibit, "Snuggle Me With A Story," reflects Warner's fascination with making pictorial quilts illustrating children's books.
A mother of three small children, Warner says, "The moments before sleep are a critical time for parents and children. Sharing quiet reading time while sitting close, feeling the calm of a final kiss and hug, then being tucked and cuddled under familiar, reassuring spreads and comforters are ways to ease through the separation of the night." She added, "When those bed clothes are handmade quilts made by mom (or dad), the embrace can truly last until morning."
Several other Christmas quilts punctuate this exhibit: "Harts and Holly," "Yule Log Tree," "Partridge in a Pear Tree" and "Twelve Days Treasury." The last two were done by Warner when responding to requests for patterns from her "Twelfth Night Tally."
Blessed with an abundance of energy, she not only finds time to be a wife, mother, quilter and owner of Heartsewn; she teaches quiltmaking in area quilt shows as well as for the University of Utah's DCE curriculum.
- Jana Fowers, Farmington, produces a wide range of quilted items. When asked what she specialized in from a list containing bed-size quilts, throws, wall hangings, table runners, pillows, pieced Christmas tree skirts and stockings, she said, "I do all of the above."
Fowers has been quilting about 10 years. "I started out making quilts for my own beds. When people saw them, then pressured me into making some for them."
She follows the basic steps quilters follow: designing, cutting, piecing, appliqueing - and finally quilting.
This Farmington quilter is one of the few people who have a knack for combining just the right fabrics and colors. And that's one reason her quilted items are in demand.
She also uses her sewing machine to piece and quilt Christmas items - thus making them more affordable.
"I reserve hand-quilted items for my family," she said.
Along the way, she entered a quilt-block contest sponsored by Mormon Handicraft. Hers was one of the winning entries and was reproduced in a book published by Mormon Handicrafts.
Her works are being sold in Bentley Square, Aunt Addy's Country Home, Dearly Impressive, and other boutiques around town.
- Irene Newton, South Salt Lake, specializes in quilted tree skirts
"I made 89 of them for the Quilted Bear," Newton said. "And most of them have sold."
Her piecing and quilting is done by machine. She uses a 100-year-old treadle machine for piecing and quilting. She says it works great - and she doesn't have to worry about power outages.
"Hand-quilting these items is not profitable," she says. By using a machine, she can keep tree-skirt prices to between $25 and $65.
She says she doesn't limit her skirts to red and green. Some of her commissioned tree skirts might be blue, lavender, pink or whatever.
- Liz Marsh no longer lives in Utah. Although she has participated in major boutiques in the Salt Lake Valley for the past eight years, she moved to Tacoma, Wash., five years ago.
But her mother, painter Colleen Parker, lives in Bountiful, and Parker indicates that she "crafts long distance" for her daughter.
Marsh's tree skirts, pillows, wall hangings, and non-Christmas quilts can be seen in ZCMI Center's Bentley Square. Highly popular, these items sell fast.
Parker indicated that her daughter uses traditional quilting patterns as well as traditional colors. Some of the piecing is sewn by machine, while the quilting is done by hand.
Since demand is greater than supply, Parker is heading for Tacoma this weekend. By Monday, Dec. 20, more of Marsh's quilted items will be on display in her booth at Bentley Square.
- Quilted items for Christmas are selling fast. If you can't find what you want at the above listed stores and boutiques, you might try:
- The Quilt Show in Gardner Historic Village (566-1846);
- Mormon Handicraft, 105 N. Main, 355-2141;
- Homespun Keepsakes at their two locations, 272-2906 (Holladay) and 942-1317 (Sandy).