Bobbie Malone TURN, TURN, TURN

Turn, Turn, Turn

59”X 42.5”

wool yarns, cotton felt, cotton threads embroidered on antique crazy quilt, mostly silks

            I told my late sister-in-law, Betsey Scharlack (1945-2015), about the punch lines quilt as I was working on it, coincidentally, as she and my brother were cleaning out their house getting ready to move. She sent me this antique crazy quilt in its currently disintegrating state and another quilt top aching for something to liven it up. I promptly put them aside in the basement.

            When our group came up with the theme for this Artisan Gallery show, I immediately thought of the “Turn, turn, turn” lines and looked to see if I had some fabric in my basement stash that might have some circular motif. That’s when I noticed that the crazy quilt—with its embedded and meticulously worked circles—was just perfect for repurposing. Dear members of the group helped me figure out how to transform my ideas into reality.

            The original crazy quilt must have been quite the beauty in its day—about a century ago—and I feel fortunate to think that I have rescued and recast it, giving it a new lease on life. I am dedicating it to Betsey’s memory.

I am an author, historian, and quilter. I began doing embroidery in earnest only after engaging in one of Leslee’s original Café Allongé presentations.I have been working almost exclusively with words, which seems appropriate, given that words are my primary medium. I just happened to combine them with old, found quilts for these two projects. Perhaps I will move on to images, but perhaps not!