Black History Tribute via Valentine's Day

My husband, aka Mr. Jazz, requested yet another wall hanging made from some of his tastiest new jazz t-shirts. I'm passing this off as his Valentine's Day present (yes, I know it's late). It's beautiful, isn't it? John has named this quilt Some of the Great Ones. Mr. Jimmy Heath in the upper left corner is someone I've actually met on jazz cruises - he's a gentle man with a charming sense of humor who makes fabulous music. The Dizzy shirt in the lower left is clever. The inner border takes its cue from the Duke Ellington shirt, and the Count Basie shirt inspired the outer border. Click on this picture to see some of the fabulous detail in the shirts and borders. Our front hall has dark paneling, but this wall hanging brightens up the room quite a bit. 36" x 52"

A More-Than-Satisfactory Barter

Delivering a finished quilt is always a thrill. Last night Greg and Dorothy took possession of the Jazz T-Shirt Quilt they commissioned during the summer of 2007. Choosing which t-shirts to include and what fabrics to provide the background ought to be simple tasks. Obviously they aren't. However, the time that went into these decisions paid off handsomely. The final component on this quilt were the services of Debbie the Long-Arm Quilter. She again has proven her artistry, this time with a straight-line meander. The red border, which is 20 inches all around, and the neutral between the t-shirts are beautifully quilted, as are the t-shirts themselves. This large quilt - 98" x 114" - was hard to photograph, but this photo gives a good general idea. The back of this quilt is almost as pretty as the front.

Debbie mentioned that she has a couple of weddings coming up that she needs gifts for, and she admits that she doesn't like to do piecing. So I offered her the 3rd Jinny Beyer quilt top. The first one - 83" x 83" - hangs in my studio. I pieced and quilted it. I made a second one for my bed - "100 x 114" - and Debbie quilted it with a fabulous varigated thread and wonderful curves and loops. The third one was unspoken for. So Debbie bought the kit from me for $90, and then we bartered our services - the quilting of the jazz t-shirt quilt for the piecing of the Jinny Beyer quilt top. This was a $250 barter, and I don't know who was more pleased - Debbie or me.