Susan McCord: Greatest Quiltmaker Ever.

Susan McCord lived in Indiana during the second half of the 19th century and made a bunch of fantastic quilts, 13 of which are owned by the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. Her most famous quilt consists of strips of fabric entirely coved by small leaves on vines, each leave composed of minute scraps. You can get the idea here: http://www.thehenryford.org/exhibits/quiltinggenius/quilts/72_140_1.asp

All Susan's quilts are worth study, each one original and each one exemplifying the freedom with which 19th century quiltmakers could approach the job. When each woman was free to interpret or invent patterns her own way, creativity abounded. They created the template for the approach to quilts we still use.

For this quilt I wanted to picture Susan McCord feeding her chickens, because I thought that if I could find a time tunnel back to 1880, I would probably find her doing some daily chores, not making a quilt. The quilt is picture here just off the machine, my long arm, where I quilted it with my own interpretation of her leaf design:

The title of the quilt is "Susan McCord In My Time Tunnel." It is all made with bias tape on a background made of hand printed fabric imported by Maiwa of Vancouver.

If you would like to know more about Susan McCord, you can still get Barbara Brackman's book on her at: https://www.pickledishstore.com/productDetail.php?PID=1040