The Best of Humorous Quilts

~The May giveaway starts tomorrow... Monday!~
Here's a wrapup of the humorous quilts we've shown over the last week.  Enjoy!

Row 1, L-R:  Woof meets Warhol, by Kelly Gallagher-Abbott, at Jukebox Quilts; Mad as a March Hare: I Put My 'Hare' Up to Show Off My 5 'Carrot' Necklace, by Laurie Ceesay, at Artsy Chick Quilts; Quilt in the Headlights, by Boo Davis, at Quiltsrÿche.
Row 2:  Three women at the Hilton, by Pamela Allen, at Pamelart; Sunbonnet Sue sends text messages on her cell phone, by Bonnie MacGregor, for the Alliance for American Quilts; Don't Piss Off the Fairies, by Ruth Powers, at Ruth Powers Art Quilts.
Row 3: Mermaids like Margaritas with Salt, by Ellen Edith, at Ellen Edith;  March Madness, by Christine Porter and Darra Williamson, from A Year in the Life of Sunbonnet Sue by Martingale & Company; Sunbonnet Sue meets her modern counterpart, by Dorothy Day, at the Alliance for American Quilts.
Row 4: Sue kicks the snowman, at Bad Sue Quilts; Chain Gang, by Rosalie Gray, at Quilts Kingston.
Row 5:  Traffic Jam, and Paris- Wish you were Hair, by Pam RuBert, at pamrubert.com.

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Funny Sunbonnet Sue !

~ The May Giveaway starts Monday, including Hoffman fabrics ! ~

It's our ultimate Humorous Quilts post and we think you'll love these Sunbonnet Sues. Of course, Sue dates from the 1800's, and she is a highly respected icon in the traditional quilting world. But some creative quilters have given thought to what Sue might be doing if she were here today....

Sunbonnet Sue meets her modern counterpart, 16 x 16, by Dorothy Day, for the Alliance for American Quilts

Dorothy Day says: "I can just see stocky Sunbonnet Sue when she sees a super thin model in this day and age". Dorothy used calicos for Sue’s clothing, and batik for the modern girl and the background. The quilt was made for a "New from Old" contest (see Quilt Index Record 1-6-FC).

Sunbonnet Sue sends text messages on her cell phone, 16 x 16, by Bonnie MacGregor, for the Alliance for American Quilts

We love the combination of traditional redwork and the modern theme. Hand embroidered redwork, fabric pen, machine pieced and machine quilted. (see Quilt Index Record 1-6-14C).

A Year in the Life of Sunbonnet Sue, by Christine Porter and Darra Williamson, published by That Patchwork Place/Martingale Publishing

Sunbonnet Sue can schuss!  This quilt was made as a sample for the 2011 book,  A Year in the Life of Sunbonnet Sue: 12 small quilts.  At Amazon you can see a preview of each quilt-of-the-month. Our favorites are March Madness (Sunbonnet Sue shoots hoops) and July (Sunbonnet Sue at the barbecue!)

Sue kicks the Snowman, by Natalie S. from South Dakota, at Bad Sue Quilts*

Once in a while, Sue does something bad.  In fact, there is an entire website devoted to Sue's bad behavior, based on contests held from 1997-2005.  Let's just say that kicking the snowman is the least of Sue's infractions.  You can also see Sue drags her quilt through the mud; Sue colors on walls; Sue shaves her cat; and many, many more. Of course we know that Sue is not a bad person; she just makes bad choices. :-)

Chain Gang, by Rosalie Gray, at Quilts Kingston 2008

Does this remind you of the opening scene in O Brother, Where Art Thou?  We're always afraid that this will happen at the quilt show. Not that we would touch any quilts, oh no, not us.   "Chain Gang" won a blue ribbon for most humorous quilt at the Quilts Kingston show.

Also, don't miss the hilarious articles by Barbara Brackman: Sunbonnet Sue's Dark Side and Sunbonnet Sue Wrecks.

Sunbonnet Sue variations

These books have some really cute Sues. L-R: A Year in the Life of Sunbonnet Sue, by Christine Porter and Darra Williamson (mentioned above); International Sunbonnet Sue, by Debra Kimball; Sunbonnet Sue and Scottie at Play, by Suzanne Zaruba Cirillo.
*The Sunbonnet Sue blog, the Sunbonnet Sue website, and the Home of Bad Sunbonnet Sue are the websites of Kim Bunchuck.

Joke of the day.  What do you get when a quilting icon takes legal action against a famous doctor?  Answer:  Sunbonnet Sue sues Who ?

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Humorous quilts: Three Women at the Hilton

~ The May Giveway starts on Monday ! ~
It's day 6 of our humorous quilts series, and we are having so much fun ! We have a chance to chuckle at some really humorous quilts from some of our favorite artists -  like Pamela Allen, an award-winning artist, quilter and teacher based in Ontario, Canada.  Her "Three Women at the Hilton" won Most Humorous Quilt at the Road to California, 2010.

Three Women at the Hilton, 48 x 40, by Pamela Allen, at Pamelart

"Three Women" is a wonderful example of Pamela Allen's collage-style quilts. Here is Pamela and her two friends as they enjoy every minute of their time at the Houston Quiltfest in 2008.  Take a look at the clever decorative embellishments on the (er, chest) of the lady in orange (below).

If you like "Three Women"  you will also love Pamela Allen's newest works.  Check out her series of portraits - called Profiles - in which the female figures are rendered as geometric abstractions reminiscent of Picasso (we're partial to "Bedhead having Breakfast" and "Matron with her former Self"). Finally, Pamela Allen has a wonderful DVD called Think Like an Artist.  Here's a YouTube excerpt which shows how engaging Pamela is "in person":

Image credits and links:  Images are shown with the generous permission of Pamela Allen.  At her website you can also obtain information on her acclaimed workshops (she has an online workshop coming up in August !)

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Humorous quilts: the art of Pam RuBert

Pam RuBert is an amazing artist who makes contemporary and humorous art quilts, and also draws and explores other forms of mixed media. Her cartoon-style quilts are out of this world.

Paris - Wish you were Hair, 38 x 57, by Pam RuBert, at pamrubert.com

This scene from Paris is just perfect: the woman and her poodle both have mini Eiffel Towers atop their heads. This is one of a series of quilts and drawings, in which Pam RuBert morphed the idea of vintage post cards titled “Wish you Were Here” into crazy hairstyles that look like famous world landmarks. For more information see the Paris - Wish you were Hair web page; also check out St. Louis - Wish you were Hair which is showing at Fiber Art International.

Traffic Jam, by Pam RuBert

Click on the image to see the detail of the jam jar, and what is crawling out of it.

About her humorous works, Pam RuBert says: "I’ve always believed that humor and creativity are linked — they both seem related to the ability to step outside of ourselves and look at things from a different or surprising viewpoint. In many of my quilts there is a woman I call PaMdora — she views the world around her with a strange mixture of astonishment, dismay, and amusement."

Pam RuBert's work has been exhibited at solo and group shows, and in national and international exhibits including Quilt National, FiberArt International, the International Quilt Show (Houston) and the Best of SAQA. You can read about her art adventures on Pam’s art blog, PaMdora’s Box, and see a gallery of her work at Pam RuBert.com.

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Funny story quilts, by Ellen Edith

~Stay tuned for the May giveaway (starting next week !)~
It's day 5 of our humorous quilt series, and we're here to toast the work of California artist, Ellen Edith, who is retiring after 31 wonderful years of designing fabrics and quilts. But wait: you can still be inspired by Ellen's humorous workshops and her acclaimed story quilt DVD, which features 30 of her famous quilts !

Mermaids like margaritas with salt, by Ellen Edith

Ellen's unique quilts, which are both whimsical and innovative, are based on funny stories of her own family. She cartoons the story and uses any and all quilt techniques, including a combination of fused shapes, machine applique. and embellishments such as buttons and beads. The detail on each of her little quilts is amazing (check out the mermaid's "belly button", and the charms on the stem of the margarita glass !)

At Ellen Edith's website you can see more of her quilts, and on the DVD web page you can obtain instructions on how to make your own Story Quilt (it's a 358k pdf of an article published in American Quilter !)

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Quilt in the Headlights (Dare to be Square !)

Are you ready for something different?  It's Day 4 of our humorous quilts series and we are featuring the work of Boo Davis, a designer who makes "heavy metal-inspired quilts" (do the bands Black Sabbath or Metallica ring a bell? Oh no, that's just my ears ringing when I hear that music...)  At her site, Quiltsrÿche, you can find some RŸCHEOUS ORIGINALS that include skeletons and - viewer warning - a few profanities, quilted right into coverlets. But there is a also sweet side to this Generation Y-er. She is the author of Dare to Be Square Quilting — an easy-to-follow guide to modern patchwork.  It even includes a deer (er, Quilt) in the Headlights.

Quilt in the Headlights, 60 x 72.5, by Boo Davis, at Quiltsrÿche

 

The book projects include the Quilt in the Headlights and the Owl ("Hootenanny"),  along with an alarm clock ("Snooze Button"), a robot ("Does Not Compute"), and an adorable dachshund baby quilt ("I'm a Wiener"). Check out the book reviews on Amazon... we've never seen so many "awesomes" and "totally cools". One reviewer summed it up:  "Awesome book. Great for beginners of the younger generation who want to make hip quilts."

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Humorous Quilts: Mad as a March Hare

This humorous homonym quilt, which substitutes Hare for Hair, seems entirely appropriate for today.  Laurie Ceesay created this fantastic piece for a Homonym Quilt Challenge. Note the five-'carrot' necklace.

Mad as a March Hare: I Put My 'Hare' Up to Show Off My 5 'Carrot' Necklace, by Laurie Ceesay, at Artsy Chick Quilts

The carrots in the necklace were made of Scupley molding clay. The necklace was finished with orange rhinestones and some shimmer paint. Fiber artist Laurie Ceesay explains:  "I was feeling like this was very Alice-in-Wonderland like, so the woman's make up was influenced by the Mad Hatter's make up. The woman took on a "mad/crazy" look so it came full circle."

Laurie Ceesay is a contemporary quilter who specializes in portrait quilts. Her work often focuses on hairstyles, make up, replicating the human form in fiber, retro fashion/prints, flowers and fairies. She works with bright colors, batiks and large scale prints, and she embellishes her quilts with rhinestones, beads, baubles, yarn, paint and crayons. Also, Laurie is launching her own business to turn her creations into patterns that anyone can follow.  You can read all about it - and see more marvelous portraits - at her blog,  Artsy Chick Quilts.

Image credits:  The image is shown with the generous permission of Laurie Ceesay.

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Humorous quilts: Woof meets Warhol

Are you interested in making a humorous quilt? We love the work of Kelly Gallagher-Abbott.  She is the founder of Jukebox Quilts, and has been providing unique, fun, and whimsical patterns and products for the quilt market for the last thirteen years.  Kelly is also an accomplished art quilter, as evidenced by her brilliant "Woof Meets Warhol", below.

Woof Meets Warhol, 66 x 66, by Kelly Gallagher-Abbott, at Jukebox Quilts

We were amazed to discover that "Woof meets Warhol" was appliqued on a longarm Gammill machine. For a gallery of her one-of-a-kind works, see Kelly's art quilts.  

At Jukebox Quilts you can find a whole collection of humorous quilt patterns, including the famous Male Bonding, which features a familiar scene at a quilt show.

For fun patterns by Kelly Gallagher-Abbott and a team of 15 designers, visit the store at Jukebox Quilts where you will find patterns for the Information Retrieval System (dog with newspaper), Empty Nest Syndrome (mom and dad kick up their heels) and Shear Bliss.  Also, check out the free Jukebox patterns page !

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Humorous Quilts: Don't Piss Off the Fairies, by Ruth Powers

Quilts started out as very utilitarian, practical items for warmth and comfort in daily life. However, one of the most fun aspects of our craft has been the development of quilts to express artistic and cultural themes, such as holidays, celebrations, and humor. Laughter and comedy are part of all cultures, and humorous quilts are a wonderful way of expressing our more lighthearted moments. For the next week we're bringing you one humorous quilt per day.

Don't Piss Off the Fairies,  12 x 12, by Ruth Powers at  Ruth Powers Art Quilts

"Don't Piss Off the Fairies" makes us laugh because the irony of this topic. We usually think of fairies as whimsical, effervescent, creatures of childlike delight.  However, what happens when one of them has a bad day like all of us occasionally do? The result is a very human expression of grumpiness on a non-human being, and that brings a smile to our faces.

This little fairy in her woodland setting is intricately machine-pieced and machine-quilted. Notice how the light falls upon her delicate wings, which brings out the graceful quilting design. The golden skin tones complement the icy lavender shades of the fairies' wings and help to play up the focal point of her facial expression.  Ruth notes that it was a bit of a challenge to find the right fabric for her skin, but she thinks the batik she used worked out perfectly. She says, " I just love searching for the right fabric", and we know that echoes the sentiments of so many quilters.

"Don't Piss Off the Fairies" is a one-of-a-kind art piece that is now privately owned by the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection. However, if you are looking for a really cute (non-pissed-off) fairy pattern, check out Fairies In My Garden at Ruth Powers' patterns page. We really enjoy Ruth's work, as it is so inspired, fresh, and creative. You can see more quilts in progress - and more fairies - at Ruth Powers' Blog.

Image credits:  The image is shown with the generous permission of Ruth Powers.

p.s.  How does Google Translate deal with "Piss Off" ?  Let us know !  In case it doesn't translate, the MacMillan dictionary has these synonyms: To annoy, provoke, anger, bother, frustrate, irritate, infuriate, antagonize. In short form we may just say P.O. as in "I'm PO'd". Undoubtedly there are similar terms in every language.  We'd love to know.

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