This quiltmaker lives near me, in Seal Beach, Ca., so I had the privilege of meeting her and seeing these quilts in person!   Report: She’s brilliant and funny, so are her quilts, and her hand-quilting is, by the way, exquisite!
 

   First piece of evidence: This original wall-hanging which reveals the truth about Sunbonnet Sue and Overall Bill: Not their real names!  Who knew? It’s called ‘Sam and Sadie’s Holidays,’ (36”x32”), and along with displaying some of their favorite Jewish carbs, there’s a latke recipe quilted into the border!

Another extraordinary piece is this Chanukah wall hanging. Susan made it more than a decade ago, which accounts for the vintage fabrics. Look how she created the flames from leaves! (Those flames are STUFFED!)

 On the right is a detail of the corner, showing her handquilting and  a close-up of the cross-stitching.  

(An unrepentant overachiever, Susan has a high-powered day job in a completely different field).

Finally, that’s Susan herself, in my cluttered living room, holding her gorgeous huppa above my floor-in-need-of-vacuuming. This quilt was based on a design by Piecemakers’ Crystal Carter.  

Contact Susan at  susan@csulb.edu

Gisha Wogier

Israeli quilter Gisha Wogier, of Kfar Yona, Israel, made this magnificent log-cabin block chuppah for her daughter’s wedding in September '04. 
   The chuppah’s colors reflect those of Israel’s flag.  “The flag includes two blue stripes on a white background, with a Star of David in the center," Gisha writes. "The Star of David in my quilt is embroidered with metallic gold, to resemble the yellow star the Jewish people were forced to wear during the Holocaust.”
    In the centers of the log-cabin blocks,  Gisha incorporated many meaningful fabrics, including  fabrics from dresses she’d made for her daughters;  dresses that her mother and mother-in-law  wore to her wedding;  and fabrics her quilt group friends gave her.   “I also used the initials embroidered on my late father-in-laws tallit bag, in the center of the Magen David."
    She embroidered  pomegranates---an ancient Jewish symbol of Torah and fertility---on the borders of the canopy. 
   The piece is 216 cm x 216 cm, and machine pieced, machine and hand embroidered, and  quilted with metallic thread.  The poles are a natural pine, no varnish, in keeping with the ancient tradition of using tree limbs. She attached four wooden curtain rings to the corners. On the poles, she screwed rounded hooks, from which the rings were hung. 
    Gisha tells me that this chuppah has also been used at another family member's wedding. On the back, she's planning to add a patch on which she'll write the names of every couple married under it.  This quilt is based on  another quilt that she made called “Hatikva” which was selected as a finalist in the ‘Spirit and Strength’ Husqvarna Viking Challenge.) Contact Gisha at rush-s@inter.net.il

Joyce Bryan

      Need  Jewish décor that is spiritual, practical and portable?   Joyce Bryan  of  Long Beach, California  rose to the challenge.  Joyce belongs to Adat Chaverim of Los Alamitos, CA, a congregation she describes as “small, and somewhat impoverished.”  And they meet in a church. Thus, they face a problem that many such congregations do--- knockdown decor.
     The rabbi, Emily Feigenson, saw Joyce’s quilts, asked her  to make a large panel for the front of the room. “She wanted something folks could  look at during prayers.  She said she didn't care what the  image  was, only that it had to have an ‘Eastern theme.’" Joyce recalls. Joyce decided on the skyline of Jerusalem.
   But she didn’t proceed alone.  “After many years working  in the nonprofit sector, I was  very aware of the need to involve others in this type of  project . I  asked congregants  to contribute pieces of  fabric for the project.”
   So the mortar between the bricks, and parts of buildings, include many donated remnants---a baby’s first blanket, a child's  toy, a  huppa, a grandmothers’ handkerchief, a wedding dress, a homemade bathrobe, even frayed napkins, complete with gravy and wine stains. One family donated a piece of brilliant gold and black fabric that had been hung over their daughter’s crib for sensory stimulation.  
     “All of their contributions were used,” Joyce says.  "Now when folks pray, many of  them have before them a piece of their own lives, and they are very emotionally  attached to the quilt.  It feels terrific.”
       The result, titled “Jersualem of Gold” (which is also the meaning of the Hebrew inscription) measures 62” x 96”.   Joyce used satin stitch appliqué, and stuffed work (“I didn’t call it trapunto at that time since I didn’t know that word!” ). A special frame was constructed for it, and it religiously attends services, bar and bat mitzvahs,  weddings, and other special occasions.  
       The second is Joyce's “Symbols of Jewish Joy”, which is also decor for the shul.  It's 36" x 80", long and narrow for a quilt, because it was designed to temporarily cover long  iconic church plaques. (Before this quilt, the congregants used bed sheets!). The borders are gold lame.  It is suspended with a simple garden rod that rests on adjacent window frames. Contact Joyce at joycegero@aol.com.

MORE COMING SOON!

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