Archived Notes
Blythe and Darien are not actively blogging on this site. But the archived notes and comments below are still a pleasure to read, and we hope they provide you with helpful information.
“Fabulous Fabric” Tips from Judy
I found this composition book titled Quilts January 1986 in a box we took to the storage unit in Juneau when we got overwhelmed trying to clean out Dad's house after he sold it. Lots more things still to go through, but I'm glad this caught my eye on my last visit to...
My love for quilters
In this five-year project to document mom's quilts (in full disclosure, I certainly haven't worked on this full time for five years!), I have reached out many times to mom's circle of quilting friends for clues and advice. These were people who took her classes, made...
About 30% Finished
My mom's 75th birthday would have been August 8 - it's been more than five years since she died and I am about 30% finished getting her quilts up on this site. It's been a project that gets done in bursts, and as time goes by I have realized that it's more important...
501 Rotary-Cut Quilt Blocks still a fan favorite
I just ran across this blog post from a Allison, a quilter from the U.K. who used patterns from Judy's 501 Rotary-Cut Quilt Blocks for her quilted banner. The book is still in print through Judy's publisher, Martingale. I still see the book in use in a lot of quilt...
Using this Site
After showing this site to several people in the last few weeks, I realized that accessing the photos for each quilt is not particularly intuitive. If you click on "Quilts" and then click on the picture of the quilt you'd like to know more about, you'll link to a page...
Red Wagon Patterns
Mom made several quilts using Red Wagon patterns. While researching a couple of later appliquéd quilts I ran across "Trains," a pattern by Linda Brannock, which I'm sure was the source of Mom's quilt "Trains in the Rain." I just added that reference to the description...
501 Rotary Cut Quilt Blocks still a great reference book
Martingale, the wonderful publisher of my mom's books, has a blog called "Stitch This" with news about their authors, books, and projects for quilters, knitters, crafters and other folks who like to create things with their hands. Karen Soltys posted a nice review of...
Quilt appraisals – an art, a science, and a great learning experience
It's been a year since I last posted on this site. Time really does fly. In the interim, I found a wonderful quilt appraiser, Beverly Dunivent, who agreed to come to Anchorage last October and, like the miller's daughter in Rumplestiltskin, kept her in a hotel room in...
More About Hurricane Hugo
Hurricane Hugo hit Charlotte North Carolina on September 22, 1989. It was my birthday and I had tickets to see Elton John, but the storm warnings came early enough that the concert was cancelled. By bedtime, the wind was really knocking things around outside and it...
The Shirtstack Challenge
The Shirtstack quilt was made through a challenge with Michel Landerman and Jeanie Smith. Here are the original instructions for the challenge, issued on May 28, 2009: Hi Ladies, OK, so here come the rules for the challenge. This is very stressful. I think we all...
Book Titles
Mom had lots of computer files for a book that began with "50Sens," but for some reason I thought that was a work in progress. They are actually the files for her last book, The Big Book of Patchwork, which is subtitled "50 Fabulous Quilts from Judy Hopkins." The...
More on Handy Andy – and a question for quilters
I've added some more information to the Handy Andy quilt. Mom notes that it was her fourth quilt, and that the white fabric with light blue flowers was "used for rice bags at BA wedding" - my first wedding, in 1980. It also says it was hand quilted and I had put it in...
Quilt Categories
I am not a quilter. The only categories I've set up so far on this site are: Traditional Blocks Applique Hand quilted Machine quilted Are there other categories you'd like to see? It's easy to look through the quilts now, with just a few on the site, but once there...
More on Hurricane Hugo
I reached Roberta Horton via email. Here's what she had to say about the Hurricane Hugo quilt: The quilt was the result of an African-American Quilt workshop I taught for the Anchorage quilt guild. Participants were to work with free hand cutting and no drafted formal...
Be sure to sign and date your quilts!
This was the start of a very authoritative paragraph in Mom's first book, One of a Kind Quilts. It reads: Be sure to sign and date your quilts! If embroidery is too tedious, write your name and the year on the back of the quilt with a permanent pen (test to make sure...
Website Launch and First Four Quilts
It's been a few months since I received the first batch of quilt photos and started building this website, and today's the day I am officially launching the website into the world. I chose the first four quilts because I knew their names and had basic information...
Documenting Mom’s Quilts
My mother, Judy Hopkins, died in March 2011 just three months after being diagnosed with cancer for the second time. It was sudden, it was devastating for our family and friends, and it cut short the life of an incredibly creative woman who was an inspiration to me...