Past Perfect: Sue Garman

Detail from Borrowed Roses by Sue Garman

This month's Past Perfect Quiltmaker is Sue Garman. I'd been thinking about showing Sue's quilts and then she passed away last month, much to the sorrow of her friends, family and fellow classical quilters. Here's a tribute to an important quiltmaker and designer of our time.

Borrowed Roses was inspired by Rose Kretsinger's 1929 quilt

in the collection of the Spencer Museum of Art.

See the original Rose Tree quilt here:

http://collection.spencerart.ku.edu/eMuseumPlus?service=ExternalInterface&module=collection&objectId=11181&viewType=detailView

Sue Garman with one of her non-traditional quilts

From the Quilt Show.

On her webpage Sue said she had been making quilts for 40 years and that's why she had so many great ones to show.  That is not all of it---or even half of it. She had a real gift for interpreting quilts from the past, occasionally exact copies like the Borrowed Roses, often clever interpretations.

Twirly Balls & Pinwheels

Lily Rosenberry

In recent years she'd inspired many with her applique quilts.

She certainly knew how to fill a square block.

Baltimore Squared

Pennsylvania Star

Her color sense was enviable too. She could capture 19th-century shades and go out on a limb by pushing them too.

Tucker's Tulips

My Old Kentucky Beau

Postage Due

Sleeping Beauty

The Washingtonian

My Country Tis of Thee

Detail of Sue's Borrowed Roses

Sue in Texas was a lot like Rose Kretsinger of Emporia, Kansas, who inspired a small revival of classic applique in the 1930s.  Like Rose, Sue was innovative, generous and just a touch competitive.

People wonder why so many masterpiece quilts came out of Emporia, Kansas. In the future they may wonder why so many classics came out of Houston, Texas.

Patricia Meyer's Texas Two Step used  Sue's Lily Rosenberry block for the corners.

Sue through exhibiting her quilts, teaching, publishing  patterns and blogging and inspired a larger revival of classic applique in her own time. 

Georgann Wrinkle's Little Lily from Sue's blog.

We can envy the friends in her small bee who seem to have received periodic patterns and challenges from Sue.

Student's work in a class. Rebecca's Stars.

Sue's daughters are maintaining her webpage, blog and the pattern business. The webpage Come Quilt has lots to see under patterns and gallery.

http://www.comequilt.com/

The blog (quite a lonely place without Sue) is worth scrolling backwards through the monthly posts for insight into her designing and her recording of the things she saw that impressed her.

http://suegarman.blogspot.com/

Halo Medallion

The 2017 Block of the Month on the Quilt Show is a Sue Garman design, pieced by Carolyn Hock

and quilted by Angela Walters.

https://thequiltshow.com/daily-blog/142-newsletter/25156-introducing-the-halo-medallion-quilt-the-2017-tqs-bom-from-sue-garman

There's an Instagram page for Sue's quilts. Click here and add some with the tag #suegarmanquilt

https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/suegarmanquilt/?hl=en

Any ideas for a traditional quiltmaker I can feature on a Past Perfect post here?