Island quilter Jo Ann Bardeen has always enjoyed sewing, but not until she retired did she discover her passion for quilting. Once free of commuting and the 40 hour work week, Bardeen studied quilt making, found herself hooked on fabric and “slicing up material.” Now, 15 years after retiring, Bardeen is one of the six commissioned artists for Vashon Allied Arts’ upcoming auction, “Vive La France,” slated for Sept. 18 and 19.
Bardeen’s commissioned piece required about 100 hours of work to finish, not counting the time she spent shopping, washing and cutting the fabric and collecting the material.
“It took me years to gather the neutrals, whites and beiges, so maybe there are 36 different kinds of fabric in this quilt,” Bardeen said. “Scrappy-looking quilts are my favorite — quilts with lots of different fabric that may or may not have a pattern.”
Bardeen said she finds inspiration for her quilts everywhere she looks — from floor patterns to images in magazines. Her commissioned piece started with a pattern she had seen several years ago. She had already started to work on the quilt — to donate to the auction — when Janice Mallman, Vashon Allied Arts (VAA) gallery curator, called to invite Bardeen to be a commissioned artist.
“I am thrilled that the medium of quilt making is considered an art form,” Bardeen said. “It was special to be asked.”
Despite seeing quilts as art, and being the lucky winner of the VAA annual community quilt in 2008, which now hangs like a painting in her house, Bardeen said she prefers to sew quilts that people will use.
“I think quilts should be on beds or covering you on the couch while watching TV or in a baby’s crib,” Bardeen said. “I named my commissioned quilt ‘Bon Nuit’ so anyone sleeping under it will have sweet dreams.”
Bardeen has three sewing and one quilting machine in her converted garage studio. The quilting machine is an industrial sewing machine set on a 12-foot frame. Once the top of the quilt is pieced together, Bardeen adds the batting and the back before guiding it through the free-motion quilting machine. Though most quilters send their quilts off to be machine quilted, Bardeen likes doing it all herself, calling it “lots of fun.”
“I don’t think there is any better passion than quilting — although it’s maybe a toss up between quilting and singing, which I do in the Chorale,” Bardeen said. “But I know I can’t live long enough to make all the quilts I want to make.”
