Corduroy Marching - Inspired by Gee's Bend

With the exception of the odd bit of linen or voile, I've never mixed my fabric when making a quilt. Pure quilting cottons. It wasn't a matter of being snobby, although, maybe? It's just what I was taught and what I'm comfortable with. But after seeing all the quilts in Gee's Bend and talking fabric with Mary Ann, China, and Nancy I was inspired.

Then, when wandering Birmingham on the same trip we came across a little quilt store called The Smocking Bird with quite the selection of corduroy. It was meant to be. I bought a few pieces, mostly blues. Honestly, I had no idea what I would do with it, but I wanted to play.

On the flight home I was writing some notes about my trip. A few sketches emerged too. I honestly thought that's all they would be. Then I was unpacking and realized my corduroy could be quite interesting here. So I pulled out a cotton/linen I had for some additional texture and set about to play.

No rhyme or reason to what I was doing. Just an attempt to mimic the shape I sketched out. I was inspired by the trip and our education on the Civil Rights Movement. The notion of a march as a means of process was front of mind when I set out. So these are legs, of all sizes, marching. I think they worked out quite well.

These blocks aren't even pressed, let alone squared up. I'm not entirely sure where they'll end up yet. They are fun, and poignant, to make. I will definitely make more.

Corduroy is a hot mess to work with though! It sews up fine, especially because most of this is a fine wale from Robert Kaufman. The mess, however, is rather annoying. Just a lot, a whole lot of lint. The softness and texture are totally worth it. I can see using it again.

Mary Ann Pettway was right. She told me it was great to work with and added something to the quilts. I should listen to other people more.