Artist: Sidney Hardie
Media: Hand Appliqué, hand embroidery

My block was inspired by a platter made by Boston potter, Nan Hamilton. Nan shares her life with three Airedales and makes wonderful pieces featuring her Airedales (as well as many other gorgeous pieces). I would love to see a quilt made up of blocks all based on pieces by Nan.

This was not only my first quilt block, but about the third time in my life I have put thread and needle together. I'm a staple & tape kind of mender. When I first said I would create a block, I planned to commission it done by a co-worker. It became apparent when I mentioned it to her that someone without enough time to work on her own projects was not thrilled at the idea of creating an Airedale piece. LOL!

Well, I decided "I can read ... I will just do this!" and checked out 12 books from the public library on various quilting techniques. I finally determined that appliqué was the method I would try. I planned to use a sewing machine, but found that the inability to sew in a straight line does not mean that you can sew curved lines.

So ... hand appliqué it was to be. Then, I found that the small pieces like the eye, teeth, etc., were too tiny to stitch, so ... back to the books to learn about embroidery. Satin stitching the eye & nose was easy, but it took me three books and a chart I found on the internet to finally figure out how they were doing the blanket stitch, which is what I used for the lip. Due to my inexpert stitching, the lip come out pretty thick. At first I thought of starting all over again, but then I decided it gave him rather a merry look.

When I learned about trapunto, I became dangerous. I started stuffing batting everywhere ... the turkey really is a stuffed turkey! The Airedale's ear stood straight up! Luckily, Christie told me I could just put a single stitch on the underside to hold it down. [Note: Trapunto is the method where from the back of the piece you make a small slit and with tweezers or a hemostat, insert batting -- it gives the piece a three-dimensional effect.]

And then there's the fortune I spent buying material on eBay and at the on-line quilting stores ... but that's another story and thanks to intensive therapy, I've recovered.

I had planned to make the block as pictured on Nan's platter, with the Airedales representing my Airedales, Riley & Jack. First, I decided one Airedale was enough! In real life, it would have been Riley or the turkey in any event. Next to go was Jack's tongue (Jack wouldn't THINK of licking food on the table), then his paw (Jack would NEVER put his paw up on the table) and finally, the turkey wing (just TRY making a 2-inch long turkey wing!). Still, I am very pleased with how it turned out. The Airedale really looks remarkably like my Jack. He, too, is much too polite to actually lick the turkey, but wouldn't hesitate to stand inhaling the delicious aroma with every expectation of cleaning up the platter after dinner.

Bio :

Sidney lives in Southern Arizona with Airedales Jack & Riley, maintains the AiredaleTerriers.org website, which is host to the Airedale Rescue Quilts, is a volunteer for the Arizona Airedale Rescue Foundation and supports the DesertDales by doing legal research and drafting.