Greetings from Southwestern Michigan!
My name is Barbara A. Perrin from Southwest Michigan, and I am so humbled and honored to be able to share some of my quilts and my family with you.
Being the oldest of six children (born in l954), I was raised on my parents’ fruit farm. For the first six years of my education, I attended a one-room country schoolhouse, where one teacher taught grades kindergarten through eighth grade. I graduated from Western Michigan University in l975 with a B.S. degree in Home Economics Education.
After graduation, I married my wonderful husband, Leister W. Perrin II and we built a beautiful home next to my grandparents home, only one mile from where I grew up. We were blessed with three beautiful sons, and now two daughter-in laws, (the youngest son is engaged) and five precious grandchildren: Leister William IV, Ava Elizabeth, James Milton Jr., Reagan Kate, and Kaitlyn Nicole! Children and now grandchildren are truly blessings from God!
When I was five years old, my grandmother Anna Hertha Radseck Latchaw gave me my first piece of yellow fabric. She and my Grandfather raised their six children through the Depression and she didn’t have much, and wasted nothing. So it was pretty special when she gave me that whole piece of new solid yellow fabric to do with what I wanted. I am sure that was the beginning of my love of fabric. Although she and my mother didn’t quilt, it was my grandmother that taught me the love of a needle in my hand with knitting, crocheting and embroidery. I have only one family member a cousin, Alice Stevens that quilts. She has shared with me her love of needle turn applique and a precious wedding quilt and baby quilt for our first child that she made for us.
I actually learned to sew when I was nine years old in 4-H. I had wonderful sharing and caring teachers like Marge Jerue, Ella Hogle, Corolyn VandeWiele and Mary Lou Ridley, whom I could not begin to thank for their endless hours of lessons. My first “business” at the age of ten, was selling aprons and then Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls. I made many of my own clothes, but was never exposed to quilting as a child.
My first attempt at quilting was in l976 when I wanted to make a baby quilt for our first child. It was a hand quilted pink and white baby quilt, and I put it in the cedar chest after our first son and his two brothers were born, all within five years. Ava, our first granddaughter now owns this quilt.
Twenty years later in l996 (after raising our three sons and working in our business with my husband) I was exposed to machine quilting from Harriet Hargrave. I learned she was going to be teaching at the Northern Michigan Quilter's Getaway. I called Beth Donaldson who was in charge and not to my surprise she told the class had filled up a year in advance. But she said, "You can check back for cancellations." And I did just that, and after many calls, Beth agreed to let me in the class saying, "She didn't know anyone else that wanted to take this class as bad as bad as I did and she had better let me in." Sitting in the front row, Harriet demonstrated on my Bernina (I won Beth's award for the most enthusiastic person in the class). I was ever so fortunate to have been able to have a machine quilting class with Harriet, and have been machine quilting ever since. I was truly honored to have several of my quilts published in her latest book, “Harriet Hargrave Heirloom Machine Quilting 4th edition”. I’ve also been very fortunate and blessed to have received many awards during the past ten years at national and international quilt competitions. I have never considered myself an artist, but rather a seamstress turned quilter. I have had no art lessons and call my sewing area a sewing room rather than a studio.
In l998, I joined the West Michigan Quilt Guild, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. That year, the group was having its biennial judged quilt show, and I entered several of my quilts, exposing them to be judged by professionals for the first time. With encouragement from quilt judges like Klaudeen Hansen and Carol Butzke, I entered national/international quilt competitions. I never thought of my quilts as "good enough" for such events, and am sincerely grateful for the encouragement given to me from these two wonderful ladies...So for those of you who don't think your quilts are "good enough" for quilt shows, I encourage you also to show your quilts. It is a wonderful experience to share your quilts with others at shows.
I am deeply drawn to vintage and kit quilts. My pleasure in quilting comes from seeing something beautiful and recreating it. Early on, I struggled with drawing quilting patterns, but with perseverance and a lot of patience I learned how to make and reproduce vintage patterns. After being exposed to vintage quilts made from kits, I acquired a deep appreciation for these types of quilts also. I am currently working on reproducing children’s vintage quilt kits or patterns for resale, as I have enjoyed making these quilts for our own grandchildren. To date, I only have a very few crib size patterns and kits such as “Ride ’em Cowboy”, “Round Up Time”, “Alice in Wonderland”, “Cinderella” and “Field Flowers” which is a large bed size kit quilt pattern. I absolutely love the intricacy of small appliqués and the fine embroidery detail that bring these absolutely sweet quilts to “life”.
Some of the bed quilts I have made are: “Flower Reel” (my first bed quilt), “Nine Patch and Hourglass”, “Sweet Sixteen”, “Leister’s Pinwheels”, Mary’s Currants and Coxcomb”, “Bridgette’s Pinwheels”, “Jamie’s Jubilee”, “Rich’s Millennium Stars”, “Empty Nest”, “Empty Nest-Two”, “Turkish Treasures-A Red Rendition”, “Sunburst Serenade”, and “Radiant Roses”.
The “Radiant Roses” quilt is a wedding quilt made for our oldest son, Les and wife Mary. Married in l999, the quilt took five years to complete. My 14th bed quilt has piping, trapunto with hand appliqué, and is machine quilted on my home sewing machine (Bernina 1230). The backing is a one piece (wholecloth) using 100% Cotton Sateen with a Hobbs Heirloom Cotton 80/20 Batting and YLI Threads. In October of 2005 this family heirloom received the Pfaff Master Machine Artistry Award at the International Quilt Association (IQA) quilt show in Houston, TX, and the Husqvarna-Viking Award for Best Machine Quilting from the 2005 Quilt Odyssey quilt. It also won two Best of Show awards in 2006 from Quilting on the Waterfront –Machines in Motion and the Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza XIII. In 2007 it won Best Outstanding Traditional quilt from Road to California and Best Traditional Quilt-Remarkable Achievement in Classic Patterning from the National Quilting Association (NQA). The pattern is from “Quilts from the Smithsonian” by Mimi Dietrich with my own original feather quilting designs.
When you look at my quilts, you are looking at me. They are mere reflections of my tastes and what I like. I have a great appreciation for antique/vintage quilts and I love being able to use reproduction fabrics to make vintage quilts and quilt kits. I only make my quilts for our children as family heirlooms, hopefully to be enjoyed by their families someday. I have never sold my quilts, and they are all numbered in the order of being made. All of my quilts have labels sometimes with messages on them. Quilts are truly gifts of the hands and heart, as a part of you goes into the making of each one! It is my hope that you enjoy viewing these quilts as much as I have enjoyed sharing them with you.
Barbara A. Perrin