What Is A Journal Quilt - Rerun

When I was looking at the statistics for the number of views various posts I have done in the past received this was today’s most popular. So I revisited it and enjoyed it as well as all the great comments.

I thought maybe those of you who hadn’t seen this blog post from  April 13, 2009 might enjoy this post too.

What is a journal quilt?

There are many answers to this question.
None are wrong.
All are right.

For me making a journal quilt is a way to make a quilt on a regular basis with certain guidelines. Generally those guidelines include a consistent size. It is a chance for me to experiment.
When I made journal quilts for 9 months I used them as a way to make me do the work. It was also as a way to create something that was related to either something I was doing in my other quilts, classes I attended or taught or to try something new.
This Tutti Fruitti journal quilt used every little scrap of the fabrics I had left from the big quilt. I had to bind it with a fabric not in the quilt.
I used it to test a quilting design I was considering using. I didn't use it but used a similar quilting design on the larger quilt.

The quilting style I created on this shibori quilt shows up on many later shibori quilts. The fringed dot also shows up on other quilts.

This quilt started with the piece of giraffe fabric. My goal was to use good proportion in the piecing of the quilt top and have it come out the size it had to be. I also used this quilt to try out some new quilting designs. These quilting designs have also shown up in later quilts.
Please click on each one of these quilts to see the quilting designs more clearly.
What do YOU use as a definition of a journal quilt? I'd appreciate any of you with thoughts about this to post them in the comment section. By doing that others can also benefit from what you contribute to this discussion.

When I made this journal quilt I started with the piece of black and white shibori fabric. I selected two other fabrics that would be the supporting cast. The quilting echoes the shibori design as it spills over to the other fabrics. To add a little spice to this quilt I reversed the colors on the binding so they would not match the edge of the quilt.  Posted by Kay Koeper Sorensen at 7:55 PM Labels: hand dyed fabric, Hand painted fabric, journal quilts, My original design, My original technique

9 comments:

JYA said...

What is a Journal Quilt? A slice of inspiration; a manageable piece of art; an experiment; an idea that goes from your mind out through your hands and lodges in the mind of the person who views the art and interprets the piece, so that it has meaning to you and to them. The sharing of an idea that inspires you both.
Judy Anderson

April 13, 2009 at 9:04 PM

Antonija said...

I agree that journal quilts can be used as a means to try new techniques and experiment with different media, but I always thought they were to represent a personal thought/emotion/happening, much like a page in a written journal. That it expresses whatever is going on in your life and in your head at the moment. Or at least be inspired by such.
That's what a journal quilt means to me...
--Toni Mitt

April 13, 2009 at 9:09 PM

marion said...

How strange, someone asked me what a journal quilt was yesterday on my Facebook page. I said then that usually they are the size of a piece of printer paper, and that you make one per month, often 'about' a theme or 'about' daily life. I think myself that the term 'journal quilt' has come to mean a small quilt of a specific size, and doesn't necessarily have any bounds on content.

April 14, 2009 at 4:18 AM

Diane said...

The journal quilts at festival that excited me to start quilting were the ones that were about the artists' lives, thoughts, or memories. A page from their dairy. The techniques are incidental. I was not as inspired by the explanations of how something was done if there was no "why." An experiment in technique doesn't need to be completed with a binding to function as a sample. The journal quilts that combine both "journal" and "sample" are the ones that stand out from the black drape.

April 14, 2009 at 7:30 AM

Leslie said...

A journal quilt to me is a commitment to do a piece of work a month. It is also a great way to try a process I am not sure I want to invest a lot of time, effort or funds in if I am not going to like it. It is also a great record of progress as an artiste. I have 7 years worth of JQs and I love looking back at them as a reminder of where I was and what was on my mind at that particular time.

April 14, 2009 at 10:36 AM

Johnni Schell said...

"A record of experiences, ideas or reflections kept for private use" - that is how Webster (in 1965) defined the word journal. Happily, journal quilts are not being kept private. Testing ideas on techniques certainly fit the definition along with using them as a diary. I have found that most people do respond to art with a story or symbolism behind it. My question for journal quilts is this - when you have committed to making one each month or each week - what do you do with them all?

April 14, 2009 at 10:43 AM

Carole said...

Thank you for asking...to me a Journal Quilt is about size AND content... size first, then I like to document thoughts, statements, even some trial and error, in various media. I have learned big is not necessary to be beautiful. Your own pieces prove that!
What I have appreciated is the looking back... I go to some of my early ones that I thought were not so great and see things I hadn't noticed before. I view them as a documentary of my growth and development.

April 14, 2009 at 10:46 AM

Elizabeth said...

Re Johnni's comment about what do you do with them all. I have framed some of mine and exhibited them in a textile exhibition I had with a friend, an open exhibition of an Art Club I belong to and, best of all, had three selected for a mixed media art exhibition, i.e. they moved outside the 'quilt' world. I would like to sell some but have still to do my marketing for this.

April 14, 2009 at 12:28 PM

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing your journal quilts. To me, they represent an expression of what is going on in my life and mind today. I am struggling with a change within me in how I wish to express myself through my quilts and creating journal quilts for a while will help me work through this issue. It is a very personal one, not so much related to materials and technique as it is to the content of my self expression. I plan a series of journal quilts, each of which will reveal something about me.

April 14, 2009 at 2:17 PM

Night and Day

If you have been following my blog for several months you may remember this piece of fabric I created by dyeing and stamping with one of my stamps I carved. At the time I showed these fabrics I had no idea what I was going to do with them. The colors in this begged to become an accent in my living room.



I created this skinny decorative pillow that is equally at home on the black or burgundy chair. It is a nice size to place behind the small of your back for comfort. It is also just lovely to look at.


When I start doing something in a room, one thing leads to another. I removed some items from the bay window in the dining room and carefully placed the stain glass window against the window. Soon we will hang this window here which will make it even more effective. The art doll is one of those items that I have placed so many different places in my home. The brown glass vases echo the colors in the window.


And it's puzzle time again for those of you who love them!

What is a journal quilt? Part 3

My first introduction to journal quilts was a series Nancy Halpern did many years ago. I haven't been able to put my fingers on any on line photos of her project and all my books and magazines are in Wisconsin. I know of several others who did similar projects through the years.


This quilt solved a lot of design and quilting decisions for me when I made a quilt with these fabrics in my June series. It is so much easier to experiment when you are doing a small piece.

One reason there is a difference of opinion between peoples idea of what a journal qult is is because of the extremely popular exhibitions of Journal Quilts at the IQA shows in Houston and Chicago. The shows were a good thing for journal quilts as they have drawn attention to this way of working. There were rules and guidelines to follow when people made journal quilts for the show. There was also a lot of freedom as most anything was allowed for all but the last show. Without those rules and guidelines there would not have been a cohesive show. We all owe a debt of gratitude to Karey Bresenhan who originated the journal quilt exhibitions in Houston.

I recently had the pleasure of seeing all the quilts from the grand finale journal quilt exhibition which was juried. The quilts were fantastic and they made an impressive show.

I hope people realize that people can still make their own journal quilts following their own guidelines even though the IQA Journal project is over. You can make your own rules!


This was another journal quilt that helped me decide how to quilt one of my June series.

One interesting and important question that was asked in the comments on the previous journal blogs was "What do you do with them after you have made a lot of them?"

There are several valid options: Join several together to make a larger work, display them in your home or office, share them in shows, sell them, blog them, make a book with several of them as the pages, use one for the pocket on a tote, make one into a cutch purse, attach to a piece of clothing, give one or a group as a gift, sell them, or _______________________. (You fill in the blank.)

I had intended to offer mine for sale in the gift shop at Quilts: Another Dimension.
I didn't get to Florida to retrieve them before the show so I wasn't able to do that.

As I have written these journal quilts posts and revisited the 9 quilts I am so glad I didn't part with any of them. I really appreciate them so much more as the intimate little works of art they are. When I was making one a month I was mainly concerned with fitting the work in between other things I was doing and what I was experiencing in my life.

You have now seen all of my journal quilts I completed. I intend this to be the final post on the subject, but I'll leave it open if I have more to say. I'd appreciate any other comments you'd like to leave on the topic.

I also would like to encourage any of you who are quilters (or who would like to become a quilter) to try making journal quilts. When you do I'd love it if you will share your experiences and photos with me.

Tonight's puzzle is the same journal quilt you just looked at a moment ago.

What is a journal quilt? Part 2

This is another journal quilt that allowed me to use fabrics I had used in other quilts. I again experimented with different quilting designs. I used some traditional quilt patterns on this contemporary quilt.

On my last post I asked for comments on how you would define a journal quilt.
I hope you will take time to read the comments.
There were so many different thoughts and they were all very valid.



For this journal quilt I used the first fabrics I painted designs on along with other complementary fabric. I really enjoy adding detail to fabric with paint. Why don't I do more of that???? Again I experimented with different ways of quilting on this piece. As I look at my recent work I can see the things I tryed on these journal quilts appearing on so much of my work.

While I don't always know where I am heading when I start something new, I often see the results in future work so that is a benefit of working within the parameters I used for this series of journal quilts.

After you have read the comments from the last post feel free to add more thoughts and ideas of what a journal quilt means to you.

This quilt is also tonights puzzle.

What is a journal quilt?

There are many answers to this question.
None are wrong.
All are right.

For me making a journal quilt is a way to make a quilt on a regular basis with certain guidelines. Generally those guidelines include a consistent size. It is a chance for me to experiment.
When I made journal quilts for 9 months I used them as a way to make me do the work. It was also as a way to create something that was related to either something I was doing in my other quilts, classes I attended or taught or to try something new.
This Tutti Fruitti journal quilt used every little scrap of the fabrics I had left from the big quilt. I had to bind it with a fabric not in the quilt.
I used it to test a quilting design I was considering using. I didn't use it but used a similar quillting design on the larger quilt.


The quilting style I created on this shibori quilt shows up on many later shibori quilts. The fringed dot also shows up on other quilts.

This quilt started with the piece of giraffe fabric. My goal was to use good proportion in the piecing of the quilt top and have it come out the size it had to be. I also used this quilt to try out some new quilting designs. These quilting designs have also shown up in later quilts.

Please click on each one of these quilts to see the quilting designs more clearly.

What do YOU use as a definition of a journal quilt? I'd appreciate any of you with thoughts about this to post them in the comment section. By doing that others can also benefit from what you contribute to this discussion.


When I made this journal quilt I started with the piece of black and white shibori fabric. I selected two other fabrics that would be the supporting cast. The quilting echoes the shibori design as it spills over to the other fabrics. To add a little spice to this quilt I reversed the colors on the binding so they would not match the edge of the quilt. This quilt is tonight's puzzle.