Carol Godreau Creates Quilt
With Family Connections
by Patricia Cummings
When presented with a challenge by her quilting club to make an "art quilt," Connecticut resident Carol Godreau, had to look no further for inspiration than her own family's history. No stranger to "outline stitch embroidery," she aptly put both her embroidery and her quilting skills to work to make a wall quilt that features a ship.
The "Grace Deering" Ship, built in 1874
With only six months to complete the quilt, Carol Godreau decided to make a replica of the "Grace Deering" ship whose captain was her great-great uncle. No picture of the ship exists except for an oil painting that his daughter had sold to an unknown hotel. As luck would have it, the Maine Maritime Museum allowed Carol to use one black and white picture negative that they had, so that she could make the quilt shown above.
On the back of the quilt, the quilter has placed photo transfers of shipping logs, the captain's gravestone, and other information about the ship from the time it was built, until its demise.
(The image is over-sharpened so that you can see some of the details ~Patricia~)
At the recent Maine Quilts 2007 Quilt Show, we had the opportunity to see Carol's lovely tribute to the "captain" of this vessel. The quilt is sure to become a family heirloom. Congratulations to Carol Godreau for again making history come alive in a meaningful way!
Copyright July 2007. Patricia Cummings, Quilter's Muse Publications, Concord, NH. All rights reserved. Comments? Questions? Write to: pat@quiltersmuse.com