Meet
Jayne Turner
by Jack Braunstein
This quilter's story will inspire anyone who feels their talent is going unnoticed.
"I have no desire to be anywhere else in my life," declares Jayne
Turner of Ottawa, Kansas. Happily married for 18 years, she and her husband, Roger, have
two sons-Bryan, 3, and Devin, 7. Before raising a family, Jayne and Roger were together
for 11 years while she worked as a secretary and computer operator. But seven years ago,
Jayne decided to remain home full-time with the first of her boys. She probably wouldn't
have postponed pursing another career for several years if working the "night
shift" at home hadn't been so rewarding. Between 8 p.m. and 1 a.m., while her
children are sleeping and Roger is working, she spends much of her time quilting. But what
is her current career? She is a a published author. It wasn't even the job she sought.
However, the editorial team at Chitra Publications recognized Jayne's talent and asked her
to compile a pattern book featuring 18 of her outstanding quilts. The quilts from her book
Little
Traditional Quilts can be seen in our Gallery.
Although Jane describes herself as a "stay-at-home mom who just bought her first
pair of bifocals," she has diligently been working on her quilting career for a
decade. In 1990, she took her first quilting class at a local quilt shop. Chris Campbell,
who has since become Jayne's friend and quilting partner, had the students make pieced and
appliquéd wallhangings. "I found out right away that I loved piecing but hated
appliqué." comments Jayne (who recently gave appliqué another try but to no avail).
"Perhaps I haven't felt a big need to learn appliqué because there are still so many
pieced patterns that I want to try."
 Jayne
made "Sampler" (17" x 21") to show her class how to
piece several different miniature blocks. You might recognize the Variable Star, Cake
Stand and Churn Dash, but can you figure out which is the X-Quartet block?
Two years later Jayne joined the Sunflower Piecemakers, a move that she describes as
"a turning point" in her life. "Working with a group of quilters helped me
adjust from working 40 hours a week to being a full-time homemaker," recalls Jayne.
"The guild gave me a purpose and I felt less isolated. It was so inspiring to meet
other quilters while having the opportunity to learn more about quiltmaking." Today,
Jayne is the guild's president and finds the meetings just as exciting as when she first
attended.
 Inspired by Marsha McCloskey's many Feathered Stars, Jayne gave "Fireworks
and Feathers" (17" square) a Sawtooth border to add to the explosive
feel of these energetic blocks.
Raised in Kansas, Jayne doesn't recall a particular moment when she first felt drawn to
quilts. They were in her home as long as she can remember even though there weren't any
quilters in her family. But she distinctly remembers her initial introduction to miniature
quilts. "It was only when I picked up my first issue of Miniature
Quilts on a newsstand that I realized small quilts existed!" The following
year, Donna Lynn Thomas came to her guild to present a program called "Small
Talk," named after her book. Fascinated by the accuracy involved in assembling such
tiny pieces, Jayne was inspired to make her first miniature quilt, a Double Irish Chain.
 The traditional Trip Around the World pattern takes on a 1930s look in "Trip
Around the Feedsacks" (16 1/2" square). All but one of the fabrics in
this strip-pieced quilt are vintage feedsacks. Like most of Jayne's work, this quilt is
machine pieced and hand quilted.
Working in small scale proved to be quite a challenge, but some tricks helped her
tackle the task. "I learned to use a stiletto to guide the pieces under the presser
foot and to use a scrap of fabric at both ends of a seam when sewing tiny pieces. This
prevents them from being taken in by the throat plate," says Jayne. "But my
favorite tip is making oversized units and trimming them to the correct size after sewing.
Of course, this method takes a bit more time, but I think the results are worth it."
In the spring of 1995, Nancy Graves and Judi Robb were speakers at Jayne's quilt guild.
They both encouraged here to enter the Miniatures from the
Heart Contest. "I was skeptical but entered anyway," she admits. Jayne
didn't win any prizes that year, but she was thrilled when one of her entries appeared on
the cover of Miniature Quilts. Persistence paid
off because in the next three years she won three Honorable Mentions and one Second Place
award. "This kind of success was just what I needed to inspire me to continue making
miniatures. I don't think I'll ever stop now!" In fact, including the ones she has
given away, Jayne estimates that she has made more than a hundred. In addition to these,
she usually makes one full-size quilt a year.
Set in tradition
Jayne likes to machine piece and hand quilt most of her works, which are usually
traditional patterns. Sometimes she makes a miniature version of one of her full-size
quilts. When Jayne showed her full-size Bear's Paw to a friend, she told Jayne, "You
couldn't do that quilt in miniature." Instead of being discouraged, Jayne took it as
a dare. She made the miniature version that won Honorable Mention in the Traditional
Pieced category of the Miniatures from the Heart Contest.
The colors of the full-size quilt and its miniature version are not identical, however.
Jayne says, "Miniatures require an almost exaggerated contrast. That's why I make
some in just two colors-either red and white or blue and white. I also like two-color
quilts because of their simplicity. It's hard to make a poor choice with only two
colors!"
 Not certain of what to do with six extra Variable
Stars that she pieced for another project, Jayne resourcefully used them to make "Leftover
Blues" (9" x 11 1/2").
Jayne likes giving her quilts a scrappy look. Nearly all of her quilts, except her
two-colored ones, contain more than 10 different fabrics. The palette of her scrap quilts
is predominantly a traditional one of blues, reds and tans, but other colors sometimes
slip in. While yellow isn't her favorite color, Jayne thinks it's important to include
some yellow or gold in a scrap quilt to add interest.
Although she hasn't taken a class for years, Jayne realizes, "A good teacher could
help me overcome my mental block towards appliqué, but the teacher would have to have a
lot of patience!" Meanwhile, Jayne seeks other ways to expand her creativity.
"I've recently discovered quilt auctions on the internet. I like to print out the
pictures of their antique quilts to get ideas for new designs."
 Several feedsack and vintage fabrics give "Double Irish
Chain" (16 1/2" x 20 1/2") the scrappy look Jayne likes. The
single fabric shown in the border "catches" many of the colors in the
strip-pieced center.
The Sunflower Piecemakers have also held their own auctions as fundraisers, including
one devoted exclusively to miniatures. Within this 45-member guild is a satellite group
known as Blockheads that meet once a month. Being an active member in this group as well,
Jayne eagerly participated in their year long block exchange. At the end of the year, each
member had 72 blocks to make into a full-size quilt.
Recently Jayne and her friend Chris Campbell have begun to travel with a lecture and
trunk show combination they call "Math and Minis." Right now, they're staying
close to home. (Remember, Jayne's conviction to be a "stay-at-home mom" and that
she had no intention of becoming an author.) But who knows? Offer them a tempting
invitation to visit your guild and they might agree to take to the road!
To view the quilt from Jayne's Book
Little
Traditional Quilts, visit her Gallery.
For information about Chris Campbell and Jayne Turner's lecture, write to Jayne at
328 W. 15th, Ottawa, KS 66067.
Back to Current Meeting Place.
|
The Meeting
Place
