Hi-Desert Quilt Guild's Quilt Show

Hi-Desert Quilt Guild in Ridgecrest, CA used their recent show to Celebrate 70 Years of the Navy at China Lake. Many of the guild members made quilts to commemorate this event. It was interesting to see how each person interpreted the theme. The military plays such an important role in all our lives and in our country that I wanted to share this exhibit with you.

We were fortunate enough to have our booth near these quilts. It was a pleasure to be able to look at these wonderful pieces all weekend. These are the quilts that were directly across from our booth.

These quilts were across from us at the show

Here are pictures of the individual quilts from this exhibit. The photos and the quilter's statements about their work, if available, are shown below. I hope you'll enjoy them as much as I did.

This Square Dance Flag Quilt was made by Nancy Buchner. The flag was made from instructions her cousin Carolyn Tysdale gave her. Nancy copied the logo from the Internet. The quilt is machine pieced and appliqued. The lettering is machine embroidered.

Square Dance Flag Quilt

This Flag Quilt didn't have any comments. I love the random scrappy background and the spinning stars.

 Semper Fidelis is an original design made by Peggy  Murphy. It was made for her son who joined the Corps several years ago. It recognizes the USMC presence at China Lake. There is a metallic braided cord as a small border. The first verse of the Marine Corps Hymn is quilted into the four wide borders.

Semper Fidelis by Peggy Murphy

Somehow we missed the quilter's statement about this quilt. It was one that I had the pleasure of looking at. The vibrant red, white and blue really stood out. I love the pieced background. From a distance it looks like solid fabrics but on close inspection you see the individual squares that form the background.

Sidewinder Missile and Petroglyphs was made by Carol Wilcher. She designed the quilt from the logo of the Sidewinder missile that was invented at the then China Lake Naval Ordinance Test Station (NOTS). It is rough edge appliqued. She added linoleum block printed Coso Range Petroglyphs. The background has Sidewinder snakes quilted into it. I am absolutely terrified of snakes so this one is hard for me to look at. I had the pleasure of speaking with Carol about her quilt. The technique she used for the snake skin is part of what makes it so realistic.

Sidewinder Missile and Petroglyphs by Carol Wilcher

A Woman's Career at NWC/NAWC/NAWCWD is another quilt that I had a chance to speak to the quilt maker about. I love the irregular shape. She told me that it was a real challenge to do but she is pleased with the way it turned out. It represents one woman's career at China Lake , developing new target recognition technologies for a variety of sensors and applications. The design recasts and personalizes an Information Warfare Systems Division logo to represent some of the work that she did during her career in that division. It is machine pieced, embroidered, appliqued, and quilted.

NWC/NAWC/WPNS by Annette DeMay

Deanna Ripley-Lotee's quilt Rocket Men came from a photograph of her husband Mike and his friend Scott O'Neil taken during their early careers at the China Lake Skytop Static Test Facility. The image, taken in the late 1970s shows them in front of a Vertical Launch ASROC rocket motor on its firing stand after completing a successful test in preparation for a flight test. They are accompanied by other "rocket men" of note depicted on the front of the quilt. Hand pieced, machine quilted, and hand appliqued. 

Rocket Men by Deanna Ripley-Lotee

End of Chase by Terry Millett depicts an F/A-18 as it pulls away after a "flying chase" for a Tomahawk cruise missle shortly before its land impact on the land range at China Lake. The desert Big Horn Sheep are in no danger and idly stand by. This quilt was created in honor of the Navy's 70 year presence in China Lake and in homage to the style of Larry Zabel, former China Lake employee and renowned western artist who passed away in 2012. This quilt is hand pieced and machine appliqued and quilted.

End of Chase by Terry Millett

Marian Bruce was commissioned to make "Andy's Career in Naval Aviation" for a retiring Navy pilot. She used his T-shirts and memorabilia from his career in the navy.

Andy's Career in Naval Aviation by Marian Bruce

The F/A-18 aircraft and sidewinder missiles have been a big part of the Navy at China Lake. A Desert landscape and the Sierra Mountains are the backdrop for lots of Navy activities. This quilt is an original design by Elene Gravelle. It is machine pieced, appliqued and quilted and hand appliqued.

China Lake 70th Anniversary of the Navy by Elene Gravell

In the Beginning - Rocket Riding' Rabbit was made by Charlotte Freeman. It is a quilt she has wanted to make for many years. This special exhibit of quilts honoring China Lake's 70th anniversary gave her the perfect opportunity to finally get it done! The quilt is her rendition of the "rocket ridin' rabbit" which was the first logo adopted for use by the Naval Ordinance Test Station from its inception in the early 1940's. Various versions of this popular logo are still in use today. It has appeared on everything from flight jackets to t-shirts and caps and can be found adorning walls in bars and in informal publications. I overheard a gentleman who was white gloving at the show telling someone that it is a perfect copy down to every detail of the logo. It is an original design and was hand appliqued and machine quilted.

In the Beginning - Rocket Ridin' Rabbit by Charlotte Freeman

Sandy Bosley made Open House which features a picture of her kids posed with the aircraft their dad supported on the base. The quilt is based on photos taken at the open house on the base in the 1990's. It is machine pieced, appliqued and quilted.

Open House by Sandy Bosely

RDT&E was also  made by Terry Millett. A mad scientist represents our China Lake heritage of independent free-thinking, can-do culture. His hand is on an AIM-9L/M Sidewinder missile, which is surrounded by a light bulb representing the brilliant, innovative idea that makes Sidewinder a shining example of China Lake at its best. The scientist holds a chem stick and stands on a molecule, both representing Research, the gears represent Development, above the ranges are an explosion representing Test and a graph representing Evaluation. It is an original design that is machine pieced and quilted. Hand appliqued and embroidered.

RDT&E by Terry Millett

NAWCWD was made by Kathleen Schumacher. From the beginning she had no idea where this quilt would go next. She started with the center patch after looking up insignias on the website for the China Lake Naval Station. Then she just kept asking the quilt, "Okay, where do you want me to go next?" So, this is what the intention of the quilt became. It is an original design that is machine pieced and quilted with hand applique and embroidery. It think she did a great job interpreting what the quilt told her to do.

NAWCWD by Kathleen Schumacher

This quilt is called In Flight and was also made by Sandy Bosley. In flight over desert scrub and sands naval personnel test aircraft system design to perfection. With the optimum number of flying days available here there are also a few beautiful sunsets in the mix. It is machine pieced, appliqued and quilted.

In Flight by Sandy Bosley

Thank you to all of the talented ladies who created these beautiful and diverse pictures commemorating 70 Years of the Navy at China Lake and to all of the men and women who serve our country.

Happy Quilting, 

Carol