20 years ago, Maryann Ryan came home from college with nothing to do.
She went to the store, bought a lot of fabric and made a quilt in one
weekend. That was more than 1,500
quilts ago. Today she is a
professional quilt maker who specializes in a quilting pattern called
Bargello. This technique began in
Europe in the 13th century as
needlepoint
embroidery. The stitches are worked
parallel to the grain of the fabric.
Stitches are straight and worked up or down from the previous stitch,
creating a pattern. Bargello
quilting imitates this needlework tradition.
Bargellos are wonderful ebbing
and flowing bands of rich color that advance across a piece in an unending
line. Maryann currently applies
this Bargello
technique
to table runners and various sizes of wall hangings,
in addition to bed size quilts.
A self taught quilter, Maryann enjoys constructing her quilts as well
as designing them. In the future she
aspires to author a book of original quilt patterns.
Her work can be found at The Cambridge Artist Co-Operative in Harvard
Square year
round.
Maryann Ryan
