You say Hanky, I say Hankie, or Handkerchief or Handkerchef and on and on

A little history about how the humble hanky/hankie/handkerchief came to be so named.

(And we're only dealing with its many names in English - it gets even more complicated once other languages get in the mix !)

In French, a head scarf/band/veil was called a couvre-chef (head coverer).

This became, in English, a kerchief or kerchef - sometimes alternatively called a bandanna , bandana or even a do-rag.

If used to cover the neck, it became a neckerchief/neckerchef.

Similarly, if about the same size and of the same sort of material, but held in the hand instead of being fastened about the head or neck, it became a handkerchief or handkerchef.

This was later shortened to hanky or hankie.

Finally this word more or less disappeared in common usage in North America, replace by tissue or Kleenex - a trademarked brand name in the process of becoming a generic name for this type of material.

Off topic, but interesting indeed is the fact that this little square of cloth is one of the few means of decoration that even the most macho of men would permit for themselves - a touch of bright color around the necks of cowboys, in the shirt or suit upper pockets of business tycoons or around the heads of gang members in the 'Hoods....

My website is going live

My website,Margo Marshall,Maker Of "One Hanky Quilts", is beginning to come together !

Pat Long Gardner inspired 'One Hanky Quiltmaking'

Pat Long Gardner, the American quilter, first put out her pioneering book on 'one hanky quilts', titled simply (and a bit misleadingly), HANDKERCHIEF QUILTS, way back in 1993.

But I didn't discover her book (and her wonderful idea) until 1997, while browsing the stacks in my local public library.

Few quilters can keep up with all the beautiful quilting books coming out, under their own steam.

Fewer of us can afford to buy them all, in any case.

And of course it is a rare bookstore that will stock them all.

Thank goodness that librarians in public libraries keep an eye out for the quilt book that is truly different and add them to their public collection.

(Though, in this case,perhaps someone saw a review of this book in a quilting magazine and asked them to purchase it.

Most librarians are open to suggestions from knowledgeably and regular library patrons.

Pat's book was a revelation to me because hanky quilts aren't that rare but I had never seen or heard of a quilt only using one hanky.

Pat used her single hanky to become the central motif  in a traditional medallion-type quilt.

(Her one hanky quilts were about 40 by 40 inches, mine are 20 by 20 inches - seems a small difference but her quilts actually take four times as much material and quilting tome to complete !)  

I quickly notice that Pat did not cut up the hanky to make the quilt - something that usually happens whenever we quilters seize upon a beautiful piece of fabric. 

Nor did she fold up the hanky, to make another shape like a butterfly, and thus diminish the original artist's design and art.

(If you 'double click' on the image above, (#6 in my series of one hanky quilts and entitled "Whole Cloth Banadanna Quilt" , you will see that even the tiniest of wording printed out at the edge of the bandanna/hanky is still available for the viewer to read.

I think it adds greatly to the charm of this quilt that you can learn that it was "crafted with pride" in "India" out of "100% cotton" by "Emanuel Geraldo"!)

Pat did not emphasize these advantages to her technique but they inspired me to take her ideas much further along this path she had pioneered, if unwittingly.

Because, to me, here was a way to re-use , re-value and yes, recycle, two dimensional cloth heirlooms and mementos- without diminishing them in the process .

Here was a way to take them out that back closet or bottom drawer and displayed them in all their original two dimensional glory.

By the second or third 'one hanky quilt', I realized that the border around that central motif and the label on the back (and you do put a label on all your quilts, don't you?) gave me room to tell people why this hanky meant so much to me or what story that hanky seemed to want me to tell about it. 

More about Pat in a later blog post - don't forget you can see all 57 of my 'one hanky quilts' , lovingly photographed in rich full colour by Peter Barss in my book "One Handkerchief Makes a Small Quilt" ...

Googling the phrase "One Hanky Quilt"

Small quilts that use one hanky as the central motif of a medallion style quilt are being made ,all the time, all around the world.

However.

They are usually done as one-offs, not as part of an extended series, so the quilter who made them can't really stretch out to show some of the fun you can have with whatever hankies you have on hand.

Whenever I Google the phrase 'one hanky quilt' I usually only get my site or blog.

"One Hanky quilts' are definitely being made but not usually being described with such a succinct term.

But I recently came across a blog post from a fellow quilter who mentioned she couldn't go to bed because she was working on a 'one hanky quilt'.

Made my day !

Heirlooms or Collectibles too Precious or too Nice to Cut up

Quilters generally take a beautiful piece of cloth.... AND CUT IT UP !

Their intention is too make something even more beautiful out of it, of course.

 TWO DIMENSIONAL CLOTH COLLECTIBLES

But what if your beautiful cloth item is already perfect as is ?

Or because it belonged to your mother who treasured it as it was, is too precious to cut up?

I don't mean a shirt or a skirt, etc obviously - those don't lie flat enough for quilting until cut up.

But there are lots of  other two dimensional cloth heirlooms or collectibles.

Hankies come to mind (naturally !) but we can add lots of others that are 'designed' to be beautiful as they are, but are thin enough and small enough to be the start of a wonderful quilt.

A place mat may be small and beautiful but is too thick to use in a quilt.

But tea tray cloths, doilies, kerchiefs,neckerchiefs, bandanas, scarves, luncheon napkins, tea towels, table top 

runners - they all fit the bill.

You can think of others.

My daughter-in-law Rebecca mentions those cloth wall hangings we all buy on vacation, perhaps made out of Belfast linen and decorated with some images of Northern Ireland , bought on a trip to the Emerald Isle.

They all can be the centerpiece of a medallion quilt - around them you can create a border that complements them 

and perhaps even tells a story of what that item meant to you or your mother.

When I say I love my children - I mean my animal children as well - many have gone before me , but live on in my quilts ! Here is an example of what I mean....

Hankies become Butterflies become Quilts

A quilter who goes by the name of StudioBeth loves to fold hankies till they are shaped like butterflies and then she appliques them to her quilt design.

She reports it is all rather like making paper origami and gives some hints on design considerations.

She has a wonderful example made by a woman named Pauline G, who won a prize for it at her county fair in 2003.

Pauline didn't get her hankies from her sainted old grandmother, as the quilting cliche usually goes - she had to go out and buy brand new ones, but it still looks wonderful !

Cloud Flowers - my latest quilt. Surprisingly, its a one hanky quilt !

I know I said I would probably not do any more 'one hanky quiltmaking' after publishing my book on the subject.

I have a developing website on the subject of one hanky quiltmaking.

But a family friend, a latter day flower child, gave me such a beautiful ,flower-oriented, highly unusual hanky I couldn't resist.

The material of the hanky was wonderful to work with - a soft linen.  In keeping with the theme, I added a tied-dyed backing to this quilt.

The hanky was made up of flowers floating as if in the sky.

The fact that the friend, Amy Honey , is herself a young 'flower child' in many ways, made the making of this 20"x 20" quilt a delight.

My son, Michael, and his better half, Rebecca, helped name this quilt.