Bait Dock ~ Quilt Spotlight Chesapeake Bay Quilts

I have been asked where “my inspiration for the Chesapeake Bay Quilts collection came from?” The answer is simple enough, “I grew up in a small fishing village working the water with my father and loved it.” The memories giving the inspiration however, are far less simple and would take a great deal of time to tell. I can say more succinctly that the idea for the collection inspired me when I was about 16 years old. I had been quilting for years and had recently begun to create my own designs. After sketching a few patterns I knew I wanted to bring them to life.

 I designed this quilt with the the dock’s structure and colors in mind. I knew I would be featuring a primary color to include one of the dock’s most auspicious details, its red roof sides. Using a traditional churn dash quilt block I elongated and teased the sides to get the desired look mimicking the dock’s roof shape.

The dock itself has been been patched and made over through the years helping to inspire the scrappy centers for the Bait Dock blocks. I wanted a vintage look and feel to the quilt’s finish. Using vintage reproduction shirting fabrics for the background helped to achieve that vintage worn look. I used homespuns throughout the quilt including in the border and backing for soft texture.

I loved the process of this quilt. I machine pieced and free-motion machine quilted from start to finish on a 1950s sewing machine. In order to free motion quilt on a vintage sewing machine, the feed dogs have to be removed. There’s no stitch length control and so it can be slow going, but the finish is beautifully handmade.

I have spent a good deal of my life at this dock. Working sorting fish, shoveling ice, getting bait, grinding chum, shedding peelers, and the list goes on. It is still a place where time feels slower. The breeze is calming and there is always a boat to take a nap in.