"Mars" by Collin Ruff Fellows

"Mars" - Collin Ruff Fellows' last quilt is monumental, a masterpiece.

"Mars" was on display last weekend at the Celebration of Life for Collin Ruff Fellows. Linda and I arrived thinking we were probably a bit early. A pair of shiny motorcycles stood outside, and people were already spilling out the front door.  The house was full of friends and family, and the celebration was well underway.

Marlin Hofer chatting with Linda McLaughlin in front of "Mars"

We were at the house the other day, setting up "Mars" on a quilt stand. It's a big quilt, and the monumental scale seemed apropos considering Collin's enormous talent. Collin pinned the quilt to prepare it for quilting the day before he passed away. His husband, Marlin Hofer had it quilted and finished by Kazumi Peterson. She did an excellent job.

square patches cut for Collin's planet series quilts

Collin left a lot of UFOs. For the non-quilters in the crowd, "UFO" stands for unfinished object, a work in progress, patchwork in pieces...you get the drift. Some of these projects will be finished. Other ideas may remain in the sketchbooks for a while, and the sketchbooks are remarkable objects, too.

Collin's brother, Brandon introduced me to their relative, Malaika, who is currently working on Collin's Cathedral Windows quilt. She and I had a nice visit, and laughed about her taking on the project when she originally tried to warn him about all the hand sewing it would take. I tried to warn him, too. If you told Collin he couldn't do something, he would say, "Watch me!" That's just how Collin was, and all the guests at the celebration of life could see it when they walked in the door and saw the jaw-dropping "Mars" on display. When I first saw it, my jaw was on the floor, and that's kind of the same reaction I had when I met Collin and learned about his quilts. Rest in peace, dear friend!

another Hawaiian scrap quilt

Hawaiian scrap quilt, c. 1970, 45" x 54"

How could I resist this lovely little Hawaiian scrap quilt? It came from an eBay seller in California, whose family once lived in Hawaii. You can tell by the fabrics.

I call these quilts Hawaiian scrap quilts because they are made of Hawaiian scraps, the kind of fabrics seen in Hawaiian aloha shirts and muumuus. Most of the quilts came from Hawaii, but a few came from other places such as California.

The ones that come from Hawaii are usually just like this one. It has no batting or quilting, and could be called a patchwork blanket or "summer cover". The backing is green, and the palette is light and tropical.

This pattern is similar to the 1970s "Shadowbox" quilt in my Modern Roots book. It is a variant of the Economy Block, squares inside squares made of triangles. Diagonal grids are popular in Hawaiian scrap quilts.

Although I am not collecting much this year, I still have an eye on Hawaiian scrap quilts. I'm also eyeing some potential opportunities to exhibit the quilts in the future. It will be a lot of fun to see a large group of these quilts on display in a museum.

green

an all-green, velvet quilt

It's St. Patrick's Day. I like green, so I'm going along with the whole thing. I made some green juice for breakfast. It has apples, pears, cucumber, celery, lime, ginger, kale and mint.

Juicing is new to me, and I usually like the red and orange drinks best, but green seemed to fit the occasion today.

Whenever I take a sip of fresh made juice, my whole body tingles. It's like the nutrients are coursing through my veins and causing little electrical sparks throughout my body. Maybe that means it's good for me. It's much better than green beer.

a green wholecloth quilt, c. 1790

Green is really my favorite color. That's a good thing, because I live in Oregon. It's very green here. Everything grows like a weed in the mild, moist climate. We endure months of rain, drizzle and fog to enjoy the remarkably green summers. St. Patrick's Day is OK with me, even though people get too drunk. For me, it's an early celebration of the green spring and summer just around the corner.

The Black & White Challenge

Last year there was a 7-day black & white photo challenge on Facebook. The only rules were: no people, no explanations, and photos had to be black & white. You were also supposed to tag people to challenge them, but I never did that part.

This year, I am doing a year-long, daily photo challenge with a buddy from high school, Peter Wortmann, who lives in New York. Peter and I were on the swim team together at the Peddie School in New Jersey for a couple years, and we reconnected recently on Facebook.

I was a few days late posting some of the photos last week when my phone was busted, but it's fixed now. At the end of the year I will have 365 black & white photos, little vignettes of my life during the year.

There's something great about black & white photography. It's only March, and I'm already enjoying looking back at each day. Maybe I'll make a book out of the photos at the end of the year.

Friday Blogs

This year, I decided to blog on Fridays. I already missed a week, but I'm still trying. Quilts are gradually coming out of storage and being sorted. They were shuffled around with exhibition and book projects in the last few years, and now there are bins all over the house. Slowly, I am getting more organized.

I am currently sorting quilts by group and getting more organized

Seeing so many quilts at one time allows me to focus on what stays and what goes. The "sell" pile is growing, but I am gradually working on it.

Several of the "sell" quilts were included in projects such as magazine articles, exhibits and books. After the projects were done, I realized I didn't always need to hold on to the quilts.

I do not have many projects planned for this year, so it's a good time to go through the collection, organize things and sell what I do not need. My activities this year will be mostly behind-the-scenes, but I'm looking forward to Friday blogs.

Collin's First Juried Show

I urged Collin Ruff Fellows to enter the biennial juried show of men who quilt at the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum. Two of his quilts were accepted, and I was not the least bit surprised. I was fortunate to photograph both quilts when they were first completed.

"Earth" by Collin Ruff Fellows

"Neptune" by Collin Ruff Fellows

I felt a little bad about not entering, having been in the previous two shows, but I was thrilled for Collin. When he received his acceptance letter, he posted this message on Facebook.

In one of the comments he said,

"Now I have to figure out how to get out there to see them up."

Shortly after receiving the good news, I had dinner with Collin and his husband, Marlin, at one of their favorite local Mexican restaurants, Pepita's. We talked about the show, and what they were planning for the future. Less than two weeks later, a heartbreaking announcement from Marlin appeared on Facebook.

We celebrated Collin and his amazing quilts last night at the opening reception of "Boys Just Wanna Have Fun Too" at the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum in Golden, Colorado. The museum did a wonderful job with the display, paying tribute with the two quilts hanging together, along with a favorite mug shot and memorial statement. Thank you to Steve Bowley, Quilt Angel, for generously sponsoring this part of the exhibition.

I attended the reception with Marlin and his friend, Nick. The display was beautiful as it was poignant. Just as the world was just beginning to learn about Collin and his brilliant work, his friends and family were saying goodbye. We miss Collin terribly, but will always remember him, and not only for his quilts.

In Memorium

Collin Fellows

Collin Fellows was more than just your average, every-day, quilt-making biker. He was a big, burly guy with lots of ink and piercings. He enjoyed cigars, leather, and motorcycles, and had a soft spot in his heart for pit bulls. He was passionate about social justice, especially in the LGBTQ community. 

Collin was also an unusually talented artist. While studying at the Columbus College of Art and design in the 1980s, Collin found himself drawn to the use of hard lines, bold colors, and the shape-layering art movements of the early to middle 20th century. Over his life, he fed his artistic passion through the medium of many different forms of art including drawing, needlework, glasswork, woodwork, sculpture, and custom motorcycle building. 

Then, in 2014, Collin sat down at a sewing machine for the first time and found himself swept up into the world of quilting. Over the next few years, he completed more than 30, doing both commission work and charity quilts. Drawing on a lifetime of creative experiences, and after hours of design work, Collin's "Planets" series came to life. The "Planets" quilts are postage stamp quilts, so-called because each square in the quilt is an inch square-- about the size of a postage stamp. 

Before his death in November 2017, he had completed four of the nine quilts-- Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Neptune-- and was working on a quilt exploring resistance to Fascist Politics. 

Collin stuck out at quilt shows, due to his alternative appearance. However, even a short conversation made it evident he was intelligent, articulate, and surprisingly soft-spoken for such a big, bearish man. His premature death left the world to continue to enjoy the quilts he left behind and wonder what more he would have done. Collin Ruff Fellows will continue to live on through his art. 

Collin Eric Fellows

(as written by his husband, Marlin Hofer)

1967-2017

Coming soon!

Last week I left a bid for a Hawaiian scrap quilt on eBay and forgot about it. When the auction ended, I received an e-mail that I'd won. What a nice surprise! This one is coming from a family in California, who lived in Hawaii around the time the quilt was made. It is 45" x 54". Here are a few photos.

Looks like it has a lot in common with several of the Hawaiian scrap quilts already in my collection. I can't wait to see it in person!