Labor Is Entitled to All It Creates (Unless a Cat Wants the Quilt You Made)
In the 1970s, there was a quilt guild in my old hometown that went by the name Seamsters Union Local 500 - such a clever name for quilt guild, right? So fitting given role the textile industry has long played in the struggle for workers' rights. At the t…
In the 1970s, there was a quilt guild in my old hometown that went by the name Seamsters Union Local 500 - such a clever name for quilt guild, right? So fitting given role the textile industry has long played in the struggle for workers' rights.
At the time the guild was active, I wasn't quilting (I don't think tiny me had even learned to sew at that point!) But I can't help but hope that members of Seamsters Union Local 500 would be tickled pink by my latest quilt, a fiber art homage to the Internet's favorite pro-union pair of cats, Jorts and Jean.
JORTS AND JEAN Completed 2024 Original Overall Design / Shwin & Shwin Hipster Cat Appliques 80" x 90"
Like everyone else on the Internet in late 2021, I was enamored with the adventures of Jorts, the buttered orange cat with a penchant for trashcan mishaps, and Jean, his tortoise-haired helper. I learned so much about the power of organized labor following these two cats on Twitter and became a supporter of the United Farm Workers in the process. Jorts and I even interacted a couple of times; this is one of my favorites:
How could I not make a Jorts and Jean quilt after that?
Since this quilt isn't scrappy, it is one of the few pandemic quilts I sourced the majority of fabric for online. The background is Andover Dimples in Manatee, the butter pats are Thatched and the light blue is from Riley Blake's Kisses line. The fun orange zig zag used for Jorts is from Quilting Treasures and Jean was created using both the dark and light sides of an ombré landscape.
The cats are machine appliquéd using Shwin & Shwin's Hipster Cat pattern. It's a free pattern that was released in 2015. For 7 years, making Shwin & Shwin's adorable quilt was on my to-do list, but it wasn't until smart, kind Jean came into my life that I knew what my version of the bespectacled feline quilt would be. The trashcan and sign are also appliquéd and the remainder of the quilt is pieced. The letters are my own design, though I'm pretty sure I've seen something similarly shaped online, just without the butter pat centers. And speaking of butter pats, check out that border! I love the way the yellow squares pop against the two blue tones, and it was easier to piece than it might look.
The background is a yellow pawprint from Art Gallery Fabrics, designed by Jessica Swift. And I chose a favorite pantograph, Triangle Tangle, for the E2E quilting because it sure looks like the path a cat with the zoomies makes (based on my own kitty's antics, at least.)
As I'm no longer on Twitter, I tried to email Jorts a picture of the quilt I made in honor of him and Jean, but so far there's been no response. I'm sure they are involved in some important solidarity work! My actual hope is that I can donate this quilt to the United Farm Workers, either for a fundraiser or to display. Honestly, even if someone who works there is a big fan of Jorts and Jean and wants to give the quilt a new home, I'd be happy to gift it. This quilt, like a rescued stray and his tortie friend, deserves to be fuckin loved ❤️🔥
The cats are machine appliquéd using 
The background is a yellow pawprint from Art Gallery Fabrics, designed by Jessica Swift. And I chose a favorite pantograph, Triangle Tangle, for the E2E quilting because it sure looks like the path a cat with the zoomies makes (based on my own kitty's antics, at least.)
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