Each year at Quilt Festival, the “Rising Stars” exhibit spotlights two quilters whose work have impressed our Special Exhibits department and who they feel deserve more attention. This year, we’ve chosen Margery Hedges and Molly Hamilton-McNally. Here’s the scoop on both!
In often used words, Hedges wasn’t born in Texas but “got here as fast as she could.” After her father’s job with Exxon brought her to the Lone Star State, Hedges studied piano, graduating with a degree in Music from the University of Houston. But her interests started to move in other directions, and making art with fabric became an “exciting obsession.”
“I had always been interested in various crafts and my first quilt was mostly out of necessity. I needed a ‘bedspread,’ so I decided to make a quilt. I chose a King-sized version of the Texas Lone Star,” she recalls. And though it was quite an advanced project, she managed to piece it with her Singer sewing machines from the 1960’s. She then hand quilted it because she thought “that was the only way” it could be done.
“Over the years with work and children, I didn’t have a lot of time to quilt. My family eventually moved to Kingwood, north of Houston and I joined a guild and some bees…and I was off and running!”
Classes at International Quilt Festival expanded her ideas as Hedges transitioned to pictorial art quilts. Her favorite techniques evolved from piecing, to appliqué, to ultimately painting her work on the way to becoming a competitive quilter.
MARGERY HEDGES
Margery Hedges
The Peaceable Kingdom (52” x 48”) left, Painted Ladies (42.25” x 47.5”) right
“I started entering the Houston judged show in 2004, and amazingly was juried in every year with one or two quilts. However, I was never recognized with an award,” she says. “The buzz from my friends was that I was the ‘Susan Lucci’ of the Festival. She was nominated for her role on All My Children 19 times before she got an Emmy award. I guess they were right, because with my 19th juried entry in 2019, I finally received an honorable mention!”
In terms of creating quilts, Hedges likes the design process the most, starting from a simple drawing on paper to see how her work will evolve. Today, she is best known for her pictorial work showcasing animal, nature, landscape, and Southwestern subjects and themes.
Where the Buffalo Roamed (42.5” x 35”) left, Mahala (34.25” x 34.75”) right
Molly Hamilton-McNally
"My inspiration comes from life’s experiences such as a trip to Canada where I watched a street artist; Southwestern ideas inspired by friends and family who are descendants of Cherokee Indians; my daughter sends me a picture of her three children. My quilts are just snapshots of a varied life.”
Finally, Hedges says that the pandemic has given her time to try new things like designing patterns and offering her “Alphabet Art” on Etsy, inspired by pages from the Webster’s Dictionary.
“During the next year, I have a couple of larger quilts already planned, and l am looking forward to getting my paints out and getting started,” she offers. “If I could give myself any advice back when I started quilting 40 years ago, I guess it would be ‘You’ve got a lot to learn but don’t let it overwhelm you. It’s going to be exciting and full of new ideas and new friends, which makes it all worthwhile!’”
For more on Margery Hedges, visit MargeryHedges.com
Another quilter who relocated—though all the way from Beijing, China—is Hamilton-McNally. She was working in her native country as an accountant for a financial investment firm. “I really hated it!” She laughs. “It was not my choice, though most of my family were involved in [financial] work. But I ground my teeth and did it!”
An extended stay in Japan toward the tail end of the Cold War to learn more about their language furthered her professional life, but in the back of her mind she always had a love for and interest in art. She secured a student travel visa to come to the U.S. in 1989 to learn more English. And decided she did not want to return to her home country.
She met a man who she started seeing, and when the seven month time limit of her visa expired, he implored her to stay. They were married in 1992 and lived happily, somewhat isolated in the mountains of Tehachapi, California. Unfortunately, he passed away only eight years later from cancer.
Hamilton-McNally was alone (the couple had no children) no friends close by, and very cognizant that her limited English skills at the time would isolate her further. That was until she went into town on some errands and stumbled into quilt show that a local guild was hosting at a church.
“I walked in and was shocked. We didn’t really have any quilting in China. It was mostly silk embroidery,” she says. “I got very interested and talked to the ladies there. They were super nice and showed me how to join the guild and where the local fabric shop was. I was depressed after my husband passed away, but then found quilting. I got really into it and after two of three years, started designing my own quilts, and even teaching!”
MOLLY HAMILTON-MCNALLY
Everlasting Bouquet with Cindy Seitz-Krug (80” x 80”) left, Peony Dream (70” x 68”) right
She also started entering her quilts in local contests, and then national ones, which gave her a confidence boost when they were accepted or had won a prize. “I never looked back after that!” she says.
Her quilts are visually distinctive for their bold usage of color and thick black outlines on objects. She was inspired by both things she saw in nature and just not knowing any “rules” of quilting. “To be honest, if you asked me to make a traditional American country quilt, I couldn’t. I don’t have that kind of background,” she says.
“It’s kind of a funny story. I had cancer before my husband, but survived. I wanted to make a quilt for my doctor because she did a lot for me. I asked her what she wanted and she said a country quilt with green color. Well…it wasn’t quite what she had asked me to do! I ended up giving it to my mom!”
Chili Peppers (12.5” x 12.5”) left, Rejoice (76.5” x 76.5”) right
As for what she’s done during the pandemic, Hamilton-McNally says she’s actually used to the isolation, having lived in her mountaintop home for 22 years. “I’m used to staying at home. But watching the news, I was so depressed and worried. Even though I wasn’t born here, I love this country. It has given me so much. So I’ve been working the whole year on my quilting. And when I found out that I [was being named] a Rising Star, I was thrilled! I never thought I could go this far!”
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