Posts | Welcome! I'm Sarah Atlee, Quilt Artist

Medieval-era illustration showing a procesion of figures across a wooden bridge which has broken. More people are seen in the water below the bridge. Click image to view source on Wikimedia Commons.

The Fold: A Musical Mystery, Solved

3 months ago • 3 min read

A Musical Mystery, Solved. When I was six, my favorite songs were Grandma’s Feather Bed by John Denver and …something else. I didn’t know the title. I knew it was the first song on the second side of a gray cassette tape* that I “borrowed” from my Dad. Dad listened almost exclusively to classical music. This album was older than typical classical music. It was the kind of thing that today we’d call Early Music. I think it was actually performed with period instruments, which for me, was part...

Digitally enhanced photo of a while pillowcase with red stitching all over. There are dots, lines, Vs, Xs, and other repetetive stitches.

The Fold: Micro Languages

3 months ago • 2 min read

A work in progress, tentatively titled Red Map. The Fold: Micro Languages I love a language that’s just for a few people. Whether it’s a code, jargon, slang, or just a loose agreement among friends, I like hearing it poking into everyday life. Here are some language-related tidbits that have delighted me recently. I was watching the highly bingeable new Hulu series A Thousand Blows. It’s a historical drama about the Forty Elephants, an all-female gang that terrorized London in the late 19th...

Off-kilter photo of a copy of Alice's Restaurant Cookbook by Alice May Brock published in 1969. In the cover photo, Alice is wearing a black tophat with lilac blossoms and holding several raw, plucked chickens and larger bones. Below the photo, text reads

The Fold: Connective Tissue, Part 2

4 months ago • 3 min read

Connective Tissue: What gets passed across generations Read Part 1 here. In this Issue: 2 Kickstarters to Watch Nina Simone on an artist’s responsibility Remembering Alice May Brock Remembering Jules Feiffer Lately I’m Enjoying… A GIF For Those Who Read This Far If you enjoy affirmation/tarot/oracle decks, I have two beautiful, artist-made projects for your consideration: Karina Hagelin: The Survivor's Affirmation Deck Each colorful card in the Survivor Affirmation Deck features an...

Photo of the small patchwork quilt titled Self Love 1: Horizons Continue Broadening, created by Sarah Atlee. This abstract quilt features fabrics that are pink, purple, orange, green, maroon, brown, and black. The quilt has an irregular rectangle shape. W

The Fold: I <3 Libraries

4 months ago • 3 min read

In this issue: Women’s History Month show @ Downtown OKC Library Why libraries matter and how we can help Alternatives to Amazon Libraries of Things Tiny Libraries That Time Winnie-the-Pooh Went to Rehab A Video For Those Who Read This Far Above: 2012 photo of the interior of Stadtbibliothek Stuttgart, housed at the Stadtbibliothek am Mailänder Platz as of 2011. Photo by Flickr user Schub@ The Women's History Month Art Show Self Love 1: Horizons Continue Broadening. Reclaimed garments and...

Close-up photo of a drawing in Sarah Atlee’s sketchbook. This drawing includes some chunky abstract flowers rendered using ink, colored pencil, and watercolor. there are many rows of short, repeating marks. The colors include red, yellow, orange, pink, pu

The Fold: Connective Tissue, Part 1

5 months ago • 2 min read

Connective Tissue What gets passed across generations In this issue: I did a livestream! History repeats itself at the car wash How Faith Ringgold cleared a path Lately I’m enjoying… I did a live stream! For the first time in a hot minute, I did a live stream on Twitch (mainly to test some equipment). In this stream, I’m doodling in my sketchbook, using colored pencils, ink, and watercolor. Adding layers to a drawing is something I can really do for hours. I don’t talk much. Click here to...

This is a detail of an improvisational patchwork quilt by Sarah Atlee. The design is a series of concentric rectangles, some subdivided into squares. The fabric colors include red, white, pink, orange, pale green, and many shades of purple. In this photo

The Fold: Ooey Gooey

5 months ago • 2 min read

Above: Self Love 1: Horizons Continue Broadening. Reclaimed garments and household linens, commercial cotton, silk, wool. Machine pieced and hand quilted. Hi friends! The last issue of The Fold was, like, so serious. So this week I’m lightening the mood a little. News: Self Love 1 is headed to a show! For the month of March, the Oklahoma City Public Library (Downtown branch) will have an art show to honor Women’s History Month. My quilt Self Love 1, shown above, will be in the show. I’ll...

Spiral, by Hank Willis Thomas, made from American flags and decommissioned prison uniforms. Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Museum purchase generously supported by American Express. For a full descrip

The Fold: Sea of Changes

6 months ago • 4 min read

Spiral, by Hank Willis Thomas, made from American flags and decommissioned prison uniforms. Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Museum purchase generously supported by American Express. For a full description of this work, click the image. The Fold: Sea of Changes In This Issue: Everything changes Social media changes Some things stay in place Watching, Listening, Reading, Tasting Turtle tears All that you touch You Change. All that you...

Photo of a pile of Sarah's patchwork potholders. These mini-quilts use fabrics in every color. Click on the image to view Sarah's online store.

The Fold: Tots. Slices. Gills. What do they have in common?

7 months ago • 3 min read

Tots. Slices. Gills. What do they have in common? The answer to that question is coming up. First, an announcement: For the rest of 2024, I will donate 25% of sales from SarahAtlee.com/Store to Anera. Anera, which has no political or religious affiliation, works on the ground with partners in Palestine (West Bank and Gaza), Lebanon and Jordan to provide resources for immediate emergency relief and for sustainable, long-term health, education, and economic development. Learn more about Anera...

Photo of a patchwork quilt titled Portals for Kevin 3: Portal for Nex. The quilt is mostly off-white fabric, with nine vertical columns of multicolored fabric in the middle. The quilt is hand-quilted in diagonal lines radiating from the center.

The Fold: Stay covered. Stay clean. Get something free.

8 months ago • 2 min read

This issue of The Fold is like your Aunt Mae’s annual batch of Chex Mix. It might be salty. It might be sweet. It might be held together with Tabasco sauce. You just have to dig in and find out. In this issue: Fiber art show coming up Two more ways to Shop Small An awesome Freebie for quilters ← this one is time sensitive! Scroll down for more info. Notabene: I am not receiving any compensation for the links in this issue of The Fold. New Show: Unravel What: A new gallery exhibition featuring...