Birds and Blossoms Handmade Quilt

Combination of quilting and applique enhances this quilt design. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

Birds and Blossoms Handmade Quilt

We are starting to have those wonderful sunny fall days when birds are singing, bees are humming and all seems well with the world. This year the cooler days after record hot weather remind me of spring and this lovely Birds and Blossoms custom handmade quilt.

Birds and Blossoms Handmade Quilt was shared at a Piece and Plenty Quilt Guild show in Rolla, Missouri a few years back. I enjoy looking at these quilts, each one has such details and wonderful stories attached.

This is a lovely combination of very detailed quilting along with the applique and quilting. Quilting makes all of the difference on a quilt, regardless of the kind of quilting it is.

The direction of a design can also easily update a quilt square. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

Fabric choices can also easily change the overall look of a quilt. Of all of the choices one has to decide, the choice of fabrics can make or break a quilt.

Every quilt has a story. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

Well I would say this quilt was a winner, wouldn’t you?

Charlotte

Vintage Valentines Applique Quilt Blocks

There can be hundreds of fabric pieces to hand applique each of these quilt blocks. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Vintage Valentines Applique Quilt Blocks

This was a labor of love and not because it is a vintage Valentines design. Applique, or the art of hand sewing fabric pieces to make a final design, has been the most expensive way to make a handmade quilt since I started Bluebird Gardens in 1998. Even then, applique quilts were primarily affordable in the US only because they were imported. Depending on their experience and skill level, applique quilters back then were asking $15-$30/hour for their work, and those prices have only slowly increased.

This customer had started one of the 12 quilt blocks in this hand-applique Vintage Valentines applique quilt and needed help getting it finished. One of our excellent piecers volunteered to help her get this completed.

If you don’t know what applique is, it is the process of cutting out fabrics in designs, hand-sewing them so you don’t see the stitches and layering the fabric to make a pattern. It calls for meticulous skills and attention to detail.

Each heart is individually hand-sewn onto the valentine design. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

You can see how many fabric hearts make up this detailed applique quilt block. There is little room for error because the fabrics are hand sewn in a specific order to create the overall design.

Compare this to All Hearts Quilt, made with machine embroidery and patchwork strips sewn by machine.

This applique quilt block looks simple until you look at the pieces of each flower. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

If you’ve done any kind of sewing, you know keeping everything flat is a challenge. In applique work, keeping the fabrics from puckering is an art form.

The largest applique quilt block is the center block with over 150 individual fabric pieces. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

So let’s do a little math. Can you guess how many hours it took to hand applique 12 different Vintage Valentine quilt blocks?

The total was 215.10 hours.

If we apply a couple of hourly rates:

At $15/hour = $3,226.50

At $30/hour = $6,453

So the next time you go to a quilt guild show or see a handmade applique quilt, take a closer look. Handmade applique quilts continue to hold their own as the most intricate, and most expensive, handmade quilts to make in the US.

Charlotte

Children's Hands Handmade Quilt

Children’s Hands Handmade Quilt hanging at one of our local church community rooms. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Children’s Hand Handmade Quilt

I found this charming Children’s Hands Handmade Quilt and wall hanging in the church community room where our local master gardeners meet. The handmade quilt happened to be made under the direction of a gardening friend who happened to be at the same meeting so I was privy to some of the inside stories of how this was made.

Harriet said the fabrics were tie dyed, also by hand. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

The fabrics of this custom handmade quilt are interesting. Turns out the quilt fabrics were hand dyed, giving the charming custom quilt a rainbow effect.

Each hand also has the name of the child at the bottom of each quilt block.

Meet Harriet Bain, the co-director of the quilt project and my gardening friend. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Harriet shared that they added what the children did in the margins, a lovely way to mark their accomplishments and celebrate them at the same time.

Stippling quilting gives this custom handmade quilt a third dimension.

Now here’s how all of the handmade quilt blocks look together.

Here’s the entire quilt, isn’t it interesting how every hand is different? (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Such a simple design, the outline of a child’s hand. And yet every hand looks just a little different - in size, shape and dimension.

Charlotte

Custom Ladybug Handmade Quilt

Can you tell the applique ladybugs are made out of different red fabrics? (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Custom Ladybug Handmade Quilt

Ladybugs are special to me. I can still remember the first time I saw them in my garden, a sign of garden health and the relationship between good bugs and bad bugs. The ladybugs were consuming aphids off one of the plants a friend had given me. Without aphids, there would be no ladybugs.

Ladybugs are a symbol of hard work and good fortune. They were the inspiration for my company’s trademark and for this charming custom ladybug handmade quilt.

We have only made one so far because of the cotton fabrics. Each of the applique ladybugs are made out of a collection of red printed fabrics I saved over a year. The red fabrics needed to have very small print on them so it was a bit of a treasure hunt.

Although some of the applique quilt blocks have duplicates, all of the red fabrics have the same or similar sized printed designs.

We often think of quilts for beds and maybe chairs but I also like to use them on walls. This custom handmade quilt will work well as a quilted wall hanging to easily change a room decor as well as tossed over the back of a sofa or chair, which is how I like to display mine. That way the quilt is handy for actual use!

One of the fun ways this ladybug quilt could be further customized is to have family names custom embroidered on each one of the ladybugs. There are 30 on this custom quilt so there’s plenty of ladybugs to reflect family members!

I know it’s August but it’s not too soon to start thinking about holiday gifts and getting them personalized if that’s how you plan to present them.

Charlotte

Wildflowers Quilt Status

This is the popular Wildflowers Quilt in full and queen size. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Wildflowers Quilt Status

I have good news and bad news about this very popular applique floral handmade quilt.

I just checked with the supplier, who used to import them from India. This lovely, intricate all cotton applique quilt floral design has been discontinued and will not be offered again. There are a number of reasons including the very detailed applique of the different flowers.

On the other hand, we still have a nice supply of Wildflowers handmade quilt design in a 50x60 inch lap quilt throw size that can also be used as a quilted wall hanging. I have one hanging in my den.

Wildflowers lap quilt throw still available in the smaller size. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

There are a lot of reasons why I love this brand new imported lap quilt. The applique flowers are very realistic which makes daydreaming about seeing flowers again - soon - is easier seeing this quilt. I live in the Midwest where winters are usually cold and dreary and devoid of any color. And flowers. Outside.

Another reason shy I love this Wildflowers lap quilt is that our customers have personalIzed Wildflowers Lap Quilt with embroidery in the different rectangle boxes, one each at the top and another one at the bottom. From names and wedding dates to favorite sayings, these handmade quilts have automatically generated gardens inside homes with no watering required.

When folded, this floral lap quilt adds a nice burst of color over the back of a chair and foot of the bed.

Happy gardening!

Charlotte

Bugs R Us Quilt

I found pollinators all over this native wildflowers quilt, just like in nature. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Bugs R Us Quilt

This customer was looking for a handmade quilt with lots of bugs. We used to have an adorable lap quilt with ladybugs, butterflies and a bee or two but I didn't have one labelled as such. As I was reviewing our inventory, it struck me to check our wildflower quilts.

The first native wildflowers quilt turned up a whole slew, just like in nature!

Insects are the foundation of our interdependent ecosystem. 60% of all birds depend on insects for food. Some bugs are beneficial, such as ladybugs that eat damaging aphids. Others such as bees and butterflies are pollinators, increasing our varied foods by matchmaking for plants. One out of every three bites of healthy food we eat are courtesy of pollinators.

I was thinking about the important role of these tiny creatures as I started to look for them on the native wildflowers handmade quilt.

Blue butterfly on a yellow flower, sunflower or maybe Black eyed Susan. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Some bugs have a special relationship with plants. Monarch butterflies depend on the different kinds of native milkweeds to nudge them up and down their migratory route from north American to Mexico and back. As the native milkweed dies back, that signals to the Monarchs its time for them to move on. Some Monarch butterflies take 3-4 generations to complete the migration while the Super Generation Monarchs complete their migration in one season.

Another butterfly visiting a larkspur branch. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Research today shows the best we can do to help Monarchs and other pollinators is plant more native trees, shrubs and flowers.

I recognized sunflowers, Black eyed Susans, bachelor buttons, daylilies, foxgloves, larkspur, bluebells and poppies on this applique handmade quilt. It made me miss my garden and all of its residents including turtles.

Yes, there’s a turtle on native wildflowers quilt.

The whole interdependent ecosystem, or handmade quilt. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

I may just have to add this native wildflowers handmade quilt to my personal bed wardrobe. For winter days when I don’t get to see all of these on my hillside garden.

Charlotte

Gift of Applique Handmade Quilt

Gift of Applique Handmade Quilt is actually a gift that keeps on giving. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Gift of Applique Handmade Quilt

I suspect one of the reasons I love tulip-themed handmade quilts is that for years I didn’t plant them in my Missouri hillside garden. Besides having to try to blast holes in the rock to even have a place to plant the bulbs, the few that I did add were quickly consumed by visiting deer. It just didn’t seem worth the effort.

When I saw this Gift of Applique Handmade Quilt at the local quilt guild bi-annual show, I as immediately drawn to the colors. The bright burgundy and greens made the traditional applique design striking, especially from afar.

As I got closer, the detailed machine quilting added very nice details including the daisy flowers in the burgundy quilt block corners.

Look at the detailed quilting in Gift of Applique Handmade Quilt. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

What prompted the quilter to select this color combination and applique design? I wonder about those choices when I see handmade quilts. Gift of Applique Handmade Quilt has an interesting history, which as you can imagine started with a gift.

The story behind the Gift of Applique Handmade Quilt, (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

On a side note, tulips are a popular handmade quilt design. The one we carry from the Williamsburg Collection Pink Applique Tulips is based on a pattern Europeans brought to North America when the immigrated in the 1600s. The Pink Applique Tulips quilt shows tulips with a different color range on each flower, making me wonder if this is artistic license or if the tulips featured where different back then and lost through the centuries.

Regardless of tulip history, Gift of Applique Handmade Quilt has another surprise. It won second prize in its category at the 2017 Piece and Plenty Quilt Guild Show in Rolla, Mo.

Gift of Applique Handmade Quilt won an award! (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

What a fitting way to honor the work of Ruby Work, the original quilt maker, and that of quilter Sara Wright, who was thoughtful enough to share the Gift of Applique Handmade quilt history.

Every handmade quilt has a story. Part of the delight is finding the details!

Charlotte

Sadies Roses Handmade Quilt

Unusual colors for a rose quilt, aquamarine fabrics against white. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Sadies Roses Handmade Quilt

There is no such thing as a blue rose, which is what initially caught my eye about this Sadies Rose Handmade Quilt at Piece and Plenty Quilt Guild’s 2017 bi-annual quilt festival in Rolla, Mo. Over the years, aquamarine has also been a favorite personal clothing color so finding them combined in this handmade quilt was doubly-enticing.

The design of this Sadies Roses handmade quilt is more modern than the traditional roses quilts like Vintage Yellow Roses quilt.

Looking closer at this more modern handmade quilt design, the rose blocks reminded me of some I have seen featured in Baltimore Album handmade quilts, where each of the quilt blocks is different.

Instead of varying the design, Sadies Roses handmade quilt features the same applique design in each of the handmade quilt blocks.

Meandering machine quilting finishes off this rose-themed handmade quilt, (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Because this is not a traditional handmade quilt, the quilt maker gave the Sadies Roses handmade quilt blocks more color by making the centers yellow. Rose buds in aqua blue border the roses as well as wrap around the edge of the handmade quilt.

As far as this handmade quilt’s story, there are several starting with where the quilter found the quilt pattern.

Each quilt has a story and this is Sadies Rose handmade quilt story. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Although there is little more information about why she was disappointed with the machine quilting, the handmade quilt itself was nicely recognized.

Another surprise, this is an award-winning handmade quilt, (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Considering the competition at this quilt festival, third place is a very nice placement for a handmade quilt with “disappointing” quilting!

Charlotte

Country Sweetheart Handmade Quilt

Country Sweetheart Handmade Quilt includes applique and lace details. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Country Sweetheart Handmade Quilt

Just as I like to say that every custom handmade quilt has a story, some of our handmade quilts have special stories all their own.

Country Sweetheart Handmade Quilt was recently purchased to ask a fiance for her hand in marriage. Only this customer did something very interesting, he asked all family members first, swearing them to secrecy. Then he had us embroider family names in the corner quilt blocks, with his name and that of his fiance in the center quilt block along with the names of their two children.

If you think about it, handmade quilts are wonderful not only home decor items but a way to memorialize special events like the joining of two families. Another reason why Country Sweetheart Handmade Quilt was the perfect candidate for this family.

The center hearts are made out of cotton red velvet. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

We had also discussed adding favorite sayings in each of the Country Sweetheart Handmade Quilt corners, which each has a red cotton velvet heart.

Country Sweetheart handmade quilt also has hearts at the corners. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Another option was to add embroidery inside the floral quilt blocks since the Country Sweetheart Handmade Quilt design left a nice area inside each fo the floral circles.

Each floral block also has floral quilting. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

It’s interesting to see how our customers choose to personalize their handmade quilt gifts. The ones that bring families together have a special place in my heart.

By the way, she said yes!

Charlotte

Birds Want to Have Fun Quilt

These birds are definitely dressed for fun, look at those tail feathers!

Birds Want to Have Fun Quilt

There are handmade quilts and then there are quilts that grab you with their colors, their charm and their whimsy-maybe all three!

Birds Want to Have Fun Handmade Quilt was among the quilts featured at the Piece and Plenty Quilt Guild Biannual show in 2015 and I have to confess, may be one of my personal favorites. Without knowing the quilt story, I first fell in love with the birds and their wonderful whimsical tail feathers.

Maybe it was Dr. Seuss who corrupted my impression of what bird tail feathers should be but these applique birds certainly come closer to the kinds of birds I imagine should be flying around.

Then there is the charming story. This handmade quilt by Kathy Stack was made for a 2-year old's birthday from fabrics from her baby room. What a wonderful way to repurpose fabrics and capture memories those fabrics represent:

Birds Want to Have Fun Quilt includes fabric from her baby room, what a great way to recycle!

Last but not least, the quilting. Often I am surprised with how much the quilting changes the personality of a handmade quilt.

Birds Want to Have Fun handmade quilt is no different, the machine quilting adds a wonderful three-dimension to the various blocks and designs. This handmade quilt could have easily been quilted with an overall pattern but Kathy chose to outline quilt many of the designs including the birds and that gives this handmade quilt an additional charming dimension.

The machine quilting gives this charming handmade quilt a wonderful texture.

This delightful handmade quilt reminds me that Mother Goose is not the only bird around nurseries these days!

Charlotte

Australia Continent Art Quilt

Part of our quilting work at the Grimm Museum in 2014 in Amsterdam, Sweden.

Australia Art Quilt

I haven't been to Amsterdam but the artist who collaborated on the wall mural told me when the installation was up and where. The final collaborative work was installed at the Grimm Museum June 5, 2014 to August 9, 2014. It took me longer to make the piece were were commissioned to make that it was on display.

The quilted mural covered one wall, a depiction of the world made out of white quilted t-shirts against a quilted, navy blue fabric background. That was the part of the installation we were involved making. We were also asked to piece and quilt the continent of Australia out of 35 white stained t-shirts bordered by one-inch red satin. To most accurately reflect the land contours, I rouched by hand on both sides of the one inch red satin border. In the photo, our work was the piece to the far right.

As with most art quilt projects, it started simply enough. After quilting the navy blue background fabric by machine, the white t-shirts were also sewn together to form the Australian continent. It was then my job to finish it by sewing the red satin - yes, red satin - along the land contour by hand.

I started sewing the red satin on a straight stretch of the land contour on both sides.

If you have ever worked with satin, you know how hard it is to keep it in one place. It's almost impossible to sew straight with most sewing machines, and even tougher to keep straight and even sewing by hand because it moves so much.

To make sure the red silk fabric was tacked down evenly and correctly, both sides had to be stitched at relatively the same time by hand. If one edge was out of line, then it could be easily corrected before moving on. I had to redo a number of the sections to keep the width the same. It was a slow, tedious process.

When I reached curves, I would rouche the red satin on both sides, working one inch at a time, then sew the rouched area by hand, and move to adjust the other side before sewing that side down. Although the work was slow, it made all of the difference in terms of accurately defining the edge of the land contour.

Rouching curves was done an inch at a time, sometimes half an inch, to reflect the curves.

When the curve was especially tight, my decades of embroidery and hand-quilting, as well as the rouching technique, paid off nicely. This would not be possible sewing this satin on by machine.

Tight curves required work at half inch increments to make sure the fabric stayed in place.

To give you an idea of the scope of this section of the installation, here is the Australian continent section spread out on a double bed.

The finished Australian continent art quilt on a double bed to give you the scale of the quilt.

I can't do this kind of tiny, detailed stitching any more. I broke my wrist in 3 places September 2015. Although surgery implanted metal rods to mend the breaks, my years of embroidery dexterity are gone. 

I look at these pictures and frankly marvel at what I once was able to do. There were other quilts I worked on in the past that also ended up in museums but it never occurred to me to get photos. I assumed I would have the embroidery skill for most of my life, not counting on breaking my wrist.

Yet another reason why I tell people who ask me what their handmade quilts are worth. No two are exactly alike and no one knows when one won't be able to make another one. In my world, their work is priceless.

Charlotte

"I Spy" in Garden Quilt

Easter is a time of renewal, especially in a garden. 

Every day there is something new growing, or returning, to my limestone hillside garden. The spirit of renewal has been nicely captured in this "I Spy" Garden Quilt made by 7 members of Rolla, Missouri's Piece and Plenty Quilt Guild.

The guild, by the way, is planning a fall 2015 show where they feature the work of their very talented members.

Whether its animals, or flowers, this teamwork applique and patchwork quilt is fun to see.

What all do you "spy"?

Pretty applique blue larkspur. What else?

No garden is complete without a hummingbird or two!

Or one, or two, rabbits.

Happy Easter!

Charlotte