Owl in Maze Handmade Quilt

This patchwork owl is certainly the center of this handmade quilt. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Owl in Maze Handmade Quilt

Our record hot temperatures haven’t dampened the evening sounds of an owl living in the woods surrounding my Missouri home.

I heard it again last night, clearly announcing his presence among the oak leaves where squirrels were snacking on green pears out of my nearby Bartlett pear fruit tree. It usually crosses my mind to try to spot the owl in fall, when the leaves are off trees and the owl may be easier to spot.

The sounds reminded me of this Owl in Maze Handmade Quilt featured at the 2017 Piece and Plenty Quilt Guild Show in Rolla, Mo.

The custom, patchwork handmade quilt features one owl smack dab in the quilt middle surrounded by what I assumed were modern versions of leaves.

And the little owl?

The owl looks a little scared close up, doesn’t he. Or at least startled. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Interesting how one’s perspective on the owl changes from looking at it from a distance compared to a handmade quilt close up. From a distance the owl seems settled in his perch; close up he looks a little less sure of himself. Or is that just me.

The other interesting element in this custom handmade quilt were the trapezoid leaf shapes. Not only do the form an interesting border throughout the handmade quilt center but I wondered how hard they were to add.

The quilter herself adds to the story here:

Glad to see the trapezoid shapes were fun to make, I was beginning to wonder. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

I would be glad to have this little custom owl quilt hanging around my house any day!

Charlotte

Vintage Flowers Baby Quilt

Each vintage flowers block has an animal friend. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Vintage Flowers Baby Quilt

It’s no surprise that we carry a number of flower-themed quilts but flowers are not a common theme in baby quilts. Except in this charming, handmade Vintage Flowers Baby Quilt, purchased from an estate sale directly from the US family.

This vintage baby quilt would make a delightful wall hanging in a nursery. The hand embroidered flowers are still nicely bright and easily add a garden flavor to the nursery.

When you see the baby quilt up close, details emerge including that every flower has a visitor. The rose flower block, for example, features an embroidered yellow butterfly.

A red butterfly visits the rose in this Vintage Flowers Baby Quilt block, (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

To easily hang this Vintage Flowers baby quilt on a nursery wall, wooden hangars are available so nothing has to be sewn onto the quilt. We can also add fabric tabs on the back to quickly turn this baby quilt into a wall hanging.

Just because its vintage doesn’t mean it can’t be used in a baby bed. This baby quilt is in excellent condition and has many years of cuddling still ahead!

Charlotte

Mother Goose Baby Quilt Gift Set

Mother Goose Baby Quilt Gift Set

Do you remember your favorite nursery rhymes?

In most cases, they will be something out of Mother Goose stories, a classic collection of rhymes that shaped baby boomer childhood night times.

Inspired by those memories, Mother Goose Baby Quilt features favorite nursery rhyme characters in quilted baby quilt that can also be easily used as a wall hanging.

To keep the baby quilt company, I found a fun pop up book of favorite Mother Goose rhymes.

Pop Up Book of Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Even with all of the social media and electronics, there still is something very comforting about curling up with a favorite blanket and a good book!

Charlotte

Unique Butterfly Handmade Quilt

This one of a kind butterfly quilt combines old-fashioned with current designs. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Unique Butterfly Handmade Quilt

We have made dozens of custom, one of a kind handmade quilts for our customers and this unique butterfly handmade quilt is still one of my personal favorites.

Combining an old-fashioned butterfly patchwork design, we combined the old-fashioned patchwork butterfly in a variety of different colors with the more contemporary flower blocks in the center of the blocks.

I have seen both all butterfly quilts and all floral quilts but have yet to see a combination of flowers and butterflies. Since butterflies depend on flowers for nectar as flight fuel, it seemed appropriate to add flowers to the quilt design.

A close up of the butterfly quilt blocks and flower corner blocks. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Butterflies are among the pollinators currently threatened by our rapidly changing climate and less foraging area.

To help all pollinators, we all should be planting less grass and more flowers and trees so pollinators have healthy food sources.

This unique butterfly patchwork quilt celebrates the relationship between butterflies and flowers and serves as a reminder we should be planting more flowers!

Charlotte

Sunshine Blue Skies Handmade Quilt

Sunshine Blue Skies handmade quilt from the 2017 Piece and Plenty Quilt Guild show. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Sunshine Blue Skies Handmade Quilt

There are many favorite color combinations for quilts and blue and yellow is at the top of the list. From double wedding ring quilts with this color combination to this lovely entry in the 2017 Piece and Plenty Quilt Guild in Rolla, when quilters start projects they tend to gravitate to this combination of bright colors.

I thought about this entry when we were getting a lot of rain. I was missing the blue skies and sunshine of summer, which we had been enjoying without the usual high humidity.

The blue and yellow color combination is a classic for cheering up any room. Blue, and maybe more of a blue gray, is still the most favorite wall color for most US bedrooms.

This Sunshine Blue Skies handmade quilt was made by a beginning quilter. Here's her story:

Every quilt has a story and this is the story behind Sunshine Blue Skies handmade quilt. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Interestingly enough, the blue square designs have different multi-patterned cottons. And if you look closely, the yellow blocks are also a varied fabric pattern.

So did the judges, Sunshine Blue Skies handmade quilt won second place. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Not surprising, this Sunshine Blue Skies handmade quilt won second place in the quilt guild show.

I'm sure that brightened up the quilter's day!

Charlotte

Hawaiian Floral Handmade Quilt

This version of a Hawaiian Floral quilt features different flowers in each of the handmade quilt blocks.

Hawaiian Floral Handmade Quilt

It's a grey, snowy day in Missouri, a good time to think about and appreciate what greenery brings into our lives. This Hawaiian Floral quilt was one of the entries in the Piece and Plenty Quilt Guild October 2017 and one of my personal favorites.

Hawaiian Quilts have a wonderful rich history, it's very infrequent that one even leaves a family's lineage so they are infrequently found for sale on the open market. When I was working in Hawaii several decades ago, one of the local museums had a small display of some of the locally-made heirlooms and they were stunning, mostly red and white with lovely applique embellishments. Just as this quilt has done, the feature that makes the design almost three-dimensional is the hand quilting.

This Hawaiian Floral handmade quilt block reminds me of tropical hibiscus flowers.

There is hand quilting inside the white applique, then around the green fabric and again in the white borders.

Look at how the hand quilting adds texture to this floral block in the Hawaiian Floral handmade quilt.

Interestingly enough, this Hawaiian Floral handmade quilt features quilting in the green fabric space in green thread. That way the quilting adds dimension without drawing attention away from the white in the quilt blocks.

Here's a closer look at the detailed quilting inside the white parts of the quilt.

The shadow quilting gives even intricate applique patterns a shadow of sorts, look at what happens with this lovely floral block:

This quilt block is a favorite, look at how detailed the floral block is and how the quilting finishes the green.

This handmade quilt includes floral patterns of native Hawaiian plants, a nice way to pay tribute to the traditional design. Made me think if I were to make a similar quilt about Missouri, what wildflowers would I include in something similar.

Every quilt has a story and this is the story behind the Hawaiian Floral handmade quilt

So pretty, and a nice tribute to the warm Hawaiian Islands.

Charlotte

Blocks and Beads Handmade Quilt

From a distance, Blocks and Beads Handmade Quilt reminds me of books on a shelf.

Blocks and Beads Handmade Quilt

It's interesting to me that when some people talk about handmade quilts, they only think of them as traditional bedding, or bed covers. Today handmade quilts are more than just updated takes on favorite patterns like harvest crazy quilt, they are understandably also recognized as art, and here is a wonderful example.

Blocks and Beads Handmade Quilt was one of the entries in Piece and Plenty Quilt Guild's fall 2017 show in Rolla, Missouri. It caught my eye because, from a distance, the blocks look like books on a shelf.

As I got closer, the quilting had my attention. Usually modern quilts tend to be quilted with a lot of detail but this one obviously had been deliberately kept simple, a good decision when one looks at the overall impression.

This handmade quilt was also a good choice for a design for a quilted wall hanging.

The story behind this "mystery" quilt by Cynthia Felts gives a hint at how fabric art gets created.

The color choices were also wonderful, I don't know how many times I have seen beautiful work but the fabric choices were dismal.

Piece and Plenty Quilt Guild's bi-annual show is judged and this one was in a category for judging. And the end result?

And this lovely modern quilt won first place at Piece and Plenty Quilt Guild's fall 2017 show.

A winner in all categories!

Charlotte

Lots of Cats Quilt and Pillows

These fun hand embroidered pillows add cats to this quilt like - well, real cats!

Lots of Cats Quilt and Pillows

I'm doing some Christmas shopping and this is one of those quilts that I would love to give to someone because I like it so much!

Lots of Cats Quilt and Pillows makes me smile every time I see it. Every quilt block has a different, hand embroidered cat in a different pose. Each of the pillows is a different hand embroidered cat, too, which when you toss the pillows on the bed, they look very similar to a bunch of cats piled up on the bed.

This brand new, made in Missouri, USA twin-size quilt has a variety of solid colored fabric strips in between the blocks so this lightweight quilt will fit into any room decor. Backing is also a white cotton.

See how the pillows look against the quilt blocks?

The different cat pillows also add cat charm to the quilt itself, see how they look together in a bedroom setting.

Here's the wide view of Lots of Cats Quilt and the pillows, a cat lover's dream of a gift!

This is a one of a kind quilt and set of pillows so you would be giving a very special gift to the cat lover on your gift list!

Charlotte

Green Cats Quilt

Charming applique cats quilt blocks with a definite St. Patrick's Day green theme.

Green Cats Quilt

It's St. Patrick's week in Rolla, Missouri, home of Missouri University of Science and Technology and the traditional St. Patrick's Day-related celebrations tied to the Patron Saint of Engineers.

The week-long revelry is much milder than when I first moved here, a good thing from my perspective but much-missed by some alumni who forget the rougher days of youth partying through the lens of nostalgia. The community gets ready for the festivities months ahead, and I was thinking about some of those crazy, fun details when I spotted these green cats quilt blocks - the town gets it's green on - and there's definitely a green theme to this cat quilt.

This applique cat block caught my eye first, maybe only I saw it but it appears to be a tribute to one of my favorite vegetables, broccoli:

This little cat reminds me so much of a head of broccoli, which I also love!

The front paws and tail look like the broccoli florets I cut to steam!

This next applique cat is a wonderful nod to texture. Besides the thick black eyelashes, the embroidery gives a three-dimensional feel to the tail and the muzzle:

Love the detail in this applique cats, especially the white muzzle and fluffy tail.

Making every quilt block different does take more time but it's fun to have every block unique. And last but not least, the little green cat wearing his little green tux:

This little green cat makes me smile, wearing a little green tux so happy and welcoming.

So maybe he's not wearing a tux but he has the attitude of one that is wearing one and his face is so happy and welcoming, like a little cat doorman.

From our green town to yours, Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Charlotte

Corona Lanterns Lap Quilt Throw

Corona Lanterns is a lovely lap quilt and throw with beautiful ocean green and blue fabrics.

Corona Lanterns Lap Quilt and Throw

This is a charming throw made by one of my neighbors. Diana has a great eye for color, and it's apparent in this beautiful Corona Lanterns Lap Quilt and Throw.

The fabrics remind me of ocean colors, the aqua blues and greens merging into each other like ocean tides.

I told Diana this lap quilt and throw reminds me of Christmas ornaments and she laughed. She sees trees, which made me think this would also make a very interesting quilt wall hanging at an entrance where everyone can see what they want to see.

A detailed embroidered label on the back gives you full details of quilt materials.

To easily make this made in USA lap quilt and throw into a quilted wall hanging, we can add tabs on the back to thread a curtain rod. Or pick up wooden quilt hangars that you install like a picture frame.

Center bottom is a good place to add custom embroidery in a dark blue thread.

This brand new lap quilt and throw is also easy to customize by adding custom embroidery at the bottom. I would recommend a dark navy blue thread color so the embroidery could be seen through the darker fabrics.

Lovely corporate gift to that special client, or family member.

So pretty, regardless of what you see in it!

Charlotte

All Blue Double Wedding Ring Quilt

Our all blue double wedding ring quilt features a nice variety of blue-toned fabrics.

All Blue Double Wedding Ring Quilt

Double wedding ring quilts are one of the most popular wedding and anniversary gifts. When I started Bluebird Gardens in 1998, it was one of the most requested patterns by beginning quilters, not something I recommend. The traditional patchwork design is one of the hardest patchwork quilts to make, which is why we started to make and offer them.

This all blue double wedding ring quilt in a king size was inspired by blue flowers in my garden: spring-blooming bluebells are the light blue, false indigo Lobelia suggested the darker navy blue tones.  Since blue is still the leading favorite bedroom color, I thought weaving a variety of blue-toned fabrics would help the quilt fit into a variety of blue home decor choices.

The high quality cotton fabrics include a white cotton with blue flowers to a solid navy blue fabric at the ring corners.

A wide range of blue fabric colors make this a very versatile gift quilt.

The double wedding ring quilt was made in the larger king size so that it can be used on both king-size and queen-size beds. Most beds these days have extra padding, making the traditional quilt sizes a little short on the sides.

By selecting a larger size, the quilt will definitely cover the bed sides and, if one size larger than the bed, provide full coverage down the sides.

I still recommend to customers that they measure the mattress size and the height of the mattress to make sure the quilt they are selecting will give them the home decor look they are wanting.

This made in USA quilt was also finished with renewable, sustainable bamboo fill, which adds a warmth similar to cotton but eliminates the environmentally-damaged process for harvesting cotton.

The quilt is machine quilted for easy care. Machine quilting makes the washing and drying of this double wedding ring quilt easy in a home washing machine and dryer. Wash on cold; dry on cool.

The flower inside each of the rings adds a lovely dimension to the overall design. 

Double wedding ring quilts are wonderful to personalize by adding a couple's name and wedding date in a corner block.

Charlotte

Here Kitty Kitties Quilt and Cat Pillows

Don't these hand embroidered cats just want to make you smile?

Here Kitty Kitties Quilt and Cat Pillows

I have to confess, I sometimes I am not disappointed when some of our quilts don't immediately sell. Here Kitty Kitties Twin quilt is one of those quilts!

There's something so charming about this little made in Missouri quilt. Every hand-embroidered block has a different cat in a variety of poses. I particularly smile at the eyebrows, they seem to give each cat a little extra "tude sitting in their white cotton quilt blocks between strips of brown floral patterned cotton. It's like they are playing in a garden!

Another view of this charming made in Missouri, USA cat quilt.

I took this posting down when I thought I was going to take the quilt apart to make it bigger to fit my queen size bed. Yes, that's how much I love this little collection of playful, embroidered cats!

That's not an easy thing to do, take a finished quilt apart so after much deliberation, I am listing it again.

Having grown up doing a lot of embroidery, I appreciate all of the work that went into this made in Missouri, USA twin-size quilt and complimentary pillows. The pillows are the perfect size for a young cat lover's room decor, a good size for napping and yet not too big for the proportion of the twin bed.

This is a one of a kind, lightweight quilt. All it needs now is a home with a real cat to complete the look!

Charlotte