Quilter's Dilemma Custom Handmade Quilt

This says it all, the quilter’s ongoing dilemma. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Quilter’s Dilemma Custom Handmade Quilt

If you spend any time around quilters you will hear a lot about their fabric stashes and where they found a particular piece. Fabric to a quilter is like paint to a painter. Quilters think and use fabric to make shapes on top of the geometric patchwork designs. In other words, a patchwork design can be altered by what fabric a quilter is using.

So this charming custom handmade quilt caught my attention at the Piece and Plenty Quilt Guild bi-annual show in Rolla, Missouri October 2018. Tucked away among a variety of miniature quilted wall hangings, this one asks the proverbial question.

Ironically enough, quilters began by recycling existing fabrics. Clothing, curtains, table cloths all became homemade bedding at one time. Perhaps the most iconic of all recycled quilt designs was the crazy quilt from the Victorian era. More affluent quilters could afford to buy fabrics while more modest artists used whatever was at hand and no longer used.

Just as every quilter has a story so does every custom personalized quilt. This one was made by Donna Rae Olson and already had a destination when it was just an idea.

Great use of this charming custom handmade personalized quilt. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

I can easily see this hanging from a number of quilter’s sewing room walls because it nicely summarizes the real quilter’s dilemma; how much of any fabric is enough!

Charlotte

Small Four Seasons Handmade Custom Quilts

All four seasons are featured in this charming custom personalized quilt. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Small Four Seasons Handmade Custom Quilts

The earliest spring in 124 years is here, finally. I know I shouldn’t complain because we had a very mild winter - our soil in mid-Missouri never froze this past year - but I am tired of the winter grayness and ready for the greenery of spring.

To celebrate a new season, take a look at these two tiny miniature quilts celebrating spring. The small quilts were featured at the Piece and Plenty Quilt Guild in Rolla October 2019.

The first small quilt is “Four Little Seasons” by Sharrol Stuckey. She uses patchwork designs appropriate for each of the seasons and makes it clear which is which by adding the season name. Her colors are bright and joyous, I can see this little quilt hanging from a wall and brightening any room.

When you realize how small this quilt is, you appreciate the design. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

The second four seasons custom personalized quilt is by Linda Sidwell. There is no story included with this small quilt, which allows me to make up my own. I love red cardinals and native plants so this is a small quilt featuring daffodils and purple coneflowers as well as pumpkins.

Each season is represented by an appropriate symbol. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

The small miniature quilt itself is 12x20 so these patchwork pieces are small.

If you are starting to quilt, this is not the patchwork patterns to use. The pieces are small and harder to understand as you begin but they can be something to attain with a little more experience.

Happy spring!

Charlotte

Birdhouse Buttons Handmade Custom Quilts

This miniature custom handmade quilt features tiny birdhouses with button doorways. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Birdhouse Buttons Handmade Custom Quilts

It’s about that time at Bluebird Gardens. Birds visit my garage to let me know it’s time to get the birdhouse real estate back out into the garden.

It’s a little early for hummingbirds, the scouts should be arriving April 1. Bluebirds, though, will start the first of their three nestings this month so I finished making repairs and got the last of the birdhouses outside with their vacancy signs.

The process reminded me of these charming miniature custom handmade quilts featured at the Piece and Plenty Quilt Guild in Rolla last year. The miniature quilts are really tiny - 15 inches by 15 inches. You will get a better sense of the size of the patchwork piecing is looking at the birdhouse button sizes. Those buttons average 1/4 inch!

The other charming detail of Judy Fox’s bluebird blue miniature custom handmade quilt are the two bird buttons she added to one corner. Looks like tenants are getting ready to move in.

Tiny bird buttons add a special touch to this custom handmade quilt. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

There wasn’t a story included with this custom handmade quilt but the information confirms how tiny these patchwork birdhouses are.

This custom handmade quilt story shares the size, 15 inches by 15 inches. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

I thought this tiny miniature custom handmade quilt was charming. Between the blue fabric colors and the bird buttons, it was something that caught my eye.

So did this version of the same miniature custom handmade quilt design only in purple and chartreuse fabrics.

Birdhouse buttons custom handmade quilt in purples and chartreuse. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

What caught my attention with this custom handmade miniature quilt was how tiny red buttons were added, see them?

It truly is amazing how quilters use fabrics as they would paints, each custom handmade quilt becoming a tiny work of art!

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

Embroidered Eastern Bluebirds Quilt

Embroidered Eastern Bluebirds Quilt was hand-embroidered in Missouri in 2008.

Embroidered Eastern Bluebirds Quilt

I suppose it's no surprise that a business called Bluebird Gardens will be tickled to have found a handmade quilt with embroidered bluebirds. They are not that easy to find and, even more difficult to find one with good fabrci colors.

Cathern Murphy, who made this quilt, had it for sale at our quilter's shop a couple of years ago. I liked it so much that I purchased it and removed the very distracting, multi-patterned cotton quilt binding and replaced it with the solid, cream beige fabric that is currently on this made in USA quilt.

The change was significant. The embroidered Eastern Bluebirds Quilt went from being very informal to a more elegant handmade quilt, all because of the quilt binding.

Embroidered Eastern Bluebirds Quilt maker embroidered her name and date in a corner.

It was relatively easy to choose the binding color. I took a look at one of the handmade quilt blocks and tried to match one of the colors in the quilt bluebirds design.

There were several choices, including light blue, green, a burgundy and the cream beige I selected.

Embroidered Eastern Bluebirds quilt block features counted cross stitch pattern.

I tried to match the solid bluebird fabric but couldn't get a match, that would have been my preferred color.

Second to that was to compliment the beige cream yellow in the flowers, which is the solid fabric I chose.

What do you think, would you have chosen a different fabric color for the handmade quilt binding?

Charlotte