"Beyond the Bed, The American Quilt Evolution"

A fantastic quilt show has just opened at the Katonah Museum of Art, located in Westchester County, NY. The exhibit is appropriately named, Beyond the Bed, The American Quilt Evolution, as it spans two hundred years of American quilt making. I was lucky enough to show up in time for an awesome tour with Nikki Alexander who walked us through the highlights of the exhibit. The show is divided into two parts: examples of historical quilts on one side of the museum and modern art quilts on the other.

Some of the traditional quilts include: a detailed crazy quilted coffin cover (upper right), a meticulous Baltimore album quilt, an intricately quilted Amish quilt, and a Hawaiian flag quilt.

The art quilt portion of the show features works by some of today’s finest art quilters, many of which are included in the collection, “One of the Top 100 Quilts of the Twentieth Century”.

There was a beautiful kaleidoscope quilt (upper right) by one of my favorite quilt artists, Paula Nadelstern.  Her amazing geometry is enhanced by pieces of silk that shimmer and make her quilt look like glass.

 Nancy Crow’s quilt is a brilliant interpretation of a traditional double wedding ring design.

One of the most unique “quilts” was an enchanting, three dimensional, free standing installation (upper right) by Dominique Ehrmann. The piece is constructed of four quilted layers and is like an illustrated, tunnel book.

These are just a few of the many incredible quilts in the show. If you live anywhere near Katonah, NY, I recommend that you stop by and enjoy the exhibit.

ORBIT Quilt Along

Lindsey Rhodes of LR Stitched is hosting a Quit Along starting this week.  Lindsey has designed a lovely quilt named Orbit and will be sewing along using Cold Spring Dreams fabrics. 

The free pattern is now available for download at her website. Detailed weekly instructions will be posted through the end of March. You can submit your finished quilts or tops, and on April 1st a winner will be randomly selected to win a fat quarter bundle of Cold Spring Dreams. Details are available at lrstitched.com/orbit-quilt-along.

Quilted Valentines

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, so it’s time I gather my pink and red fabrics, collect my beads & ribbons and create quilted valentines. I keep them uncomplicated, in fact they are a bit crude but my main objective is to keep them simple, make them fast and have fun in the process.

Each valentine is made using a couple of techniques such as, appliqué, embroidery, beading, rouching, whatever it takes. I write a message on the back and include the date, which makes them nice if your valentine intends to collect them.

If you are interested in making one yourself, I have put together a free downloadable PDF file, which includes a heart template and easy instructions to get you started. Just remember, keep it simple and enjoy the process.

The Bella Clutch

Clover and Violet have just made their Bella clutch pattern available as a free download! The Bella clutch is a companion to their Anne handbag. I love the way both bags show off my Cold Spring Dreams fabrics.

If you make the Anne handbag, you can use the leftover fabric to make the Bella clutch. I decided to make my Bella clutch using the yellow and lavender, Cold Spring Dreams color palette.

You can download the free Bella pattern at Clover and Violet or RJR Fabrics.

Thanks Jennie and Clara!

Just the Right Angle

Fons & Porter's just came out with their Easy Quilts spring 2013 issue. Included in the 17 colorful spring quilt projects is a table runner, which I designed. The runner, Just the Right Angle is created from a selection of fabrics in my Cold Spring Dreams collection, along with solids from RJR fabric’s Supreme Solids line of cottons.

It is an easy project that will give a sophisticated, modern look to any space. The runner is also available as a kit at the Fons & Porter shop. Easy Quilts is available at bookstores or craft shops. So go out and get yourself a copy and start sewing those spring projects now!

Striking A Pose

The colorful photos and whimsical illustrations from Sewing Clothes Kids Love by Nancy J.S. Langdon and Sabine Pollehn inspired me to make this dress using fabric from my Cold Spring Dreams collection. I love this book because the authors encourage the reader to create unique garments through embellishment. 

I used the lavender and yellow palette from Cold Spring Dreams to make the Feliz Party Dress. I think you can see from the photos that Grace loves her new dress! We shot these photos on a brisk fall day, which might explain why her poses were non-stop and filled with action.

Fall Market 2012

Last week I was in Houston at the International Quilt Market. It was a pleasure meeting with the RJR Fabrics group and the booth looked great. I was thrilled that one side of the booth featured my Cold Spring Dreams fabric collection, which will be available for delivery in January. Items that were on display at the booth will be available as kits through RJR Fabrics and local quilt stores.

This gorgeous quilt features Cold Spring Dreams’ lavender and yellow colorway. The pattern is Honeycomb and was designed by Kati Spencer of From The Blue Chair.

Julie Herman of Jaybird Quilts designs such fun and refreshing quilts. This pattern is Chopsticks and is made up in Cold Spring Dreams’ pink and blue color palette. The pattern is available at www.jaybirdquilts.com.

The Anne Bag designed by Clover and Violet is so pretty and there is a matching clutch named Bella! Jennie and Clara also created really cute baby clothing with Cold Spring Dreams so check out those items and the patterns available at www.cloverandviolet.com.