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

Red and Black Christmas Tree Lights Quilt

Some Christmas season quilts are very literal with Santa Claus and friends easily recognizable. Some patchwork quilts, like this one, are more abstract, suggesting more than showing the theme.

This Red and Black Christmas Tree Lights Quilt was pieced and hand quilted by Viola Cotton in 2013. The member of the Gone to Pieces Quilt Guild in St. Robert, Missouri made this quilt as part of a mystery challenge, which means she didn't know what the final design was until she put it all together.

Here's a close up of the Christmas Tree Lights Mystery Quilt block:

Here's the whole Christmas Tree Lights Quilt:

Interesting how individual patchwork quilt blocks look when they are all together. Do you see the Christmas lights?

Charlotte

Red and Green Christmas Tree Lights Quilt

What fun, this patchwork quilt was a mystery to the quilt maker until she put all of the pieces together. Sounds a little like my putting up my artificial Christmas tree, I get nervous when I'm left with an extra branch or two but do I ever love the crochet snowflakes.

This handmade mystery quilt was made by Lisa Courtois machine quiilted by Joyce Ball, both members of the Gone to Pieces Quilt Guild in St. Robert, Missouri.

Here's the quilt from a distance:

Here's a quilt block close up representing a Christmas tree light:

Coming up next, another handmade quilt in the same design but different fabrics. Darn it, I should have left it a mystery!

Charlotte