Pink Applique Tulips Quilt

Pink Applique Tulips Quilt from The Williamsburg Collection hints at the history of the pattern.

Pink Applique Tulips Quilt

If you have been to Williamsburg, Virginia, a re-enactment community that simulates the early European settlements along the East coast in the 1600s, you will appreciate the historic background of this brand new, Pink Applique Tulips Quilt.

Pink Applique Tulips Quilt pattern is based on a historic applique pattern, a design European settlers carefully packed with them when they travelled across the Atlantic Ocean with their bee hives and edible orange daylilies.

I can imagine how much beauty this design added to a spare bedroom, and how much time young women put into making these applique floral quilts by hand.

Lovely hand quilting adds another dimension to this brand new imported quilt.

A sweet blue applique flowers finished a corner of Pink Applique Tulips Quilt

In those days, people re-used all fabrics, turning clothing into curtains, tablecloths into quilts. It was the lucky young woman who could buy fabrics specifically to make a specific quilt pattern. Young women who had time to applique also tended to be in more affluent families.

I love this Pink Applique Tulips Quilt because, in addition to the lovely colors, the detailed hand quilting adds a beautiful third dimension to this brand new, imported quilt. It would also make a beautiful wall hanging.

And even better yet, no deer will munch on the flowers!

Charlotte

Lovely Hibiscus Quilt

"Hello Hawaii" Hibiscus Quilt

It's summer in Missouri, a time when my potted tropical hibiscus keep me company on my outside deck. These are more than just potted plants. Tropical hibiscus also keep me company inside over winter, chasing away the winter blues with their lovely flowers and a promise of warmer weather to come.

So it was great delight that I spotted this lovely hand-pieced and hand quilted Hibiscus quilt at the Piece and Plenty Quilt Guild bi-yearly show in Rolla in 2015. I enjoy their quilt shows for the variety of entries, many by people I personally know.

This lovely floral quilt was easy to spot, as was this vintage floral quilt. The bright reds and yellows easily stood out against the darker, blue and green-toned fabrics. 

Here's the quilt maker's further explanation:

And is it any surprise that this lovely flower quilt won first prize? Look at the blue ribbon, don't you love the flower for the award rosette?

Congratulations, Ruth, beautiful quilt and quilted wall hanging, hope you are using this as a wall hanging so you can enjoy seeing it every day of the year, regardless of the weather! 

Charlotte

Rhapsody in Bloom Quilt and Wall Hanging

Piece and Plenty Quilt Guild 2015 second place winner in quilted wall hanging category.

It's hard to tell from the pictures because this could be a full size quilt but it is, indeed, a quilted wall hanging. Beautifully rendered in primary colors and finished with hand-quilting, almost any favorite pattern can be made in a smaller size for a wall hanging.

This reminds me of some of the tulip-designed quilts we offer, such as the vintage-inspired pink applique tulip quilts. 

Yes, it's time to start thinking about making gifts for holiday giving. This lovely work helps to get me in the mood. How about you?

Congratulations on your award, Cindy Felts!

Charlotte

Custom Sleeping Cats Quilt in Pink Fabrics

Choosing fabrics for a custom sleeping cats quilt in pinks.

Custom Sleeping Cats Quilt in Pink Fabrics

Making custom quilts are a lot of fun because we get to know our customers. In this custom sleeping cats quilt order,  the customer wanted a queen-size quilt in pink tones. Since pinks can range from cheek-soft to sunset deep pink, we start with a variety of pink fabrics so the customer can tell us which direction they want to go in with the fabric tones.

In addition, choosing fabrics is a treat since we can make all of them different or repeat fabrics and fabric color patterns. If in doubt about the colors, send us a paint chip card to make sure we are matching the colors you want.

In this custom order, the customer liked the five fabrics in pink and white tones so that is what we will be using.

Why pink? 

The customer has two rescue cats. From their descriptions, pink is their color!

Charlotte

Felt Flower Ribbons

Felt Flower Ribbons

Loved these handmade felt flower ribbons! 

The ribbons were awarded at Piece and Plenty Quilt Guild's 2015 annual show, a lovely tribute to the dozens of beautiful quilts and other quilted items guild members made.

Since it's now mid-July, time to start making holiday gifts - I know, it snuck up on me, too - I will be featuring some of my favorite quilted items including handmade quilts, bags, wall hangings and seating for gift inspiration. I know I review some of the photos for color combinations, textures, even quilt descriptions all give my creativity a boost.

And those felt flower ribbons? Well, wouldn't hurt to collect one of those someday, would it, such a lovely little personalized floral-themed gift, like our flowers day of the week dish towels. A flower a day makes the blues go away, or at least brings a smile!

Have you been awarded a ribbon for your quilt?

Charlotte

Play and Giggle Baby Quilt and Throw

Play and Giggle Baby Quilt and Throw works well as both a quilt and wall hanging.layP

Play and Giggle Baby Quilt and Throw

Where to list a standard-sized 50x60 inch throw that has a child's theme?

I decided to list Play and Giggle Baby Quilt and Throw in our baby quilts section, primarily because I can easily see this charming brand new imported baby quilt as a charming wall hanging.

The baby quilt features delightful blocks with a dog, a cat, a ladybug, an owl, a dragonfly, birds, and more, all very happy applique characters in strong baby pastel fabrics. A number of fabric blocks make perfect places to add custom embroidery, such as this yellow chenille rectangle:

Play and Giggle Baby Quilt and Throw has several fabric blocks that can be personalized.

This lightweight baby quilt is finished with hand-quilting and can easily be used as a wall hanging by adding loops on the back or using wooden quilt hangars.

Charlotte

Personalized Play to Win Throw

Play to Win Throw personalized with custom embroidery at the bottom.

Personalized Play to Win Throw

Sometimes it's hard to imagine how one of our quilts and throws will look with custom embroidery. Very understandable since with some quilts and throws there are several places where custom embroidery can be added.

One of the harder quilts to find is one with a sports theme, especially for a baby shower gift. We carry this all-cotton, standard 50x60-inch throw so that it can be used as a nursery quilted wall hanging. When baby is older, it can then become the baby's favorite blanket. Well, that's the plan in any event.

In the case of personalizing Play to Win throw, we recommended the custom embroidery in the solid navy blue fabric at the bottom in white letters. To make sure the lettering shows up, we used 1" letters in Zapf Chancery, our most popular font.

Play to Win Throw with custom embroidery at the bottom by Bluebird Gardens.

Even through there is a solid red fabric strip between, the lettering size brings the name and date to the forefront.

We also made sure the football nicely blended into the first name. We blurred out the last name to not divulge the name of the person who will be getting this gift.

Now who wants to play?

Charlotte

Vintage Blue Work Quilt

You have heard of redwork? I call this vintage child's quilt in blue and white blue work since all of the blocks were done in blue floss with a solid blue border. I found this quilt at the "Little Shop Around the Corner" in St. Louis.

Each of the 4x4-inch blocks had a theme or saying:

Vintage bluework child's quilt with "Home Sweet Home" embroidered in blue floss.

Besides favorite sayings, the 4x4-inch quilt blocks also featured favorite nursery rhymes, like Little Red Riding Hood:

Blue Work with Little Red Riding Hood as one of the 4x4 inch quilt blocks.

Look at the hand-quilting, those are teeny tiny hand stitches!

Another favorite saying "Home Sweet Home" in vintage blue work child's quilt.

I can't imagine how long it took to embroider these blocks, some were very detailed. There was some wear along the edges and backing but this vintage quilt would make a lovely wall hanging in someone's nursery.

This photo is not the best but gives you an overview of the blocks put together:

An overview of how the 4x4 inch embroidered blocks looked together.

Charlotte

Can You Guess How Many Hours to Make This Quilt?

This is a quilt my neighbor Diane had someone quilt for her, she did the piecing.

My neighbor Diane was very proud of her quilt and I can't blame her. The quilted wall hanging features curves and pointy end stars, two things that put fear in the heart of someone who is piecing a quilt. They can go so very wrong ever so quickly.

The corner of my neighbor Diane's finish quilt hanging at the entrance to her home.

Diane said the flying geese triangles gave her the most grief, probably from the curved design the triangles took throughout the quilt. 

Diane's quilt design features very detailed piecing work.

Besides the corners, the pointed design of the piecing work was very intricate. Here the center also showcases the lovely artistry of the local quilter. 

Any guesses of how many hours it took to make this quilt?

This is the center star of Diane's quilt and wall hanging.

Diane guestimated at least 240 hours, she lost track in some of the work. That's at least one month if you were working on this full-time.

As far as I'm concerned, it's priceless!

Charlotte

Girls Like Peter Rabbit, Too!

We added a pink border so little girls can have a Peter Rabbit crib quilt in their girly nursery.

One of our repeat customers reminded me a few years back that sometimes we assume some colors are only for a particular gender. Blue, for example, is only a "boy" color or pink is only a "girl" color. With this in mind, we made one of our Peter Rabbit crib quilts with a pink border so a little girl can have this charming Beatrix Potter crib quilt in her pink-colored nursery.

Pink is not just for girls. Many fashion-forward men wear pink shirts, and last year we made a quilt for a teenager who wanted pink as a border to fit into his avant guard room decor.

Not to assume only boys like blue, we added a cute pull toy to our unique baby crib quilt with Peter Rabbit himself still in his blue sweater.

Both girls and boys would love that pull toy, don't you think?

Charlotte

A Baby Quilt Gift That Keeps On Giving

Our custom Peter Rabbit Crib Quilt gift set ready to ship for a shower in New York.

This charming Peter Rabbit Crib Quilt Gift Set is headed to New York for a niece's baby shower. The couple is old-fashioned, according to the aunt, and don't want to know what the gender of the baby will be.

The printed Peter Rabbit baby crib quilt pattern has been outlined quilted with a lightweight bamboo fill so the crib quilt can easily be washed in cold, dried on cool. The baby quilt fill is also a renewable, sustainable product that is kind to the environment.

Our gift sets are shipped with a card designating what organizations benefit from proceeds.

To complete the gift set, I included a Peter Rabbit stuffed toy with a free gift tag and a book the aunt can personalize with a dedication so baby can read it when the baby is old enough.

And to make sure this baby gift keeps on giving in yet another way, there is a card noting proceeds from the sale of this gift set will benefit Phelps County Humane Society and Rolla Bee Club, two organizations sponsored by the Bluebird Gardens Charitable Foundation.

After notifying the customer the gift set was on its way with the additional book, the customer said the shower sponsor had suggested bringing a book they could personalize. We saved her a shopping step.

So many ways this is a gift that keeps on giving!

Charlotte

How to care for a custom baby quilt

One of the last steps in the process of making a custom baby quilt is adding a hand sewn care label on the back.

The label is made on the same printing fabric we use for printing photos, mementos and artwork for custom quilts. We can print some for you, too, if you want to incorporate photos and other mementos into your handmade gifts. It's time to get a start on those Christmas gifts!

I love this step of sewing on the label, it's the last one before packing the quilt to ship.

Charlotte

In Memory Of

I catch myself sometimes when I hear someone describe Bluebird Gardens as a quilt-making company. Considering the projects we complete, I think of us more as repurposing memories, especially on this Memorial Day weekend when we should take time out to remember loved ones who are no longer with us.

We do make a wide range of custom quilts; some traditional, most unique to the customer. What makes our custom quilts and associated projects different is that often we are making a memory catcher for someone who has died. It may be a quilt out of clothing from a departed husband; a wife who died of cancer, or a quilt a wife with cancer is having us make for each of her children so they will remember her when she's gone.

The quilts out of departed children's clothing with pictures are the hardest. Looking at those young faces, I think about the souls those faces represent who have left us much too soon.

To some, Memorial Day weekend is about the beginning of summer. To us at Bluebird Gardens, Memorial Day weekend is a time to remember all of our customers and the memories we were honored to help them capture.

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

Quilt Frames

One more peek at how quilts used to be made.

Quilt frames were wooden structures that made it possible for homemakers to finish stitching the top and bottom fabrics, sometimes recycling another blanket in the center, together to make a quilt.

With the advent of more time, and space, to quilt, some quilt designs became larger, such as this vintage full lone star quilt.

When you lived out in the wilderness by yourself, quilt blocks tended to be smaller. It was more practical to make the individual blocks by hand, then sew them together to make the quilt top.

Then a quilt frame came in handy. This one is part of the Home Crafts room at the Old Phelps County Courthouse Museum in Rolla, Missouri and included a quilt.

Do you remember anyone in your family having a quilt frame?

Charlotte

Historic Quilt Patterns

You would think it would be easy to find out the name of a traditional patchwork quilt. It isn't.

Quilt names vary by several factors including where they were made, the age of the quilt and the experience level of the quilter. Some traditiontal patterns are the same wherever you go; double wedding ring quilts, log cabin quilts and irish chain patchwork quilts are among favorites.

When I visited Phelps County's Old Courthouse, which is slowly becoming a museum, I found this chart of traditional patchwork quilt patterns. What is interesting about this collection is that it has several patterns with local references:

Do you have a favorite patchwork quilt pattern?

Charlotte

Short History of Quilting

We are waiting for another winter storm to hit Missouri's Ozarks. On days like this, I wonder what it must have been decades ago when homes didn't have heat and depended on handmade quilts for warmth.

In those days, quilting was an important skill for women who joined the western expansion. Quilting skills were used to make curtains and clothing as well as bedding, many cottons recycled from one form to the most needed household item.

When looking at vintage quilts such as double wedding ring quilts, you can see the recycled items because fabrics used are not uniform or necessarily matching. I have a special place in my heart for these quilts, giving new life to fabrics that today sometimes are discarded without a second thought.

I found this short history of quilting in the Old Phelps County Courthouse, which is slowly becoming an interesting peek into mid-Missouri's past:

Have you stopped by the old Phelps County Courthouse Museum in Rolla, Missouri to see their displays?

Charlotte

New Bluebird Gardens Quilt Care Guide

Over the years, we have shipped our quilts with a quilt care guide so they live a long fabric life in their new homes.

First it was a full page on the back of an invoice, then a folded brochure, neither one necessarily the easiest items to store for easy access.

For 2015, I am happy to introduce our new business-card size quilt care guide, easy to store with other business cards if you need to retrieve later. You can also now easily tuck the quilt care guide into a sewing basket or jewelry box as a special memento of the personalized gift.

For Bridgett, who ordered a custom dachshund quilt as her Christmas present but didn't get it until January, we added a gift card from her husband Jim so that when she opened the box, it looked like a present.

If you need more detailed information on quilt care, we also have a more extensive quilt care guide online. You are also always welcome to ask us.

Do you have any questions or issues with caring for your quilts?

Charlotte

Christmas Log Cabin Quilt

Christmas may be over but it inspires me to start thinking about what to make for next year. The colors in this handmade quilt remind me of the colors in our Vintage Log Cabin Quilt, definitely Christmas colors with a little additional spice to them.

Christmas Log Cabin Quilt by fellow master gardener Harriet Bain makes me smile every time I see it. This one was on display at the 2013 Piece and Plenty Quilt Guild show in Rolla, Missouri.

Sounds just like some of my personal projects, the traditional patchwork quilt started out as a tree skirt and literally grew from there! 

Quilt patterns tend to look different from different perspectives, especially log cabin quilt patterns. Up close, the fabrics prevail. From a distance, different-colored fabrics add to the overall design depending on whether fabrics are light or dark.

Plenty of time to get one of these done for Christmas 2015. Have you made a log cabin patchwork quilt?

Charlotte

Wrapping Paper Quilt

This is a tribute to the piles and piles of wrapping paper we lived with over the years after Christmas so our cats and dogs could enjoy jumping ino the paper piles.

Wrapping Paper Quilt was featured at the 2013 Piece and Plenty Quilt Guild, Rolla, Missouri. The guild is planning another show in 2015. This lovely quilt was made by Cindy Felts.

Do you still have wrinkled wrapping paper around the house?

Charlotte