"Hollyhocks on Black & White" Ruth B. McDowell 1999 19"W x 52"LThis quilt is one of the samples from Ruth's 1993 book "Pieced Flowers". I don't know what happened to the samples she has made for her other books, but those from Pieced Flowers were offered at her website store as "Specials" and there are some still available there.
http://www.ruthbmcdowell.com/clients/rbm/holidayspecials.cfm
Ruth has a great sense of whimsy; I especially enjoy the "non sequitur' fabrics she includes in some of her quilts - "cave paintings"? Notice the dark outline she has used about 1.5 inches from flowers and leaves, accentuating the shape of the plant, which is so distinctive. 
Since it was an illustration in her book Ruth has machine quilted in the name and method on the quilt. All of the quilts in this book have this labeling.
Here you can see her precise piecing, elegant color choice, the quilting, and the hand detail on the flower centers.
Whenever I show the back of a quilt I remember a lady at a quilt show who, when I offered to show her the back of a quilt, said, "I didn't come here to see the back of a quilt, I want to see the front." She was rather arrogant about it - obviously one of those who thinks the backs are unimportant. I, on the other hand, am always interested in what is on the back! This is a piece of Marimekko, probably from a Crate and Barrel outlet. Looking at the back shows the dark double needle outline Ruth used to highlight the plant shape.
Ruth has posted an elegant new quilt on her website. She has managed to give it the look of the ancient cave paintings and yet make it a distinctively Ruth McDowell quilt.
1 comment:
Ruth B. McDowell's quilts are my favorites. This one is wonderful with the bright against the black and white.
She is a true artist. If she was alone on a muddy island with no paints, no fabric, no tools, she would manage to find something to use for her work. We would be astounded.
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