One thing that comes up at every quilt show is the amount of quilting on the quilts, hand or machine quilted. For the past five or six years it has seemed that more quilting is done because it can be. Frequently the quilting design has no relationship to the design of the quilt, which essentially detracts from all the hard work the quilt maker has done to create the quilt top. This year was no different. Here are four quilts that the quilting works with the design.. or is the design! The closeup images of the whole cloth quilts are taken without flash so they are darker.
Welsh quilts are a separate and special division of whole cloth quilts with a traditional that reaches back centuries. Usually glazed fabrics are used to help accentuate the light reflection on the surface. These two quilts made by Heather are the best contemporary Welsh style whole cloth quilts I have seen. They are exquisite and need to be viewed "in-the-fabric" to be appreciated. The regularity of the hand stitches and the evenness of the stretched fabric make all the difference in the finished design.
There isn't a lot more I can say about these quilts - I stood in awe of Heather's superb stitching. I do wish people would fold their quilts face out so there is not such an ugly crease across the middle.
Here is a traditional American style quilt with excellent workmanship. I believe that the darker, greyed colors are coming back into fashion. It is machine quilted within an inch of its life.
But it is excellent machine quilting with motifs that go with the style of the quilt. I believe this is done on a long-arm, but, since the sign doesn't say, I can't be sure.
This is a quilt that won't appeal to everyone, but I know four people who photographed it unbeknown to each other. Its asymmetrical layout and unusual color scheme attracted my attention.
I don't believe that the poppy fabric is a Marimekko, perhaps it is a designer remnant - there are several sources for these in the Bay Area. Lisel has quilted additional outlines of the poppies in the background.
NOTE: A friend writes that it is indeed a Marimekko fabric from 1999 - it certain looks like one of their great prints. I rolled out "Summer Lily" one of Ruth McDowell's quilts and it has a white/gold/yellow colorway of this fabric on the back. http://delquilts.blogspot.com/2009/06/tcqc-summer-lily-contd-05-31-09.html
The mind ain't what it used to be! Del 10-26-09
The broadside panel is an unusual striped fabric and she has quilted a different motif in different sections. I think this quilting was done on a home machine - perhaps with a stitch control as the stitches are quite regular. You can see the top of an outlined poppy at the bottom of the image.
The light streak on the right is the background drape. I left it to show that there is no binding, but I don't know if she used a facing or did a pillow-case turn. It is a quilt that does not need a binding to define the edge.
