Christmas around the world: The Netherlands

Jacqueline de Jonge of Be Colourful has a full time job as secretary in the Cardiology department of a large hospital.  At the same time she has achieved worldwide fame for her spectacular paper-pieced quilts.  Jacqueline has loved fabrics, drawing, embroidery and sewing since she was a child.  When she came across a quilt in a German magazine in 1978 she saw the way to utilize all of her accumulated skills. She taught herself to paper piece in 1998, and won her first award for best use of color in 2003. Several of her Be Colourful designs feature the colors of Christmas including Christmas Jewel, Joyful, and Surprisingly Red.

Surprisingly Red, 59" x 59", center medallion (below) by Jacqueline de Jonge at Be Colourful (Delft, The Netherlands)

Beautiful roses, soft pastels and warm reds are brought together in perfect harmony in this stunning quilt pattern. The center medallion, above, is a magnificent Mariner's Compass Star encircled by smaller stars done in 4 different designs. The medallion is surrounded by an undulating wave of skinny New York Beauty points (we counted nearly 500 points in the wave).

The quilt is called “Surprisingly Red” because "We were so incredibly surprised by the combination of warm red in this pastel colored fabric."  She goes on to tell the story: "I had the fabric with the large roses in my house for a long time. The beautiful roses and soft pastels were screaming for beautiful pink fabrics and combinations... Unfortunately the pinks did not justify my beautiful rose fabrics. In fact, it became a pale combination. We started to seach for other colour groups and we came up with red." Here is the quilt displayed in a cozy living room in front of the fireplace - the perfect Christmas setting.

Jacqueline's Be Colourful website offers English and Dutch language options. Her brother, Harm Jan de Jonge, handles her website and communications with customers.  For more information see a 2007 interview with Jacqueline de Jonge on the Press page, where you can also see the trailer for Jacqueline's recent appearance on The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims.