Six Faces of a Life by Barbara Held
Barbara writes, "I had been thinking about life. Within a two-month period, my mother passed away, then my granddaughter was born, and my other daughter-in-law had a miscarriage. I decided to make this quilt celebrating the different phases of life from early infancy to old age. I painted the same face and aged it. I appliqued all the fabrics appropriate to the season of life they represent. I am very proud of this quilt."
Close up photo, Six Faces of a Life by Barbara Held
Three-dimensional flowers adorn the hair of one of the younger faces. We found this quilt to be a poignant and moving reminder none of us are free from aging and eventual loss of life.
Mimi's View, 109 x 109", by Beth A. Nufer (Oregon, USA)
Beth notes, "I try to go the whole nine yards with each quilt I make. It is the best way for me to try to get better. The inspiration was a painting by John Zaccheo. Design permission was given." Doesn't this lovely quilt depict what might be the very best vacation spot ever? We could relax among these cheerful flowers and look out on the sun-splashed lake for a very long time.
Closeup photo, Mimi's View by Beth A. Nufer
Mimi's original design is hand appliqued, machine pieced, and longarm quilted by Clem Buzick.
Floral Fantasy, 40 x 38", by Barbara K. Confer (California, USA)
Barbara notes, "A huge bouquet of flowers I saw in Amsterdam was the inspiration for this quilt. I loved the joyful combination of colors and textures; and I anted to share that joy with the viewer. I threw out all the stops, using fabric, yarn, vintage doilies, buttons, trims, beads, and anything else I could think of to compel the viewer to seek out the various items hidden in the quilt. "
Close-up photo, Floral Fantasy by Barbara K. Confer
Here you can see some of the doilies, three dimensional flowers, and tiny beads which embellish the lush, elegant arrangement depicted on this quilt. Barbara's original design is machine pieced and appliqued, plus machine quilted.
Arum Bouquets, 89 x 89", by Anne Yeo (New Zealand)
Blue ribbon winner for Best of Country, New Zealand quilter Anne Yeo says of this original design, " My original inspiration was a bouquet of lilies in a church. This formed the bouquet in the central diamond. The 8 other bouquets were design to fit the 8 corners formed by the squares and diamonds of the quilt layout......... I feel that this design and quilt layout work very well together." Please see the biography of Anne Yeo at Wine Country Quilts.
Closeup photo, Arum Bouquets by Anne Yeo
Anne continues, "Techniques used are hand needle turn applique, machine embroidery, domestic machine quilting, and hand couched fine gold cord around the ribbons."
We really enjoyed the straight line quilting pattern that radiates out like spokes of light from the graceful bouquet. Anne's original design is hand appliqued, machine pieced, and machine quilted.
It's About Time, 68 x 68", by Robbi J. Eklow (Illinois, USA)
Robbi explains, "I dye my own fabrics, design my own quilts, and quilt them myself, so I'm involved the whole way through. I'd dye the quilting thread if it wasn't such a pain." This quilt reminds us of an abstract image of the inside of a clock, with its intricate gears and wheels. We enjoyed the way that the right side of the "clock" was offset and hidden behind the border, with only part of the gears and wheels showing. That's a refreshing and innovative setting for a quilt with strong circular motifs.
Close up photo, It's About Time by Robbi J. Eklow
Robbi's original design, done in vibrant complementary colors, is longarm quilted. Notice the pretty feathers that adorn each leaf outside the circular Greek key motif.
Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.
These quilts are unbelievable! Oh, to be able to make a piece of art like this. cdahlgren at live dot com
ReplyDeleteYou have really given us a taste of fine quilt art. Each one is special and has so much to say.
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