Textiles and the Triplett Sisters

Miniature Quilts don’t seem to get the acknowledgement they deserve. Any work of art should be appreciated, but I’ve noticed miniatures are rarely featured in magazines or blogs. In fact, I’m guilty too, I’ve never written a blog about miniature quilts. So now is the time to make up my deficit with a showcase of the miniature quilts from the Houston International Quilt Festival. Now, I agree that making full size quilts is an amazing feat, but so is making quilts that look full-size in a photo yet smaller than a ruler. Blocks in full size quilts that are 12 inches can be the entire size of a mini. If you think paper piecing with an inch size is a tiny block, try a ½ inch. Smaller is not easier, except maybe in the basting process....

We are pleased to announce the first in our Jewelry of the Month series: Golden Amour. This jewelry project uses paper piecing which in England and America is sometimes called English Paper Piecing. It really should be known as Italian paper piecing, since this oldest known example of this technique is an Italian pillow known as the Impruneta Cushion which dates from the 15th century. If you’d like to join us on the Jewelry of the Month journey and make your own version of this necklace, bracelet, or earrings, then check out our YouTube video to see instructions. Or we have detailed instructions and kits available in our Etsy shop at this link. I’ve love to see the pieces of jewelry that you make, so please post photos in the comments on our Facebook and YouTube...

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah, Seasons Greetings and may the principles of Kwanzaa be with you! Although I celebrate Christmas and the birth of Jesus, I recognize that not everyone does. However, for all those holidays, it is the season for gift giving and caring for others. So, to celebrate we have three gifts for you! The first gift is that I’ve filled the blog with photos of our Block of the Month, the Triplett Sisters Huguenot Friendship Quilt. A red and green celebration of two families love for each other memorialized in a beautiful textile. The second gift is that we currently have the complete pattern on sale. We are planning an exhibition in 2021, so I hope you’ll join us on the journey to make your own version of this quilt. So far,...

For centuries Baltimore Album Quilts were considered the epitome of American Quilts. Crafted in the middle 19th century, Baltimore Album Quilts (BAQs) were in many cases the creation of professional needle workers selling completed blocks, pre-cut, or pre-basted blocks. BAQs traditionally used red and green colors with touches of yellow and blue. American quilters in the following generations attempted to make their own versions of the Baltimore Album Quilts usually as a reproduction quilt. Striving to create a quilt as close as possible to original BAQ. A few American quilters, such as Sue Garmin or Elly Sienkiewicz,, even took on the daunting task of creating quilt patterns inspired by BAQs. In 2005, a Japanese quilter, Yukiko Hirano entered her first international competition the IQA Judged Show as part of the International Houston Quilt Show. She received...

Broderie perse is French for Persian embroidery, but through the decades it also came to refer to artists cutting out fabric to applique onto a background fabric. This technique was also called “cutout chintz applique.” Recently experts have come to avoid using broderie perse unless the textile also includes embroidery, favoring instead “cutout chintz applique.” However, if there isn’t embroidery present and not all the fabric used is actually “chintz” what should you call it then? When you are as talented as these artists, whatever you want. As Shakespeare reminds us, “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” This is one of the exhibitions in which I had a hard time selecting which photos to include. Even though I divided the blog post into 2 parts, it still only allows eight quilts. However,...