Still thinking about my trip to the International Study Center

I am still going over in my mind the quick trip we made to the museum in Lincoln NE. First of all it is an incredibly beautiful facility. It was built entirely green and therefor a point of pride to those involved in it's creation. It is dedicated to the preservation and sharing of the richly diverse collection. What it means to someone like me is that there are many vintage quilts. I learned early on that was where my heart would always land. Our trip this year was pretty quick and I would have enjoyed a longer stay, but nevertheless enjoyable. The quilt seen above was a real favorite of mine. I wish you could see it first hand as it is exquisitely crafted. The maker was especially gifted. Of course it doesn't hurt that this is red and green, my favorite pallet. Those red flowers with the reverse applique slits add a new level of interest for me.


If I ever get the chance to make a quilt like this, I would definitely like to use a form of this border. On this side alone there is an eagle, a cornucopia filled with flowers from which the vine is escaping and stars . At the top of the quilt a vase containing more flowers and an extension of the beautiful vine. Take the opportunity to click on the image and catch your breath in the beauty of the quilting. No matter what the quilting is always my favorite. Okay. I admit it everything about a quilt such as this one is always my favorite. yes, I love it all. Thanks for coming. I hope you keep returning.

International Quilt Study Center & Museum

This was my third time to go to Baltimore On The Prairie in Omaha NE. as an instructor of Baltimore applique. The whole experience for me is always enhanced by the people in my classes and the quilts they bring. This year was really wonderful as usual. Students dedicated to learning as much as possible, beginners realizing their potential, in short an amazing experience for me and I think, for them. The spots for next year already more than half full before we left the building on the last day. The applique block above is a part of the Major Ringold which is part of the International Quilt Study Center & Museum in Ashland NE. If you haven't been, you need to go. At the very least get online and enjoy! Checkout this block for the various techniques. There are both ruched and stuffed roses, rose hairs and more. There is also a bible or album, so prevalent in the Baltimore quilts.



I loved the block above. It was referred to as a star flower design. I am so going to use this somewhere. I don't remember whether there is quilting in the flowers but they are large and so I will have to address that very thing.



Now. tell me, can you accidentally miss those stuffed roses. This stitcher was intent on making a statement and she did! Once again there is a lot of ruching.


In this block all of the roses as well as the buds are stuffed. There is a lot of black in this design. I speculate that because this appears to be a memorial quilt. There are three monuments and the black seems appropriate.

More ruching and a good closeup of the black hairs on the leaves and stems. This is a type of ruching on the outside edge with the center manipulated so it is contained. The white flower appears to have a button in the center? The red one has two layers of the most typical ruching. I haven't used this in just this way before but you can be sure I plan to do so.



The blue flower in the vase appears to be gathered from the center out rather than the way ruching tracks in a circle. Interesting. In this block we can see rose hairs around virtually every motif including the vase.



My first response upon seeing this block was awe! I am sure I was influenced by the sweet colors and shapes including the whimsical shape of the wreath itself. Pink. yellow, and blue in fondue print. It doesn't get better. This is a sweet block.
I am loving this too. Three simple flowers and the equally simple wreath above. Nice!


Remember the monuments I spoke of? This is one and and is similar to the others. This quilt appears to have been made during the Civil War because these images were common at that time.

This one is the Ringold monument and is upside down because this was my vantage and when I tried to turn it with my photo program it was just weird. So here we are. You know this monument is war related particularly because of the arsenal on either side. Nice design and the monument fabric is used on three of these designs. The fabric may have faded as the color shades from the top lilac color to brown. Brown often does this so it may not be the original shade.


Another monument similar to the other two.



This is an over view of this special quilt. I do wish I could have taken a full view. However the web sight of the International Quilt study center. They have over 5000 quilts!! Many online and a really user friendly web sight.

Aunty Green September 2011

Well, things are pretty slow in the quilting department so have decided to share as I go rather than waiting to finish a section. I am quilting on the fly these days so not sure I will always be happy with the result. For this section I have only the one corner pattern and will have to draft my own for the other corners. I guess I will have to see how that goes. I know I am better than my ninth grade teacher thought I was but it will still be a struggle for me. Mrs Anton took me aside at the end of the semester and told me I was a delight, the kind of student any teacher would love to have but this was an art class and I was simply not up to it. Well, Mrs Anton I think I did find my art and because of you I spent most of my life in pursuit of just that.

This is a fascinating, complex pattern and in some ways I think I may not be up to it. Oh, I can do the work, but my time is somewhat limited these days and while the stitching is not difficult, it is still a little hard to have all the starts and stops connected with the care of a loved one.

But enough about that. What I want to share is the reason for my fabric choices. I am using a background that is a subtle tone on tone print in a buttery yellow. It is a departure from the original quilt but okay I think. As I study my photo of the quilt I am taken with the variety both in design and color of the fabrics. It is almost as if she had decided to make a charm quilt and that charms me. So, I will continue to add as many different fabrics as I can.

I am headed for Baltimore on the Prairie on Tuesday and hope to see you there. I will take pictures and share when I return home. Thank you for dropping by.