Another Quilt From the Archives

Here's a pic of a quilt I made during 1980-81. It's a standard pattern that can be found in most quilt block encyclopedias called "Jewel Box." I saw an Amish quilt in a show that I simply fell in love with. It was a completely different pattern but I loved it-the colors more than anything. If some one is not familiar with Amish quilts, they are made from solid color fabrics. Even though the fabrics can be bright, as long as they are solid color fabric it's OK. Prints are considered too worldly, thus they use none of those. To the right are some examples of Amish quilts. They are all done in the solid colors I mentioned. I found the photos at The Amish Quilt Connection on the internet.

These are just a few of many that are pictured for sale. I could never afford the prices they are asking, so since I could I make my own, I did. I've done about 8 different size and pattern wall hangings from small to large. Working with the solid colors is fun and challenging.

The quilt I had seen used a dark purple grape fabric for the background and then lots 0f the lighter softer colored fabrics for the rest, so I replicated the colors in my quilt. It's all pieced by hand. I had always wanted to quilt it by hand but that is too time consuming since I work. I actually didn't have the top quilted until 2006 and then I had a professional machine quilter do it for me. She did quilting patterns in the Amish style and it did turn out beautifully. I have given up any hope of hand quilting any of my quilt tops that I have made over the year so am having them done one by one. As I've mentioned in previous posts in learning how to do all aspects of quilt making by machine. As the saying goes "So many quilts, so little time!" And now I've thrown Crocheting into the mix. The one thing better about crochet is when you're done, you're done. All that needs to be done is bury the loose ends. With a quilt you just have the top, and a lot more work to go. Even though I am lovin' crochet my quilting will always get equal time.