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Whether you are buying a gift for someone, or if someone needs a last minute gift for you, click the "GIFT" button below. If you are joining or renewing, click the "JOIN or RENEW" button. Either way, Alex wants to wish you Happy Holidays and encourage you to quilt in 2020.

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Jean Wells' garden is full of sunflowers and so is this beautiful quilt, Sunflowers, created with New York Beauty blocks in a not quite "traditional" manner.

See Jean's stunning garden in Show 2513.

Original Photo: Kristin Goedert

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We are in love with these Lavender Llamas from The Crafty Quilter, Julie Cefalu. These soft, plush animals are filled with rice and dried lavender that you can microwave for warm comfort in the winter or freeze for instant relaxation in the summer. And they smell so good! They are the perfect size to fit on your chest, abdomen or across your head or neck...and they are just so darned cute.

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It's almost January 1st and the start of the TQS 2020 BOM Afternoon Delight. Barbara Black wants to help you get organized with some great tips about:

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This quilt required knowledge of perspective, geometry, color theory, and quilting, and Beth Nufer seems to have nailed them all in her stunning quilt, Cody's Cubes. Beth said it was fun "and challenging" to make. We'd have to agree.

Cody's Cubes was on display as part of the Pieced, Large exhibit at the Houston International Quilt Festival 2019.

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Satin puff baby quilt circa 1930. Gift of Mrs. Tom French,
TTU-H1969-069. Image courtesy of The Museum at Texas Tech University.

Satin Puff Quilts

by Marian Ann J. Montgomery, Ph.D.
Curator of Clothing and Textiles, Museum of Texas Tech University

Recently my husband came home telling me about a woman whose mother made lots of quilts and stuffed them with pantyhose. I can hear the hand and machine quilters in the group groaning now! After thinking about it for a while I remembered that there was a time during the early years of the quilt revival when puff quilts were popular and often stuffed with clean, used pantyhose. 

The fad for puff quilts has come and gone over the years. The Museum of Texas Tech University has a beautiful satin (learn about another beautiful satin quilt in the museum's collection) baby quilt made using this puff technique. The quilt features a beautifully hand quilted center bow surrounded by lovely pink and light green satin puffed squares.

The top square of a puff (block) is cut larger than the bottom square. The larger square is then pleated down to fit the bottom square. Each of the three top sides are then sewn to the bottom. Before the last side of the puff is sewn shut it is stuffed with a filler. Completed puffs are sewn one to another to make a row. Rows are then sewn together to build the required quilt size. Puff quilts are very thick, and a machine or hand sewn back is a great way to hide all of the assembly. Instructions abound on the Internet for those interested in making a puff quilt.

It appears that there was a plan for the arrangement of the green and pink blocks in this quilt. We don’t know who it was made for, or exactly when it was used but, it likely dates from the 1930s when satin quilts were very popular. 

Learn more about the Clothing and Textiles Collection at the Museum of Texas Tech University.

Click here for related articles from the Museum of Texas Tech University Textile Collections.

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Lilo recently visited the European Patchwork Meeting in Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, France and discovered a wonderful exhibit they were featuring there. Swiss quilt group patCHquilt was celebrating their thirtieth anniversary by putting on a showcase of 100 challenge quilts for the occasion. The challenge was open to all members of the group of every skill level and each quilt had to adhere to the following criteria:

• Works must be original, not from a kit and must include a red border.
• They must be 30 cm wide, 120 cm long, and displayed portrait style.
• The quilt must include at least 1/2 of the Edelweiss fabric (that each person received), and feature a piece of that same fabric that is 10 cm x 10 cm in size.

To join in the celebration with patCHquilt, we will be featuring four of the challenge quilts each week that were displayed as part of the exhibition at the European Patchwork Meeting.

Please enjoy the next four quilts from Joanna Fischer, Joan Vogler, Johanna Häner, and Kaori Tahara.

Title of Quilt: Water

Quilter's Name: Joanna Fischer

Title of Quilt: Argovia

Quilter's Name: Joan Vogler

Title of Quilt: Game of Cones

Quilter's Name: Johanna Häner

Title of Quilt: Clean Up

Quilter's Name: Kaori Tahara

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Yep...there are only 8 days till Christmas. Do I hear screaming and panic? I am sorry to say that...yes, I am a last minute kind of gal and there is definitely a bit of panic around here. Which doesn't work well when you really enjoy giving handmade gifts. But, one of my favorite gifts to give and receive is a pillow. They can be bowl filler size...

 

or couch size...

 

There are many patterns available for making pillows, but truly any piece of embroidery, cross stitch, or quilt block can be made into a pillow and it is easy to personalize a pillow for the receiver. These pillows were gifts and I treasure the love that came with the gift.

 

 

 

P.S. For an odd sized pillow insert, I just cut my batting to the size pillow I need and then stuff it with poly fill, so there isn't a pillow I can't stuff, LOL! Enjoy this last week before the holiday and take time for yourself.

 

Learn about the history of pillows from Anna in her original blog about them, Anna and G on the Road: Pillow Talk.

Click here for Anna's blog.

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Have you been enjoying the Swiss quilts from the patCHquilt challenge? Lilo sat down and talked with the organizer of the challenge, Susan Vogel, at the Houston International Quilt Festival 2019.

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Not able to catch Craft in Ameria: QUILTS? It now appears to be available to watch on pbs.org.

Click here to watch on PBS.

Want to go behind the scenes with Craft in America: QUILTS? Laura McDowell Hopper has written a fascinating article for the Craft Industry Alliance which gives you an idea of how a production of this quality is put together.

Click here to read the article.

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QUILTS, a new episode of Craft in America, the Peabody Award-winning documentary series discovering the beauty, significance and relevance of handmade objects and the artists who make them was recently on PBS. For more than a decade, Craft in America has taken viewers on cultural journeys across this nation, honoring the multiplicity of traditions that have come to define our country.

Quilts hold history, share culture, and tell stories that would otherwise not be told. They are rich with memories, beauty and emotion. Learn about contemporary quilters from diverse traditions and celebrate the important role quilts have played in our country’s story.

Featuring Susan Hudson, Victoria Findlay Wolfe, Michael A. Cummings, Judith Content, the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, the International Quilt Museum, and special guest Ken Burns. The PBS premiere is December 27, 2019 (check local listings)

Click here for more information and previews.

Here's a quick preview.