Puzzles & Games

  1

fShare

Tweet

The AIDS Memorial Quilt has been displayed in its entirety only five times -- in 1987, 1988, 1989, 1992 and 1996. Each display was on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The quilt was founded in 1987 and is a memorial to those who have died from AIDS and is used as a tool in the prevention of HIV.  Each section is twelve feet square and is typically made up of eight individual 3' x 6' panels sewn together.  Each panel memorializes the life of someone lost to AIDS.  There are currently more than 44,000 panels.  To learn more, click here.

Memorial1 - 90 pieces non-rotating

Memorial2 - 90 pieces rotating

  2

fShare

Tweet

Can't you just hear the pounding of the hooves, see the dirt flying through the air, feel the energy of the horses as they explode down the track?  Shirley Kelly has combined her love for horses and her love for quilting into this fabulous quilt, Two Minutes in May.  Her dad was a jockey, her grandfather used horses in his business, and her daughter's horses share her property.  I think Shirley might just know what she's quilting about.  Keen attention is paid to every detail of the horses' musculature and movement.  It seems as if they are coming right at you, better jump out of the way.

Two Minutes in May was completed in 1995.  It is 78" x 41" and made from cottons, hand-appliqued and pieced, and machine-quilted.

May1 - 91 pieces no rotation

May2 - 91 pieces with rotation

  3

fShare

Tweet

This is the second week in a row that the Top 100 Puzzle has featured a quilt by Jonathan Shannon.  It is a quite different quilt than Air Show.  As Jonathan said,

"Amigos Muertos' is a memorial to all those artists who have died from AIDS and cancer, and espeically to my friend, Lynn Piercy, who died as the quilt was being completed.  In quiltmaking, there is an honored tradition of using this medium to express personal feelings of both joy and sorrow.  Making this quilt was my way to feel close to those who have died too young.  For 16 months I used my finest stitches in their honor.  It is a loving, even joyful, work.  These skeletons play music and dance in a field of flowers and vines surrounded by a border of intricate cutwork applique.  While we who are left behind may be saddened by death, who is to say the dead are sad?"

Amigos1 - 90 pieces non-rotating

Amigos2 - 81 pieces rotating

  1

fShare

Tweet

In 1992, Jonathan Shannon was the first man to win Best of Show in Paducah.  Jonathan always loved planes and enjoys the fact that the quilt appeals to quilters and non-quilters alike.  He chose early model planes for their graphic design and nostalgic appeal.  Everything about this quilt embodies the qualities of flight and motion.  This is not Jonathan's only quilt in the Top 100.  In the future you'll see another of his designs.

AirShow1 - 81 pieces non-rotating

AirShow2 - 81 pieces rotating

  1

fShare

Tweet

Margarete Heinisch's quilt, In the Heart of Europe, graced the cover of Quilter's Newsletter in 1998 (just one of three of her quilts that have graced the cover).  The quilt honors Margarete's Viennese heritage.  Each dancing couple represents one of Austria's nine provinces and the border of grapes symbolizes the wines which are produced in the country.  The outer border illustrates scenes of her family.  The quilt is 76" x 80" and is made of cotton, silk and wool.  It is hand appliqued, machine pieced, embroidered, and has ink drawings.  It is in Margarete's personal collection.

Europe1 - 72 pieces non-rotating

Europe2 - 72 pieces rotating