Fantastic Christmas Quilt

Merry Christmas!

Snowman block in Miriam Meier's Christmas quilt

One of the most beautiful Christmas quilts I have ever seen is the "Baltimore Christmas" Quilt by Miriam L. Meier from Reedsville, Wisconsin.  This exquisitely appliqued quilt, shown below, has many beautiful Christmas blocks.  

"Baltimore Christmas" by Miriam L. Meier of Wisconsin

Miriam Meier's "Baltimore Christmas" quilt has a large Santa applique in the center of the quilt surrounded by a square of twelve beautiful blocks, framed by a wide sashed border.  Each of the blocks are festive and unique, and Miriam's applique work, embroidered details, and color choices feel perfect.  

Gingerbread men and candy block in Miriam Meier's quilt

For me, the best way to enjoy a Baltimore style quilt is to view the overall quilt, and then pause and study each of the different blocks making up the quilt.

Gingerbread house block in Miriam Meier's Christmas quilt

In a busy quilt show, it isn't always easy to take take the time to slow down an study each block like it is it's own quilt.  But since applique quilts take so long to create, taking more time to view the quilt makes sense to me.  And I always feel rewarded for the effort. 

Bells and bow block in Miriam Meier's Christmas quilt

Baltimore style quilts are created by time consuming hand applique work, and I wish I had the patience to  complete even one of the blocks shown.  I have attempted appliqueing small items, and I know how time consuming the technique is.  Hand applique work has few short cuts.   

I saw Miriam's quilt at the Madison Quilt Expo in September 2013.

Click on the images to see them enlarged. 


If you enjoyed this post you might also like:

Batik Stars Quilt

Batik Scrap Quilt

Circle Quilt

Heart Quilt

Angel Window

Madonna Window

Christmas Hutch

Tree Pins

I am linking up to these memes:

Confessions Fabric: Whoop Whoop Fri (Entry 58 of 61.)
Sew can she: Sat Linky party (Entry 2 of gone.) 
ihavetosay: Show-and-tell Tue (Entry 10 of gone.)
Connie at Freemotion: Linky Tuesday (Entry 19 of gone.)
Quilt story: Fabric Tuesday (Entry 31 of --.)
Blossomheart: Sew Cute Tue (Entry 11 of --)  
Colorful life: Really random Thur (Entry 27 of --)
Pretty bobbins: Thur Quilt linky party (Entry --)
Hotpinkquilts :Finished Fri (Entry --)
Richard/Tanya quilts: Link a Finish Friday 93 (Entry --)
Quilt Infatuation: Needle-and-thread Thur (Entry --jan2)
Sew darn crafty: Thank God its Finished Fri (Entry --)

Stitched in Color: Celebrate Color (Entry --)

TShirt Diaries: Stashbusting (Entry ??)
Sand yellow door: Home (Entry 34 of --.)

Homecoming: The DIYers 42 (Entry 147 of gone.)

* Tablescaper: Seasonal Sunday 181 (Entry 63 of --.)
Lakeshore Drive: Bouquet of talent (Entry 127 of --.)
Twiggstudios: Sunday show-off (Entry 88)
Maleviksrosentradgard: Saturday Show-off (Entry 60)
Stephanielynn: Sunday Showcase 225 (Entry 224) 
Uncommon designs: Monday Funday 48 (Entry 209 of --.) 
Mod Vintage: Mod Mix Mon 132 (Entry 33)

Boogie Board: Masterpiece Mon 29 (Entry 23) 

BNOTP: Metamorphis Monday (Entry ?)
Making the World Cuter (Entry 370)
Jembellish: A Round Tuit 184 (Entry 113) 

* Coastal Charm: Nifty Thrifty Tues (Entry 19)

Uncommon Slice: Tues Treasures 163  (Entry 141)
* Stroll Life: Inspire Me Tues 195 (Entry 286)
 Knick of time: Knick of time Tue 117 (Entry 84)
Snap: Show and Tell (Entry 153)
Lavender Garden: Cottage Style (Entry 5) b
Handy: Wicked Awesome Wed 141 (Entry 61)
Family Home: Wow us Wed (Entry 92)
Ivy and Elephants: Whats it Wed 102 (Entry 158)
Katherine: Thurs Favorite Things 116 (Entry 25)
Jan Olson: Share your Cup of Tea Thur 85 (Entry 57)
From my Porch: Treasure Hunt Thur 137 (Entry 64)

Someday Crafts: What Ever Goes Wed 201 (Entry 235) 
Sew Much Ado: We Did It Wed 185 (Entry 155)
Brambleberry Cottage: Time Travel Thur 179 (Entry 51)

Col Lady: Vintage Thingies Thur (Entry 14)
Domesblissity: Thriving on Thurs 64 (Entry of 89) 
Creative Princess: Its a Party 103 (Entry of 84) 
City farmhouse: Inspiration exchange (Entry 224) 
No Minimalist here: Open house (Entry 163 of --.) 
I Gotta create: Wildly original (Entry 78) 
Charm of Home: Home Sweet Home 150 (Entry 63)

Thrifty Grove: Thrifty Things Fri 139 (Entry 18)

French Country: Feather Nest Fri (Entry 101 of --.)
* Common Ground: Vint Inspiration 169 (Entry 56 of 234.) Still there in 2024!
* Romantic Home: Show and Tell (Entry 53 of --.)
Chic: Flaunt it Friday 185 (Entry 53 of --.)

Tatertots: Party Palooza (Entry 358)
Funky Junk: Christmas (Entry 19 of --.) 

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 https://www.commonground-do.com/2013/12/be-inspired-169-home-for-christmas-and.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quilt Exhibit, Part 2

"Stars in Heaven" silk Quilt by Matsuko Morishita from Japan

This is blog post # 2 featuring quilts from the exhibit "Japanese Influences in Fiber Arts" which ended January 5, 2014 at the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Arts in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, USA.  The quilts I pictured here are award winning quilts from the Japanese Quilt Show, the 11th biennial Nihon Quilt exhibit.  These quilts are now being exhibited at the New England Quilt Museum Jan 16, 2014 through April 12, 2014. To see my other blog post from this exhibit, click here.

Close up of Matsuko Morishita's quilt

Most of these phenomenal quilts feature incredible needlework and design skills.  The "Stars in Heaven" silk quilt by Matsuko Morishita, above, took her over 4 years to complete.  The antique fabrics and silks give a beautiful glow to the quilts, and the color placement is inspired.  This quilt won the top award in the traditional category of the Japanese Nihon Show.

"Grassland" Quilt by Mikiko Misawa from Japan

The Grassland quilt (above) was made of special thai silk, and was featured on most of the promotional material for the Cedarburg show.  It is difficult to photograph accurate color, but this quilt glowed.  It was wonderful.  This quilt won the top award in the contemporary category of the Japanese Nihon Show.

Flying Geese Quilt by Yoko Suzuki from Japan

Ok, to throw a little slang around here, many of these quilts had crazy workmanship.  Really, I don't see such time consuming quilts at my local quilt shows.  Yoko Suzuki's deceptively tranquilt brow quilt, above and below, for example.  The flying geese in the main blocks are appliqued over each other.  An appliqued circular wreath of delicate beige lies under the overlapping flying geese.  The intersections of the blocks have complicated details.  Gold embroidery tops the blocks. 

close-up of Yoko Suzuki's center blocks

But then what does Yoko Suzuki do for the border?  Curved pieced flying geese in a complicated clam shell arrangement, with more applique.  And the hand quilting shines here also, including in a polka dot fabric she used throughout the quilt where she hand quilted around every dot.  I would love to own this quilt, and usually I prefer bright colors, not browns.  This is a fantastic quilt.

close-up of Yoko Suzuki's border

I can't show every quilt, I'm worried this blog post will take lots of time to load as is.  But here is a detail from another quilt with fantastic workmanship.  Katsuko Tazaki's 12 sided stars (below) are hand pieced with antique silk kimono fabrics.  The hand piecing gives the quilt a breath-taking softness and antique look.

close-up detail from Katsuko Tazaki's Shining Stars quilt

Yoko Kageyama created a quilt with applique, 3d floral details, and the fantastic 6 sided cathedral window center section (center section shown below) which had lovely silk from family kimonos.

Close up of center section of a quilt by Yoko Kageyama of Japan

I'm lucky I was able to see this exhibit multiple times.  Each time I see the exhibit, another quilt reveals calls out to me and many quilts reveal new details.  Perhaps I  notice the impact and the colors on the first visit, next time I notice the fabrics, later I ponder the construction.  

This last detail I am sharing is from the grassland quilt shown above.  Japanese esthetic is different then ours, and I notice this in some of the quilts.  We rarely quilt family crests, for example.  Color choices and fabrics differ.  In the grassland quilt, the quilter decided to shred the silk in some of the sections to reveal the silk warp and weft colors.  You can see this if you look closely below.  This is something I would find hard to do to the quilt.  Surprisingly, I didn't notice the shredding until it was pointed out to me.
 

Detail of the "Grassland" Quilt by Mikiko Misawa

The exhibit at the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Arts in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, USA is worth seeing if you have the opportunity.  If not, I hope I have been able to share with you some  of the wonderful quilts shown there.

Click on the images to see them enlarged 
(Yes, you can see these images even larger!  The best way to see the images in their largest format is to (on a windows system) right click on the image and select "open in new tab" from the option box that opens. This bypasses software that limits the size of the image opened.  On the newly opened image, click on the image again to see it  zoomed maximum). 


 

If you enjoyed this post you might also like:

Batik Stars Quilt

Batik Scrap Quilt

Circle Quilt

Heart Quilt

Quilts Part 2

Spring Needlework

Vintage Lace

Butterfly Bling

Kaleidoscope Part 6

Kaleidoscope Part 5

Kaleidoscope Part 4

Mosaic Window

I am linking up to these parties:
Quilt specific links:

Marelize: Anything goes Monday 44 (Entry 26 of 36.)
ihavetosay: Show-and-tell Tue (Entry 5 of 20)
Connie at Freemotion: Linky Tuesday  (Entry 14 of 43.)
Quilt story: Fabric Tuesday (Entry 10 of 54.)
Blossomheart: Sew Cute Tue (Entry 12 of 31.)  
Colorful life: Really random Thur (Entry 6 of 13.)
Prettybobbin.com: Thur Quilt linky party (Entry 13 of 21.)
Richard/Tanya quilts: Link a Finish Friday 94 (Entry 32 of 32.)

Others I enjoy:
Create-with-joy: Inspire Me Mon 99 (Entry 182 of 224.)
Dwellings: Amaze me Monday 34 (Entry 68 of 97.)
Rain on a Tin Roof: Give me the Goods Mon 36 (Entry 177 of 280.)
Isabell: Great Advent Calendar (Entry 63 of 133.)
Cherished Treasures: Creative Corner 90 (Entry 34 of 53.)
Made By You: Made by you Monday 179 (Entry 264 of 336.)
Clairejustine: Creative Mondays (Entry 91 of 109.)
Diy: More the Merrier Monday 25 (Entry 37 of 55.)
Homecoming: The Diyers 39 (Entry 44 of 127.)
Manic Monday: Manic Monday (Entry ? of 63.)
Alderberry hill: Make the scene Mon 100 (Entry 2 of 205?)
Sweet Sharing: Sweet Sharing Monday 80 (Entry 159 exp.) 
A Blossoming life: Frugal crafty home 51 (Entry 99 exp.)
Pkitchen: Show Me Mondays 45 (Entry 64 of 86.)
Keeping it Simple: Motivate me Mon 201 (Entry 429 of 476.)
Mod Vintage: Mod Mix Mon 129 (Entry 36 of 59.)
Boogie Board: Masterpiece Mon 151 (Entry 86 of 100.)
BNOTP: Metamorphis Monday 252 (Entry ? of 215.)
Coastal Charm: Nifty Thrifty Tues 189 (Entry 32 of 250.)
* Stroll Life: Inspire Me Tues 192 (Entry 150 of 256.)
Uncommon Slice: Tues Treasures 161 (Entry 50 of 176.)
Lavender Garden: Cottage Style (Entry 10 of 27.) b

Handy: Wicked Awesome Wed 138 (Entry 2 of 55.)
Family Home: Wow us Wed (Entry 66 of 109.)
Snap: Show and Tell (Entry 82 of 125.)

Ivy and Elephants: Whats it Wed 102 (Entry 36 of 129.)
Someday Crafts: Whatever Goes Wed 198 (Entry 109 of 303.)
Katherine: Thurs Favorite Things 116 (Entry 31 exp.)
Jan Olson: Share your Cup of Tea Thur 83 (Entry 4 of 84.)
From my Porch: Treasure Hunt Thur 134 (Entry 50 of 101.)
Girlish Whims: Your Whims Wed 139 (Entry 90 of 149.)
Sew Much Ado: We Did It Wed 182 (Entry 73 of 221.)
Brambleberry Cottage: Time Travel Thur 176 (Entry 1 of 72.)
Col Lady: Vintage Thingies Thur (Entry 8 of 9.)
A Delight: Home and Garden Thur 57 (Entry 8)
Knick of time: Knick-of-time Tue (Entry 43)

Adorned from above: Adorned Wed (Entry 68)
Sand yellow door: Home (Entry 10)
Charm of Home: Home Sweet Home 147 (Entry 3)
Thrifty Grove: skippin Thanksg (Entry )
French Country: Feather Nest Fri (Entry 17)
* Common Ground: be Inspired 166 (Entry 55)
* Romantic Home: Show and Tell (Entry 43)
Chic: Flaunt it Friday 180 (Entry )  
Tatertots: Weekend Wrap Up (Entry )
Cedarhill Ranch: The Sun Scoop 94 (Entry 285)  
Savvy Style: Wow Us Wed 144 (Entry ) *

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Quilt Eye Candy

Image 1: "Hope" Quilt by Kikuyo Miyashita 宮下季久代 from Japan

There was a fantastic exhibit at the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Arts in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, USA, that ended January 5, 2014. Titled "Japanese Influences in Fiber Arts", the exhibit features, (among other things), award winning quilts from a major Japanese Quilt Show, the 11th biennial Nihon Quilt exhibit. 
[The quilts are now being exhibited at the New England Quilt Museum through April 12, 2014.]

Image 2: "Connected Squares" Quilt by Anco Brouwers-Branderhorst
from the Netherlands

The Japanese show attracts many outstanding international quilts from around the world, and over 35 of the top quilts from Quilt Nihon were displayed at the museum in Cedarburg.  

Image 3: "In the Blue" Denim Quilt by Soo Hee Lee from Korea

I have been to five quilt shows in the last three months, and yet the museum's exhibit has quilts whose design, workmanship and fabrics stand out among the many other quilts I have seen.  I think that the international competition to be in the Japanese show gets a much more diverse body of work then local quilt shows.

Image 4: Quilt by Maya Chaimovich from Israel

In this blog post I am sharing a few of my favorite quilts from the museum exhibit.  There are many more quilts from the exhibit I'd like to share, but for now these will have to do.

Image 5: Close-up  of the Kikuyo Miyashita quilt, lots of Keiko Goke fabrics

I love seeing quilts in person, because then you get to see not only the overall impact of the quilt, but the small details, fabrics, and quilting choices that make up the quilt.  The quilt above has so many cheerful fabrics I have never seen before.  The impact of the colors in the quilt is amazing in person.

Image 6: Close-up detail of the Anco Brouwers-Branderhorst quilt

The color and construction of the geometric quilt above really caught my eye.  The simple block construction, with the white squares offset, is enhanced by the quilting and the embellishment.

Image 7: Close-up detail from the Soo Hee Lee quilt

This denim masterpiece has to be one of my favorites.  The use of zippers and belt loops and the arrangement of colors of denim is just fantastic in the sections of little houses, and then the overall arrangement of the houses in the quilt with a section of leaf pattern is just so creative.

Image 8: Close-up detail from the Soo Hee Lee quilt

I find myself just stunned sometimes at the talent, skill and time poured into some of the quilts.  There is something exciting about seeing masterpieces, and being able to appreciate them.  I can't quilt like these quilters, but I can enjoy their efforts, in the same way that I can enjoy a concert even though I can't sing well.

Image 9: Detail 1 of Maya Chaimovich's quilt

This last quilt is so different, I can look at it and study it, and still not know where one fabric ends and the next starts.  But it is lovely to see.  

Image 10: Detail 2 of Maya Chaimovich's quilt

I would encourage anyone interested is seeing this show to make the effort.  Traveling to Japan to see a show like this is much harder then traveling to Wisconsin (or Massachusetts).  People from as far away as Texas made arrangements to come and see this exhibit, and I can see why.  These quilts traveled all over the world to get here.

If you are interested in seeing more quilts from this exhibit, leave a comment saying so. If there is enough interest, I post more photos.

 

Click on the images to see them enlarged 
(Yes, you can see these images even larger!). 



If you enjoyed this post you might also like:

Batik Stars Quilt

Batik Scrap Quilt

Circle Quilt

Heart Quilt

Quilts Part 2

Valentine Vignette

Valentine Hutch

Spring Hutch

Spring Needlework

Vintage Lace

Mosaic Heart

Butterfly Bling

I am linking up to these memes:

Quilt specific links:

Colorful life: Really random Thur (Entry 5 of 26.)
Pretty bobbins: Quilt linky party (Entry 15 of 22.)
Hotpinkquilts :Finished Fri (Entry 26 of 43.)
Richard/Tanya quilts: Link a Finish Friday 93 (Entry 4 of 27.)
Quilt story: Fabric Tuesday (Entry 37 of 70.)
Freshlypieced:Work In Progress Wed (Entry 100 of 165.)
Quilt Infatuation: Needle-and-thread Thur (Entry 1 of 69.)
Marelize: Anything goes Monday 42 (Entry 45 of 45.)
ihavetosay: Show-and-tell Tue (Entry 15 of 18)
Fabric addict: Whoop Whoop (Entry 40 of 67.)
Connie: Linky Tuesday (Entry 42 of 44.)
Blossomheart: Sew Cute Tue (Entry 27 of 28.) 

Others I Love:
Mod Vintage: Mod Mix Mon 127 (Entry 47 of 58.)
Boogie Board: Masterpiece Mon 149 (Entry 92 of 98.)
BNOTP: Metamorphis Monday 250 (Entry ?)
Coastal Charm: Nifty Thrifty Tues 187 (Entry 143 of 245.)
* Stroll Life: Inspire Me Tues 190 (Entry 204 of 304.)
Uncommon Slice: Tues Treasures 159 (Entry 126 of 211.)
Cedarhill Ranch: The Sun Scoop 92 (Entry 159 of 259.)
Lavender Garden: Cottage Style (Entry 19 of 33.) b
Savvy Style: Wow Us Wed 144 (Entry 192 of 390.) * 

Handy: Wicked Awesome Wed 136 (Entry 72 of 104.)
Family Home: Wow us Wed (Entry 71 of 101.)
Snap: Show and Tell (Entry 122 of 175.)

Ivy and Elephants: Whats it Wed 100 (Entry 110 of 215.)
Someday Crafts: Whatever Goes Wed 196 (Entry 206 of 391.)
Katherine: Thurs Favorite Things 114 (Entry 66 of 271.)
Jan Olson: Share your Cup of Tea Thur 81 (Entry 70 of 139.)
From my Porch: Treasure Hunt Thur 132 (Entry 64 of 137.)
Girlish Whims: Your Whims Wed 137 (Entry 180 of 199.)
No Minimalist Here: Open House (Entry 85 of 170.)
Sew Much Ado: We Did It Wed 182 (Entry 144 of 221.)
Brambleberry Cottage: Time Travel Thur 174 (Entry 51 of 109.)
Col Lady: Vintage Thingies Thur (Entry 12 of 26.)
A Delight: Home and Garden Thur 55 (Entry 61 of 110.)
Knick of time: Knick-of-time Tue (Entry 86 of 87.)

Adorned from above: Adorned Wed (Entry 144 of 153.)
Sand yellow door: Home (Entry 26 of 38.)
Charm of Home: Home Sweet Home 145 (Entry 18 of 129.)
Thrifty Grove: Thrifty Things Fri 135 (Entry 44 of 79.)
French Country: Feather Nest Fri (Entry 153 of 316.)
* Common Ground: Vint Inspiration 164 (Entry 14 of 225.)
* Romantic Home: Show and Tell (Entry 20 of 249.)
Chic: Flaunt it Friday 180 (Entry 140 of 190.)  
Tatertots: Weekend Wrap Up (Entry 680 of 1038.)
Create-with-joy: Inspire Me Mon (Entry 258 of 259.)  

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 other links I found:

 

2015 Quilt,  2022 Quilt,  hokkaidokudasai, jonellepatrick.

Tokyo kimono, Tokyo Wisteria, Tokyo Plum, Japan Flowers