Why QSOS is Special

Three Interviews That Show Us Why QSOS is So Special By Emma Parker, Quilt Alliance Project Manager In our last newsletter, I shared a little bit about the early history of our Quilters’ Save Our Stories (QSOS) project, and our future plans for it, including a forthcoming update to the QSOS guide and a new platform that allows us to pair interview audio with descriptive text. If you missed that “Looking Back” column, you can check it out here. It’s now been 24 years since the project was founded. Now there are more ways than ever to hear quilters talk about their work, from podcast interviews to magazine features, Instagram accounts, Facebook groups, online classes and guild visits. Quilters are sharing more about themselves and their quilts than ever before. But despite this amazing ocean of information, I still think the QSOS project is a little different. An oral history interview invites a different way of talking about your life and your work than a magazine interview – there’s nothing to sell or promote, so there’s plenty of space to tell your story. And usually, the intimacy of just two people in conversation leads to more in-depth stories from a wide range of quilters. We’re giving this project a new coat of paint this year in celebration of the QA’s 30th anniversary, so this month, I want to share three QSOS interviews that I think perfectly illustrate why this project is so valuable, for quilters and for anyone who is curious about quilting, making, and a creative life. The first reason I think these interviews are so powerful is that they capture a very specific moment in time. Take for example our 2011 interview with quiltmaker Victoria Findlay Wolfe. This was one of Victoria’s very first interviews about her work. In it, she talks about a project called 15 Minutes of Play, which would eventually become the title of her 2012 book. Since this interview, she has published several other books, created multiple fabric lines and quilt templates, won national and international awards for her work, including 2013 Best in Show at QuiltCon, and lectured and taught across the country and online. In her interview, Victoria says that she has only just started teaching, and is beginning to expand her work: I take it as it comes. I don’t obsess on making a perfect quilt. I’m not sure I can do that, I’m not sure I want to do that. I prefer to learn from each quilt that I do and move onto the next and see what happens. I have felt recently that my work is sort of changing, or perhaps I’m just growing. But I think it’s just being more open to more possibilities and going back and learning and trying other things that I haven’t done before. Building my tool set of quilter skills. I let it happen and see where it will lead me. The second reason I love this project is that we hear from all different kinds of quilters, including quilters who make quilts in non-traditional ways or settings. One of my favorite examples of this is Jeanne Wright’s interview with Dave White, a quilter and long-haul trucker. Here’s Dave talking about his mobile sewing studio in the back of his truck cab: The biggest challenge to doing it and not getting frustrated is organization. I’ve got a–I think it’s a 48 or 42-quart tub with a closing top on it that I keep my notions and my projects in. When I’m going down the road they’ll sit on my bunk. But when I’m quilting or getting prepared to quilt, it goes into one of the overhead areas so that I’ll have enough work space. […] What I found best, is to keep things in Tupperware or plastic containers to a point where I can stay organized and I know where my threads are at and where my needles are and where my machine feet are. Of course the little sewing machine that I’ve got is a Brother sewing machine. It’s a nice little computerized machine. It sits on the floor during transport and it comes up on a platform that I built. It’s basically just a sheet of plywood that I set on one of the cabinets with two little steel legs, I call them pogo legs that I can detach and put in the overhead storage areas. So it’s very confined, but once you get in there and you get involved with the machine and the piecing and the enjoyment, you can lose all track of time. Even if you’ve never been behind the wheel of a big rig, you might identify with that feeling – of starting to quilt and losing track of time. The QSOS collection contains interviews with quilters around the world, an astronaut who quilted in space, and even a few quilters under the age of 10! But I’d bet that every interview has something that might remind you of your own quiltmaking, or your community. Finally, the last interview shows how a QSOS interview can help capture a lifelong legacy. In 2008, Karen Musgrave interviewed Donna Sue Groves of Adams County, Ohio. Donna Sue helped create the barn quilt movement starting in 2001, and supported the development of grassroots community quilt trails across the county. She explains the inspiration for the project and the impact it had on her community in her QSOS interview, such as in this excerpt.  Donna Sue Groves passed away in November of 2021, but we are so grateful to have her story documented, in her own words, for her family, her local community, and countless others to enjoy. Recording her story in a QSOS interview helps document the history of the barn quilt movement, as well as Donna Sue’s amazing life. https://youtu.be/HUbdPEMLLuw There are more than 1,200 other interviews that are each as special as these three, and at least that many reasons to support the project. Participate in a QSOS interview, explore our archive of stories, listen and read the interviews, and tune in to Running Stitch, our QSOS podcast. This grassroots project isn’t possible without your support, so consider making a donation to the Quilt Alliance today to help sustain this important collection.          …

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Quilt Puzzle: The Darwin Quilt

Your Quilt Jigsaw Puzzle for November is below!   Do you love the monthly Quilt Jigsaw Puzzle? We’d love to have you as a member if you’re not already on the team!   We rely on the generous support of donors and members to sustain our projects. If you support our mission of documenting, preserving, and sharing the stories of quilts and quiltmakers, join us by starting and maintaining an annual membership, making a donation, or learning how your business or corporation can become a supporter of the Quilt Alliance. We thank our members regularly with special content like QSOS interviews and other community oral history events.   Tip: for best results, solve puzzle on this page on a desktop computer or laptop. If you are solving on a mobile device, click on the puzzle piece icon in the lower righthand corner to solve on the Jigsaw Planet website.   Welcome to another quilt jigsaw puzzle from Quilt Alliance! The beautiful quilts in our puzzles have all been entries in past Quilt Alliance quilt contests.     The Darwin Quilt by Jean Van Bockel   This month’s puzzle spotlights a quilt titled The Darwin Quilt made by Jean Van Bockel of Boise, Idaho for the 2014 Quilt Alliance contest and auction, Inspired By     Materials   Cotton fabric, hand appliqued and embroidered, machine quilted Artist’s Statement   Honorable Mention: Members’ Choice Awards From the DAR collection there is a beautiful appliqued quilt made by Josephine Miller Adkins in 1874. Her family called it the Biblical Stories Quilt. It was made right after Darwin’s theory of evolution was published, This shocking new concept stirred up controversy around the world and is still debated 140 years later. I took design ideas from Josephine’s quilt but used bright colors, added a Darwin fish and put a monkey on the tree of knowledge.  …

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Quilt Puzzle: Bat Love

Your Quilt Jigsaw Puzzle for October is below! Do you love the monthly Quilt Jigsaw Puzzle? We’d love to have you as a member if you’re not already on the team! We rely on the generous support of donors and members to sustain our projects. If you support our mission of documenting, preserving, and sharing the stories of quilts and quiltmakers, join us by starting and maintaining an annual membership, making a donation, or learning how your business or corporation can become a supporter of the Quilt Alliance. We thank our members regularly with special content like QSOS interviews and other community oral history events. Tip: for best results, solve puzzle on this page on a desktop computer or laptop. If you are solving on a mobile device, click on the puzzle piece icon in the lower righthand corner to solve on the Jigsaw Planet website. Welcome to another quilt jigsaw puzzle from Quilt Alliance! The beautiful quilts in our puzzles have all been entries in past Quilt Alliance quilt contests. Bat Love by Elizabeth Ferry Pekins This month’s puzzle spotlights a quilt titled Bat Love made by Elizabeth Ferry Pekins of Lampasas, Texas for the 2015 Quilt Alliance contest and auction, Animals We Love Materials Double sided art quilt with integrated hanging sleeve. Artist’s Statement We love bats! Bats are cute,furry,loveable,sensitive and often misunderstood. They are endangered and threatened world wide. Our family loves bats and our life revolves around their nocturnal world. Vacations and outings involve visiting bat caves and urban colonies. My doubled sided art quilt features a colorful bat hanging around with bat friends flying in the distance. Many of my pieces are donated to bat and cave conservation charities. We love bats!…

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Do you love Baltimore Album Quilts?

If you love Baltimore Album Quilts, then don’t miss the recording of “The Mysteries of Baltimore Album Quilts: 4 panelists = 100 Years of Obsession,” originally presented by the Quilt Alliance in partnership with Quiltfolk magazine for Textile Talks on Wednesday, February 16, 2022. View the recording below. Presenters: Meg Cox, moderator Panelists: Deborah Cooney, Mimi Dietrich, Nancy Kerns, and Ronda Harrell McAllen. Download the Baltimore Album Quilt Resource document prepared by our panelists. If you enjoy this content, please help us continue documenting quilt mysteries like these. Don’t let the stories of these important historic cloth documents fade away. Join or make a donation to the Quilt Alliance today. SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER Thanks to Quiltfolk magazine for their support on this episode, and we thank all of the Textile Talks sponsors for underwriting this free series. To see a schedule, register for talks and find a link to all recordings, visit our Textile Talks page….

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Quilt Puzzle: If the Baltimore Ladies Had Batiks

Your Quilt Jigsaw Puzzle for February is below! Do you love the monthly Quilt Jigsaw Puzzle? We’d love to have you as a member if you’re not already on the team! We rely on the generous support of donors and members to sustain our projects. If you support our mission of documenting, preserving, and sharing the stories of quilts and quiltmakers, join us by starting and maintaining an annual membership, making a donation, or learning how your business or corporation can become a supporter of the Quilt Alliance. We thank our members regularly with special content like QSOS interviews and other community oral history events. Tip: for best results, solve puzzle on this page on a desktop computer or laptop. If you are solving on a mobile device, click on the puzzle piece icon in the lower righthand corner to solve on the Jigsaw Planet website. Welcome to another quilt jigsaw puzzle from Quilt Alliance! The beautiful quilts in our puzzles have all been entries in past Quilt Alliance quilt contests. If the Baltimore Ladies Had Batiks by Marie Johansen This month’s puzzle spotlights a quilt titled If the Baltimore Ladies Had Batiks made by Marie Johansen of Friday Harbor, Washington for the 2010 Quilt Alliance contest and auction, New From Old. Original based on a Baltimore block pattern. Batiks – 20/80 batting – hand applique – hand quilting – ink (adding dimension to flowers). Artist’s Statement I love vintage quilts but I always like adding an updated twist to traditional patterns. Baltimore Beauty quilts have fascinated me for many years but I really wanted to add a modern element to this traditional design. I challenged myself to pair one of my favorite fabric types (batiks) with a typical Baltimore Beauty style block. Voila! My answer to the 2010 theme “New from Old” became “What if the Baltimore Ladies Had Batiks?”

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Quilt Puzzle: Everyone Needs a Roof Over Their Head

Your Quilt Jigsaw Puzzle for January is below! Do you love the monthly Quilt Jigsaw Puzzle? We’d love to have you as a member if you’re not already on the team! We rely on the generous support of donors and members to sustain our projects. If you support our mission of documenting, preserving, and sharing the stories of quilts and quiltmakers, join us by starting and maintaining an annual membership, making a donation, or learning how your business or corporation can become a supporter of the Quilt Alliance. We thank our members regularly with special content like QSOS interviews and Quilt StoryShare events. Tip: for best results, solve puzzle on this page on a desktop computer or laptop. If you are solving on a mobile device, click on the puzzle piece icon in the lower righthand corner to solve on the Jigsaw Planet website. Welcome to another quilt jigsaw puzzle from Quilt Alliance! The beautiful quilts in our puzzles have all been entries in past Quilt Alliance quilt contests. Everyone Needs a Roof Over Their Head by Dort Lee This month’s puzzle spotlights a quilt titled Everyone Needs a Roof Over Their Head made by Dort Lee of Leicester, NC for the 2006-7 Quilt Alliance contest and auction, Put a Roof Over Our Head. Materials and processes: cotton, buttons, beads, embroidery floss, fabric markers, satin stitching, machine quilting Artist’s Statement I have a barn that is the exact shape of your house pattern. These are all animals that have lived in my barn at some time or other-all from original drawings by me.

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Giving Quilts

This month, we have a little gift for you: seven hand-picked quilt stories from our projects, each one about the different ways we give quilts — and what quilts give us! As Tomme Fent says in her 2002 QSOS interview, I do think quilters are very generous. And quilters are so friendly. It’s like having a family connection the world over. You can go anywhere and find quilters, and just immediately strike up a conversation and have something to talk about. One thing I think is so great about quilting is what it’s done for me, and it’s also done for other quilters… Quilting is the most incredible creative expression. It’s a way of expressing grief, or joy, or love. You can just be as wild as you want or as conservative as you want. You can try something that’s totally outside your personality, outside the box. Or you can do something that’s just calming and relaxing. Tomme’s thoughts resonate with me as I think about what it means to give someone a quilt you’ve made. It’s not only the gift of a beautiful handmade object, but also the gift of time, attention, and memory. But Tomme’s quote also got me thinking about also what a gift it is to be among quilters. A diverse, resourceful, clever and–most definitely: generous!–group. Thank you for being so generous with your support and your stories this year. We can’t wait to keep celebrating quilts with you all again in 2022! Meg Cox https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug9q_QpCpn4 Our first Giving Quilt story comes from Meg Cox, who tells us about the memory quilt she made for her granddaughter, Lucy. Jeanette Farmer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGV0360FzX4 In this Go Tell It! interview, Jeanette Farmer talks about a quilt she’s made for a local child experiencing homelessness. Making charity quilts to give to those in need is a perfect example of the generosity of quilters. Judy Whitson, QSOS interview Betty Jean Weaver, interviewer: Another question is how have you given quilts as gifts? Judy Whitson: Oh yes, I love to give. It is a sign that you really care for somebody when you give them a handmade item like a little baby quilt or a quilt for their bed or something, and it is more or less a memory quilt. I always put a signature block on there saying who it is for, the date, and who designed it and who made it, quilted. Starla Phelps https://youtu.be/5m9k_PE4-IM Starla Phelps made this quilt for her husband — and it was the very first quilt she EVER made! Eliza Hardy Jones https://youtu.be/jw_ZCYCmXhc?t=186 In season 3, episode 3, of our Running Stitch podcast, Janneken Smucker talks to musician and artist Eliza Hardy Jones about her quilts that interpret songs. They begin by talking about how Eliza began quilting: in the hopes of making gifts for friends and family. Steve Nabity https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gXMkl0bNlw Steve Nabity, then-CEO of Accuquilt, shared the moving story of this graduation quilt, made for his daughter. As he says in the interview, “every quilt has a story. Every quilt. And don’t take it for granted, because every quilt means something”. Kim Van Etten https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt-pxkjsuO8 And our final Giving Quilt story: Kim Van Etten shares a quilt made by her grandmother, who gifted a quilt to more than 50 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. As Kim says in the video, “she’s the reason I quilt”. Kim still uses her grandmother’s sewing machine to make her own quilts. Want more quilt stories? Visit our giving page now for three great examples of the work…

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Quilt Puzzle: Holiday Edition: Five Calling Birds

Your Quilt Jigsaw Puzzles for December are below! Do you love the monthly Quilt Jigsaw Puzzle? We’d love to have you as a member or donor if you’re not already on the team! We rely on the generous support of donors and members to sustain our projects. If you support our mission of documenting, preserving, and sharing the stories of quilts and quiltmakers, join us by starting and maintaining an annual membership, making a donation, or learning how your business or corporation can become a supporter of the Quilt Alliance. We thank our members each month with special content like StoryBee episodes and QSOS interviews. Tip: for best results, solve puzzle on this page on a desktop computer or laptop. If you are solving on a mobile device, click on the puzzle piece icon in the lower righthand corner to solve on the Jigsaw Planet website. Welcome to another quilt jigsaw puzzle from Quilt Alliance! The beautiful quilts in our puzzles have all been entries in past Quilt Alliance quilt contests. Do You Have a Bernina by Yvonne Porcella This puzzle spotlights a quilt titled Do You Have a Bernina? made by Yvonne Porcella of California for the 2009 Quilt Alliance contest and auction, Crazy for Quilts. Materials and processes: Silks fused, cotton, Dream Green batting, machine applique and quilting. Artist’s Statement When I was stitching on this quilt, I kept thinking how wonderfully my Bernina sewed all the satin stitches and how easy it was to change feet on the machine for specific areas of stitching. The two birds look like they are talking – Imagine the larger bird suggesting if the smaller bird had a Bernina machine, it also could have a long tail. E Pluribus Unum by Loree Marquardt This puzzle spotlights a quilt titled E Pluribus Unum made by Loree Marquardt of Colorado for the 2011 Quilt Alliance contest and auction, Crazy for Quilts. Materials and processes: 100% cotton fabric, warm & natural cotton batting, cotton thread, foundation paper piecing, hot fix swarovski rhinestone crystals, machine quilted. Artist’s Statement With a few artistic liberties this is my rendition of the Great Seal. The Great Seal is a symbolic reminder of the unity between the thirteen colonies and becoming the United State of America. Chintz Bird by Pat Holly This puzzle spotlights a quilt titled Chintz Bird made by Pat Holly of Michigan for the 2008 Quilt Alliance contest and auction, My Quilts/Our History. Materials and processes: Decorative machine stitched background, stitched raw edge fused, machine appliquéd, machine quilted. Artist’s Statement This quilt reflects many aspects of my quiltmaking journey. I love antique textiles (this was inspired by an 18th C. Indian chintz fabric) and want to bring these old images to the present. Embellishing the background with machine stitches is a technique I’ve been using for years. I enjoy using modern machines and exploring ways to incorporate the stitching into my quilts. Finally, I continue to be intrigued with the bird image, both real and imagined. Chickadees at Home by Cynthia St. Charles This puzzle spotlights a quilt titled Chickadees at Home made by Cynthia St. Charles of Montana for the 2012 Quilt Alliance contest and auction, Home Is Where the Quilt Is. Materials and processes: Cotton – handpainted, block printed, screen printed, fused applique. Fabric paint. Artist’s Statement The birdfeeder outside my dining room window attracts large groups of lively chickadees year around. I’ve been able to get good digital photos of them, which I converted for screen printing. I began with white cotton fabric, then hand painted, block printed and screen printed before adding machine quilt to crate this piece called “Chickadees at Home”. Beulah and Irene by Sue Rook Nichols This puzzle spotlights a quilt titled Beulah and Irene made by Sue Rook Nichols of California for the 2015 Quilt Alliance contest and auction, Animals We Love. Materials and processes: The materials I used were 100% cotton with low loft polyester batting. I fused the raw edge applique to the background and stitched them down with a straight stitch. A double layer of batting is behind Beulah and Irene to make them stand out. I quilted this on my HQ 16. The binding is machine applied and hand stitched to the back. Buttons were added for eyes. Artist’s Statement Beulah and Irene, our two hens, used to hang out on our patio and watch us through door.  Every so often they would peck on the glass as if to ask “Hey!  Can we come in?”  Before this I never realized that chickens have such funny…

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Quilt Puzzle: Contest Quilt

Your Quilt Jigsaw Puzzle for November is below! Do you love the monthly Quilt Jigsaw Puzzle? We’d love to have you as a member if you’re not already on the team! We rely on the generous support of donors and members to sustain our projects. If you support our mission of documenting, preserving, and sharing the stories of quilts and quiltmakers, join us by starting and maintaining an annual membership, making a donation, or learning how your business or corporation can become a supporter of the Quilt Alliance. We thank our members each month with special content like StoryBee episodes and QSOS interviews. Tip: for best results, solve puzzle on this page on a desktop computer or laptop. If you are solving on a mobile device, click on the puzzle piece icon in the lower righthand corner to solve on the Jigsaw Planet website. Welcome to another quilt jigsaw puzzle from Quilt Alliance! The beautiful quilts in our puzzles have all been entries in past Quilt Alliance quilt contests. Contest Quilt by Klara Schafler This month’s puzzle spotlights a quilt titled Contest Quilt made by Klara Schafler of Landesberg, Israel for the 2006-7 Quilt Alliance contest and auction, Put a Roof Over Our Head. Materials and processes: cotton, applique, machine quilting Artist’s Statement During the last decade we have witnessed all over the world a growing number of hungry and homeless people, caused not only by nature’s disaster but by globalization of the economy. I think it is about time for the world’s “great” powers to unite and find a solution to all the…

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Quilt Puzzle: Still Crazy After All These Years

Your Quilt Jigsaw Puzzle for October is below! Do you love the monthly Quilt Jigsaw Puzzle? We’d love to have you as a member if you’re not already on the team! We rely on the generous support of donors and members to sustain our projects. If you support our mission of documenting, preserving, and sharing the stories of quilts and quiltmakers, join us by starting and maintaining an annual membership, making a donation, or learning how your business or corporation can become a supporter of the Quilt Alliance. We thank our members each month with special content like StoryBee episodes and QSOS interviews. Tip: for best results, solve puzzle on this page on a desktop computer or laptop. If you are solving on a mobile device, click on the puzzle piece icon in the lower righthand corner to solve on the Jigsaw Planet website. Welcome to another quilt jigsaw puzzle from Quilt Alliance! The beautiful quilts in our puzzles have all been entries in past Quilt Alliance quilt contests. Still Crazy After All These Years by Ramona Bates This month’s puzzle spotlights a quilt titled Still Crazy After All These Years made by the Ramona Bates of Little Rock, Arkansas for the 2009 Quilt Alliance contest and auction, Crazy for Quilts. Materials and processes: Old crazy quilt c. 1900’s (I think). Hand embroidery, applique old lace, some beads. Machine pieced & quilted. Artist’s Statement I used an old crazy quilt top as the “beginning” of my quilt. This was my way of “salvaging” the work of some woman from the early 1900’s. That’s why the name – “Still Crazy After All These Years”. [Also, I love the Paul Simon…

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Quilt Puzzle: The Best

Your Quilt Jigsaw Puzzle for September is below! Do you love the monthly Quilt Jigsaw Puzzle? We’d love to have you as a member if you’re not already on the team! We rely on the generous support of donors and members to sustain our projects. If you support our mission of documenting, preserving, and sharing the stories of quilts and quiltmakers, join us by starting and maintaining an annual membership, making a donation, or learning how your business or corporation can become a supporter of the Quilt Alliance. We thank our members each month with special content like StoryBee episodes and QSOS interviews. Tip: for best results, solve puzzle on this page on a desktop computer or laptop. If you are solving on a mobile device, click on the puzzle piece icon in the lower righthand corner to solve on the Jigsaw Planet website. Welcome to another quilt jigsaw puzzle from Quilt Alliance! The beautiful quilts in our puzzles have all been entries in past Quilt Alliance quilt contests. The Best by Yvonne Porcella This month’s puzzle spotlights a quilt titled The Best made by the late Yvonne Porcella of Arnold, California for the 2014 Quilt Alliance contest and auction, Inspired By. Materials and processes: Silks, cottons, fused, buttons, machine stitched Artist’s Statement I used the Quilt Index search function to find my crazy quilt inspiration. From there I navigated over to alphabet quilts. Documented by the Kentucky Quilt Project Anna Marie Schmidt Steinbock 1876-1900 stitched family names on her crazy quilt scraps. With modern tools I added stitching and words onto my crazy…

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Quilt Puzzle: Ciao Bella Limoncello

Your Quilt Jigsaw Puzzle for August is below! Do you love the monthly Quilt Jigsaw Puzzle? We’d love to have you as a member if you’re not already on the team! We rely on the generous support of donors and members to sustain our projects. If you support our mission of documenting, preserving, and sharing the stories of quilts and quiltmakers, join us by starting and maintaining an annual membership, making a donation, or learning how your business or corporation can become a supporter of the Quilt Alliance. We thank our members each month with special content like StoryBee episodes and QSOS interviews. Tip: for best results, solve puzzle on this page on a desktop computer or laptop. If you are solving on a mobile device, click on the puzzle piece icon in the lower righthand corner to solve on the Jigsaw Planet website. Welcome to another quilt jigsaw puzzle from Quilt Alliance! The beautiful quilts in our puzzles have all been entries in past Quilt Alliance quilt contests. Ciao Bella Limoncello by Michele Muska This month’s puzzle spotlights a quilt titled Ciao Bella Limoncello made by Michele Muska of Enfield, Connecticut for the 2009 Quilt Alliance contest and auction, Crazy for Quilts. Materials and processes: Silks, cottons, glass beads & felted postcards, sterling silver and glass enamel button, silk bias tape ruching and grosgrain ribbon flowers. Artist’s Statement When my son returned from Sicily he made Limoncello from our friend’s organic Meyers lemons. He had to peel many lemons and go through a long process to get to the end result. I helped him strain the citrus libation several times and now it sits in my freezer for special occasions. This little block evokes the brightness and contrast that this special brew and experience represents…

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