The end of the Blues

We're wrapping up "The Blues" with a look at the dazzling quilts we've featured over the last two weeks. And, we've come to a few conclusions. First, we love the color Blue, in all its manifestations. Second, we are captivated by bold graphic designs with high contrasts: there is nothing bland about these quilts! Finally, just looking at these quilts makes us feel serene and hopeful... which means that color psychology is for real!

Top row, L-R: Bachelor’s Wedding Ring, by Eric Gunson, at Pieceful Expressions; Kaleidoscope, the 2010 ASIJ Auction Quilt by Julie Fukuda and colleages, as seen at My Quilt Diary; Yuletide Snowflake design, by Joanna Figueroa, at Fig Tree Quilts (the quilt shown was made by Connecting Threads). Row 2: Glowing Splendor, by Barbara Cline, at Delightful Piecing; Teacup, by Maria Elkins, at Maria Elkins Art Quilts; Embroidered Japanese Crests, by Susa Glenn, at Susa Glenn Designs. Row 3: Victorian Gingerbread, by Janice Lee Baehr, at Pacific Rim Quilt Company; Albers at Sea, by Debra Levin, at the Empire Quilters Guild; Delft Storm, by Ionne McCauley, at Ionne Quilts.

Image credits:  Images are shown with the generous permission of the artists.

Victorian architecture.... Hawaiian style

Q: If you combine the ornate architectural decoration known as "gingerbread", with the Hawaiian style of quilt construction, what do you get?  A: The blue Victorian Gingerbread quilt shown below. The term refers to a particular 1860's style of architecture, when buildings were lavishly decorated with hand-carved latticework.   This blue quilt has a mystical quality that reminds us of a city silhouetted against the sky at twilight.

Victorian Gingerbread, 42 x 42", by Janice Lee Baehr, at the Pacific Rim Quilt Company

In Hawaiian quilts, the applique design is cut all at one time from a single piece of fabric; this 'snowflake' method creates symmetrical repeats, like the ones seen in the four corners of the quilt.  As with most Hawaiian quilts, only two colors or shades of fabric are used in the construction. The pattern and a kit for Victorian Gingerbread are available at the Pacific Rim Quilt Company, which is famous for their extensive line of Hawaiian patterns, fabric packs and instructional videos.

Image credit:  The quilt image is shown with the generous permission of Janice Lee Baehr at the Pacific Rim Quilt Company. We previously featured PRQC, and a breadfruit quilt by Nancy Lee Chong, in our feature article on Hawaiian Quilts.