We went to a quilt exhibit at The Kansas City Star last week while in Kansas City for International Quilt Market. They treated us to a whole bunch of eye candy! Most of the quilts are from books the Star has published—and they’re just lovely.
Here’s a peek at what we enjoyed.
Hourglass by Betsy Chutchian for the book History Repeated; quilted by Sheri Mecom
This Hourglass quilt is from one of my all-time favorite quilt books, History Repeated: Block Exchange Quilts by the 19th Century Patchwork Divas by Betsy Chutchian and Carol Staehle.
History Repeated: Block Exchange Quilts by the 19th Century Patchwork Divas by Betsy Chutchian & Carol Staehle
If you like small patches and reproduction fabrics, you’ll love this book. Below is another quilt from the book, this time from Carol Staehle. It was such a treat to see these quilts in person!
Nine Patch Pinwheels by Carol Staehle for the book History Repeated; quilted by Carol Staehle
Here are a few detail shots so you can see the fabrics she used.
- Do you see why these blocks work so well? Look at the variety in scale within each block. There are tiny prints, medium prints and medium-large prints.
And notice how there are different densities of prints in each block, too.
In other words, some of the motifs are packed tightly together and some are more scattered, with lots of space between them.
This variety keeps things lively!
Happy Hawaii by Beth Hawkins from the book Greetings from Tuscadelphia; quilted by Lauri Drean
This umbrella quilt made us all smile!
I’d seen it in the book Greetings from Tuscadelphia, but it’s so much better in person.
Carousel by Jill Finley from her book Stitched Together; quilted by Peggy Shadel
There were several quilts by Jill Finley from her book Stitched Together.
These quilts combine piecing and applique in the most beautiful way. The color combinations are sublime. The workmanship is of the highest quality.
Garden Rows by Jill Finley from her book Stitched Together; quilted by Peggy Shadel
Row quilts are an idea we’ve been batting around at Quiltmaker. I like the way Jill’s Garden Rows turned out.
And my favorite of Jill’s quilts is Wildflower Melody, below. The black, cream, green and blue are soothing, and the pop of red is just perfect.
Wildflower Melody by Jill Finley for her book Stitched Together; quilted by Virginia Gore
And look at that sashing! I love all the little points she took the time to piece. It’s a detail that makes a big difference in this quilt.
Shifting gears again, there were some quilts by Jenifer Dick, author of Quilt Retro.
From My Kitchen Window by Jenifer Dick for her book Quilt Retro; quilted by Sheryl Schleicher
Forks and Spoons by Jenifer Dick for her book Quilt Retro; quilted by Sheryl Schleicher
Linoleum Floors by Jenifer Dick for her book Quilt Retro; quilted by Angela Walters
And a detail shot so you can enjoy the quilting.
Detail of Linoleum Floors by Jenifer Dick
The quilting adds a lot of texture to the white patches and gives them plenty of interest.
If you enjoy the modern quilt aesthetic, you’ll find Quilt Retro here.
There were more than 150 quilts, so expect more blog posts on the fun things we saw. We want to thank The Kansas City Star for putting together this luscious exhibit—which was free of charge. It was delightful.
