Letter Carriers

I like sharing some of my favorite quilts from the International Quilt Association's judged show held in Houston during the International Quilt Market and Festival.  The winners are revealed on Tuesday evening, after Quilt Market has closed and before Quilt Festival has opened.

In the Mixed Technique category, sponsored by Robert Kaufman Co., this delightful quilt caught my eye.  It was created by Janet Stone from Overland Park, Kansas and is titled "Letter Carriers".  This quilt won a first place ribbon!  (Validation that someone else likes the same quilts that I do!)

The quilt is an original design created by Janet Stone.  It features a variety of techniques such as: weaving, machine piecing and raw-edge applique (also by machine).  Decorative touches include prairie points, half penny circle edging, hand-covered buttons, and both hand-sewn and hot-fixed embellishments.  There are wood, metal, plastic and glass embellishments - can you spy them?

Janet explains that a love of basket blocks sparked the idea to create baskets by hand-weaving new fabrics together.  She also created twenty six new baskets to adorn the sides of the quilt, each with a single letter embroidered with in it.

I enjoy the variety of basket blocks, as well as the tucked-in alphabet.  Is it possible that teaching my two and three year-old students has increased my interest in alphabet quilts?  I love alphabet samplers too -- the embroidered samplers -- both old antique samplers and new modern-day ones.

It is a lovely quilt!  Hopefully Janet will be publishing a pattern for it one day!