In honor of the Bedouin of Israel

The Bedouin of the northern Negev have suffered during this tragic period, and there have also been stories of wonderful heroism on their part.  So, I decided to make this couch quilt (which features a piece of embroidery made by the women at Desert Embroidery at Laquiya) in honor of the Bedouin of Israel.  

 

Since I had another piece of the same embroidery, I also made this double bed quilt for my daughter.  It features the same colors and both quilts have a cozy flannel backing!

A Coexistence Quilt

 This double-bed quilt features a small piece of Bedouin embroidery at its center.  The rest of the quilt uses strong colors to accent the embroidery.  I designed and made the quilt for my niece who lives in Delaware.

Hope she enjoys it for many years of health!

Outer Space Quilts

My daughter and her husband are moving into a new apartment.  Their two boys will get a bunk bed with stairs (instead of a ladder) and the bottom bunk will be a double bed.  They say that the double bed is great for sleep-overs, but I know that it will be so much more comfortable for the parents falling asleep while putting the boys to sleep! 

I made matching quilts for the new room.  Thank you to Hana for the inspiration and for the special outer space fabrics!  Look for the spaceships, planets, meteors, and astronauts!

Here is the double bed quilt --

And this is the matching single bed quilt --

A New Scrappy Quilt

Amy just finished this double-bed quilt, made in the scrappy style, as a present for her sister's new home on Sanibel Island.  Hope you like the bold colors!

New Queen Quilt

This new quilt for a queen-sized bed (96" X 96") is hot "off the press"!!!  It is made to order for the guest room at my sister's new home on Sanibel Island on the west coast of Florida.  She asked for turquoise -- and got so much more!

Thanks to Hana for all the help!  What a big job!

French Braid Quilts

Our friend Malki just completed this exquisite french braid quilt.  She says she was inspired by an exhibit of french braid quilts that she saw in a quilting shop in Nova Scotia, where she bought the book French Braid Quilts by Jane Hardy Miller with Arlene Netten, which provided her with the design for this beautiful work of art!

Malki obviously loves bright colors!  The final product is well worth the painstaking work that went into it!

King Size Quilt

My project of the last month was creating this tremendous king size quilt.We did a lot of work on this together, which was so much fun!

This is a "coexistence" quilt, since it incorporates embroidery made by Bedouin women in the northern Negev.  It is made especially for my niece and nephew who live in New York City.  They chose the colors, the women at Desert Embroidery in Laquiya prepared the embroidery to order, and I made the finished product!  A wonderful partnership. 

Note the element of "building blocks" that I used for the overhang on both sides of the quilt.  You can't see it in the picture above (because I took the picture on my own bed which is only queen size) so I am also showing it in a close-up.

Happy Birthday!

One of my daughters was born on the first day of Succot.  This year, I decided to make her a new double bed quilt for her birthday!  This quilt is made in the scrappy style.

I love it!  I hope she and her husband will like it too!

Convergence Design

This double bed quilt is made using an adaptation of the convergence design (as previously referenced on this blog).  I love this design -- it's easy to make and very special.  The hardest job is finding four fabrics that complement each other so beautifully!

Ramadan Kareem

It's Ramadan and my warmest regards go to my Bedouin women friends at the embroidery studio in Laquiya.  Their embroidery makes a beautiful center piece to this double-bed "coexistence"quilt.  My quilting can be seen as an embellishment of their stunning handiwork. The gold fabrics lend a certain richness to the entire effect.

A beautiful wedding gift!

Here is another "coexistence quilt" that was commissioned by a Palestinian woman as a wedding gift.  This is a double bed quilt which includes two large pieces of maroon embroidery.  One piece was purchased from the Bedouin women at Desert Embroidery in Laquiya and the other was purchased from a shopkeeper in the Old City of Jerusalem. I was attracted by the combination of two different styles of embroidery.

Mazel tov!

This king size quilt was made on commission as a gift for Eric and Eileen who recently got married!  It is a coexistence quilt -- which means that I have used Bedouin embroidery that I ordered special from the women at "Desert Embroidery" at Laquiya. 

The young couple requested the color purple and a paisley effect!

It was wonderful to hear that they really like the gift! 

During the hot days of summer in Jerusalem

Here is my latest queen size quilt, made on commission for a woman in the Galilee.  She has become my biggest client and this is the third double bed quilt that I made for her!

Making double bed quilts at home is no easy feat!  In fact, this one seemed so much harder, perhaps because of the August heat!

Quilting tip: Many people ask me how I do the decorative stitching for such a large quilt on a home sewing machine.  I do most of it without the backing! Here's how: piece the quilt together in two large panels, then quilt each one to the batting, then connect the panels, and add the backing.  On the completed quilt's backing, you will only see the decorative stitching for the borders all around, and a few straight lines down the middle, connecting the backing to the quilt. 

This is a coexistence quilt which means that I have integrated large pieces of Bedouin embroidery (made on special order by the women at Desert Embroidery in Laquiya) into the basic fabric of the quilt.  Here the colors are blue and green with some gold, with a strip of stacked bricks down the middle.  

This is a close-up on the embroidery panels which are stunning!!

Happy Israel Independence Day!

In honor of Israeli Independence Day, which we are celebrating today, I would like to share my latest "coexistence" quilt -- it integrates 3 pieces of embroidery made by the women of "Desert Embroidery", a non-profit organization in the northern Negev Bedouin town of Laquiya.

I love my relationship with these women.  Not only do I purchase embroidery from them for my quilts, but they have been showing my quilts in their shop in Laquiya and recently they sold one!  So, this has become a true partnership and I'm very proud of it.

This quilt is queen size and was made on commission for a relative in the Galilee.  In addition to the embroidery, I have used an element called "building blocks", which represent the building of a future of peace for all people living in this land.

There's more!  This is a matching table runner for putting on the dresser!

A Queen Size Quilt with a built-in Runner

My sister is my biggest customer!  She commissioned this quilt for her in-laws who live in Beit HaKerem.  They ordered a "runner" look which was a big challenge, because instead of having to piece together a large quilt, I had to put a lot of attention into the detailed quilting!

Wherever Inspiration Takes Us!

The biggest project of the last month has been a queen-size coexistence Quilt

My son-in-law hustled a commission for me from his aunt, who lives in the Galilee.  She is an Arab Christian woman who wanted a queen size quilt for her daughter who is getting married this spring.  More importantly, she requested that I integrate a major element of Palestinian embroidery within the quilt.  I ordered the embroidery from the Bedouin women at Desert Embroidery in Laquiya and created this quilt around their inspirational work!

Good luck on your new home!

My daughter Sari just moved into a new apartment in Jerusalem.  Her bedroom is filled with sunshine and her bed is covered with a beautiful quilt from her Mom!

Summer Camp t-shirts

It's not so easy to come up with creative birthday gifts, especially as our kids get older!  One of my daughters worked at Camp Ramah (in Palmer, Massachusetts) for many years and has collected an impressive and colorful collection of t-shirts from those years!  Her husband suggested a double bed quilt for their guestroom -- made from all the t-shirts -- which was a great idea! I got to work right away in order to have it ready for her birthday, which is Erev Sukkot!  Here it is!

Bold Colors

My daughters have been telling me for a long time that it's time to make a beautiful quilt for my own bed!  so, I got to work, in honor of our 42nd anniversary (it's hard to believe!) and Ron's birthday, which is quite a milestone, and I created this quilt.  The pattern is similar to the one that I made for Dahlia's bed, a few years ago (also a convergence quilt).

How to:
take 17 X 21" pieces of 2 contrasting fabrics and cut them in strips -- 1.5", 2.5", 3", 3.5", 5", 5.5".  Then put them together in descending and ascending order.  Isn't the effect stupendous?

A Work in Progress

My sister showed up about 2 months ago with a ton of fabrics from Joann's Fabrics in Delaware, and she asked me to make her a king size summer quilt. I had some trouble getting inspiration because honestly, I hadn't chosen the fabrics, and I wasn't sure how it would all come together. She asked me to use these big 12" squares. Since the size of a king size quilt is 108" X 96", exactly 9 squares X 8 squares works just fine.

Working on a king size quilt can get a bit awkward, so I pieced and quilted everything in 3 strips. Next step is to put together the backing and attach it. I'll use quilting in the ditch to attach it, since the top is already quilted.

I'm quite pleased with how it's turning out! This was lots of fun!