Sylvia's Bridal Sampler, Pearl's Pieces, The Farmer's Wife and Salinda W. Rupp quilts

At the recent quilt show we were excited to find sampler quilts representing some of the most popular designs around:  Sylvia's Bridal Sampler, The Farmer's Wife, and the Salinda Rupp quilt (aka Nearly Insane).  In addition there was a beautiful and unique sampler, exhibited as a memorial to a local quilter.  Here are sampler quilts from the 2013 DVQG show.

Sylvia's Bridal Sampler, 98 x 98", by Christine Taylor

The design for this quilt is Sylvia’s Bridal Sampler. The story is in the book called The Master Quilter by Jennifer Chiaverini, in which the friends of Elm Creek Quilts founder Sylvia Compson plan to make her a special quilt to celebrate her wedding. For her version of the quilt, Christine Taylor changed the setting and added four more blocks (and modified some blocks) to total 144 different blocks.

close up, Sylvia's Bridal Sampler by Christine Taylor

The blocks are mostly pieced and paper-pieced with some applique, as shown above. We loved Christine's choice of colors, which matched the elegant floral fabric she used in the sashing and borders.

Pearl's Prized Pieces, 92 x 92",  pieced by Pearl Denison, quilted by Elaine Beattie

Pearl Lillian Denison (1928-2012) was born in Vanguard, Saskatchewan and came to the United States in 1954. During her 20 year retirement she enjoyed traveling, gardening and quilting.  Fran Schweitzer, who owns the quilt and entered it in the show, says: “[This quilt has] 112 totally different pieced blocks, many blocks with more than 50 pieces. Beautiful work by Pearl (RIP).”  In this clever setting, the blocks are offset at three different levels around the quilt, such that the blocks appear to tumble around the border. 

close up, Pearl's Prized Pieces

The use of ivory and cream provides a unifying background for the many-colored blocks; in this photo you can see an airplane, stars, pinwheels, shoo fly, a shamrock, a schoolhouse and hearts. The blocks surround large and small trees of life.

The Farmer's Wife, 84 x 95", by Carroll Stephens, quilted by Sharon Graves

First published in 2009, the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt is filled with letters from 1920s farm wives and the quilt blocks they inspired.   The quilt was designed by Laurie Aaron Hird and consists of 111 classic 6" blocks. Carroll Stephens' classic version is true to the original; the blocks are set on point and topped with cornerstones.

close up, The Farmer's Wife quilt by Carroll Stephens

In this close up photo you can see Carroll's perfectly pieced blocks, rendered in a multitude of colors.  This quilt is challenging to construct; for reviews and readers' tips see the book web page at Amazon.
 
Nearly Nearly Insane, 55 x 65",  by Pam Creason

Pam Creason says: “Every once in a while I enjoy making a quilt that is really challenging. This was one of those quilts… The original quilt had [93] blocks and my quilt contains 40 for if I had made all of the blocks I would have gone Nearly Insane.”  The 1870's-era Salinda W. Rupp quilt was brought to light by Liz Lois, who spent 3 years reproducing the blocks; she named the pattern Nearly Insane. The full quilt has over 5,500 pieces.

close up, Nearly Nearly Insane by Pam Creason

You can see some of the incredibly detailed blocks in this close up photo, with their tiny triangles, diamonds and squares.  Pam Creason did a fabulous job piecing and quilting her masterpiece.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

All Sewn Up: Wedding Ring Quilts

For the past few weeks we've been focusing on our favorite Double Wedding Ring Quilts.  Here's a wrap-up of the Best of Wedding Ring Quilts at Quilt Inspiration !

Above, Row 1: Jeweled Wedding Ring pattern by Karen Earlywine and Kay Connor, from: Link to the 30's: Making the Quilts we Didn't Inherit (Martingale); Jeweled Wedding Ring by Robyn Tischner at Bolo Heads ; Bachelor's Wedding Ring by Eric Gunson at Pieceful Expressions ; 10 Years and Still Over the Rainbow by Michèle-Renée Charbonneau at Quilt Matters. Row 2: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, 2013 Raffle Quilt by the River City Quilters Guild (California),  photo by Quilt Inspiration, adapted from Jennifer Chiaverini’s Caroline’s Wedding Quilt pattern;  Rings n' Things by Karen Earlywine and Kay Connors, from:  Link to the 30's: Making the Quilts we Didn't Inherit (Martingale); Single Girl Quilt by Denyse Schmidt at Denyse Schmidt Quilts; Bali Wedding Star by Judy Niemeyer Quilting . Row 3: Flowers for my Wedding Ring by Judy Niemeyer Quilting; Diamond Wedding Ring by Diana Simkins for Judy Niemeyer Quilting ; Grandma's Wedding Ring by Judy Niemeyer Quilting . Row 4: Glowing Wedding Ring, Dresden Plate Wedding Ring, Crazy Wedding Ring and Broken Pickle Dish patterns by Virginia Robertson Designs . Row 5: Jewel Tone Wedding Ring and After The Wedding by Debby Schnabel at Debby Quilts ;  Double Wedding Ring Quilts by Bonnie Hwang and Mary Pona at Fun Easy Designed .


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

Wedding Ring Quilt Inspiration and Free Patterns!

The Double Wedding Ring is the most popular pattern in the history of quilting. Here are some inspiring quilts !  NOTE:  This post has been UPDATED.  For the latest patterns, please go to our Free Pattern Day for Wedding Ring quilts (CLICK HERE!)

Note: Please check out our eBay shop for great bargains on quilt patterns, fabric, and unique vintage jewelry ! 

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, 2013 Raffle Quilt by the River City Quilters Guild (California);  photo by Quilt Inspiration

First place winner for "Best Group Quilt" in their 2012 quilt show, this is the RCQG’s Opportunity Quilt for 2013. It is adapted from Jennifer Chiaverini’s Caroline’s Wedding Quilt  (a Double Wedding Ring quilt embellished with floral appliqués, a cherished gift for a very special bride). The quilt was made by 25 applique artists and 4 piecers. This quilt has four gradations of red and green fabrics, creating an elegant luminous quality.  You can see the detail of the blocks in the close-up photo:

Bachelor's Wedding Ring by Eric Gunson of Pieceful Expressions

Shown above is Eric Gunson's "Bachelor's Wedding Ring". We first featured this stunning quilt in a 2011 Blue Quilt series called The Blues. Eric Gunson is the lead designer at Pieceful Expressions, which is his family's business in Sisters, Oregon.  To our knowledge they are no longer producing patterns, but you can sometimes find individual patterns on eBay or Etsy.

Double Wedding Ring design

The diagram below shows the pieces which form the rings in a basic Double Wedding Ring quilt:

In this diagram there are 6 fabric wedges in each arc, but there may be as many as twelve or more. The wedges can be cut from templates and pieced traditionally, or they can be foundation paper pieced. Once the arcs are constructed, they are attached to the melons (B) and center shapes (A) with curved piecing; alternatively, the finished arcs can be appliqued on a background block. In addition, the arcs can be made from a single fabric, without any piecing, as in the auction quilt shown below:

The Double Wedding Ring design - first published in 1928 - is believed to be a variation of an even older pattern called Pickle Dish (see the article by historian Barbara Brackman).  Barbara explains that a wedding ring quilt has four-sided patches in the arcs, whereas a pickle dish quilt has triangular pieces as shown below.

Pickle Dish Quilt, c. 1930, seen at Ebay

  Kaffe Fassett's Pickle Dish Quilt

Just when you thought the naming was straightforward, on the cover of Kaffe Fassett's Quilt Romance there is a hot pink quilt which looks like a cross between a fat wedding ring and a Dresden fan.  This is Kaffe Fassett's Pickle Dish Quilt. Whether you call it a Pickle Dish or a Double Wedding Ring, we love Kaffe's brilliant, vintage-inspired design !

Golden Wedding Ring, 1940's, seen at Ebay 

This beautiful and unusual vintage quilt from the 1940's features a design known as a Golden Wedding Ring.  We love the sunny orange and yellow stars:

We can hardly wait to show you some more fabulous variations. Use the search bar in the upper left corner of this blog to see more Wedding Ring quilts!

Image credits: Note: this post was updated on February 17, 2025.  Photos are copyright of the owners.

River City Quilt Guild - Day 4 ('Tis the Season!)

We recently visited the River City Quilters Guild quilt show in Sacramento, California, where we saw some lovely quilts with a Christmas theme.

Holiday Lane, 63 x 73", made by Lori Hemmingsen-Souza, quilted by Brandy Rice

This cheerful quilt with its cozy houses and decorative holly leaf border won a third place ribbon in its category. We recognize this as a design by Arlene Stamper and Melissa Harris at The Quilt Company.

Close-up, Holiday Lane

This is the Holiday Inn block: The Holiday Inn is decorated for the holidays with a Christmas Tree in the Window. The three signs out front give directions to where the fun is at! There's "Miller's Pond" for ice skating, and skiing at the "Bunny Slope" with "Hot Cocoa" to warm you up afterward.

Over the River and Through the Woods, 48 x 54”, by Phyllis Day

Phyllis says: "Made for my son and daughter-in-law. First time to do redwork." The "Over the Hill and Through the Woods" pattern is by Meg Hawkey at Crabapple Hill Studio.  Meg says: "The little family travels in a horse drawn sleigh through the snowy woods & across the river to Grandmother's warm & welcoming farmhouse. You can practically smell the turkey roasting!"

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, 86 x 97”, made by RCQG Members, quilted by Deborah Joyner

First place winner for "Best Group Quilt", this is the RCQG’s Opportunity Quilt for next year's 2013 show. It is adapted from Jennifer Chiaverini’s Caroline’s Wedding Quilt from her book Traditions from Elm Creek Quilts (A Double Wedding Ring embellished with floral appliqués, a cherished gift for a very special bride). The quilt was made by 25 applique artists and 4 piecers. This truly lovely quilt has subtle color gradations, which gives it an elegant luminous quality.

Close-up of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

In this close-up, you can see the intriguing center floral applique motif.

Pretty Packages, 27 x 30" by Teri Moore

Teri notes, "I saw this block in a magazine. It is a wonderful block for the beautiful Christmas fabrics. I’ve had fun making many table runners and 3 quilts."

Winter Wonderland, 63 x 67”, by Mary Fish

Blue ribbon winner for best quilt utilizing all other techniques, Mary notes, " This is my creation for a Zephyr Point Quilt Camp challenge to produce a winter wonderland quilt. It is adapted from patterns from Crabapple Hill’s "Winter Wonderland" and "Over the River and Through the Woods"; The Stitch Connection's "Snowman Collector"; Winter Twitterings [by Pearl Louise Krush] and my own designs."

Close-up, Winter Wonderland

Close-up, Winter Wonderland

Christmas Bed Quilt, 84 x 103",  by Phyllis Day

Phyllis Day writes,  "I decided it would be nice to have a Christmas quilt for every bed in our home. This is a start."

Image credits:  Photos are by Quilt Inspiration.