11.01.2013

Bird of Paradise Quilt

More than 150 years ago, an anonymous quiltmaker somewhere in the vicinity of Albany, New York, designed and appliqued what is now regarded as one of the masterpieces of American Folk Art. Using paper ephemera, this master quilter created appliqué templates to fill her fabric canvas to the very edges with a bounty of delightful images. This quilt top, called the Bird of Paradise, can now be seen in the American Folk Art Museum in New York.
Nancy hand appliqued this amazing version of the Bird of Paradise quilt. Seriously, I've machine quilted some pretty amazing quilts, but I think this one takes the cake. I wish that this picture did the quilt any justice. This thing is amazing. The pieces are so tiny and the detail is amazing!
When deciding how to machine quilt this quilt I had several ideas but in the end chose to machine quilt a microstipple background filler. I quilt it super tiny and outlined all of the applique pieces, I just wanted the applique to sing!
Because the quilt is so awesome I had to take a million pictures so I never forget this quilt.
 Thank you for letting me machine quilt this amazing quilt Nancy! It was truly an honor to machine quilt such an amazing quilt.

14 comments:

  1. WOW! This must have taken her a very long time to construct. I imagine it took awhile to quilt, too!! Great job, Natalia. Breathtaking.

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  2. Gorgeous...stunning...an amazing piece of work for both of you! Thanks for sharing!

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  3. Gorgeous quilt and quilting! Nice job.

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  4. There are no words to describe that quilt...it is out of this world amazing! The quilting is perfect...really does make the applique sing. Great job all around!

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  5. Totally unreal. What an amazing work of art! The micro stipple is perfect! The applique pops!

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  6. I just don't even know how to articulate the awe this quilt demands. It really is an amazing piece, and you did a beautiful job of helping it to be what it was meant to be. Kudos!

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  7. Absolutely beautiful quilt!! Your quilting is perfect!

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  8. That is absolutely divine! The applique is totally amazing and you have enhanced it so beautifully with your quilting. Well done to both of you - what a treasure!

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  9. Wow! Just wow! As someone who lives in the Albany area, I can see many nods to local things such as the horses likely representing the Saratoga race track and the huge horse racing industry in this area. That quilt is beyond words and your quilting just took it to the top of awesome.

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  10. Unbelievably beautiful, all the applique work and the quilting!

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  11. Amazing job...both of you! I especially love the fussy cutting on the peacock's tail!

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  12. Many of the animals from this quilt were used in the making of Pfaltzgraff America pattern dishes. I've had mine since 1984. So wonderful to see this quilt Glad you shared. I did visit the museum site too. Bari DuBois

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