Take a look at this gorgeous quilt (Crazy Quilt circa 1930 from Arthur, Illinois. 78" x 63") It may not be what you normally associate with Amish quilts, but it's definitely one of my favorites. This quilter just used what she had. There are lots of dark deep colors, and then tiny slivers of white and a few larger chunks of gold that really bring it to life. I can imagine doing a quilt like this and adding a word into one of those blocks. And look at this quilt (Nine Patch circa 1920, Kalona, Iowa. 62" x 74"). Isn't it luminous? I used to resist grayed out colors, but now I can appreciate how they make the stronger colors shine. These quilts come from the book Amish Abstractions: Quilts from the Collection of Faith and Stephen Brown. I love it, love it, love it. I have eight other books and catalogs specifically about Amish quilts, and yet this book has some stunners that I don't have photos of in any other book. To get an idea of what kinds of quilts the Browns collect, you can peek at the photos here just know that not all of their quilts are in the book. There are 74 full page photos of quilts as well as many detail shots in the book. I've got the calendar as well (which, uh oh, shows a vet appointment for Lily today - she's going to be quite irate). Kathie also loves the book and wrote about it here. I love that star quilt too. The book publisher, Pomegranate, has kindly offered up a giveaway copy of the book Amish Abstractions. But since it's my giveaway, I get to make the rules, mwa ha ha ha. To enter to win, leave me a comment in this post. Make sure that you give me enough information so that I can contact you if you win. Someone named "Anonymous" is not going to be entered. (Or they will, and then I'll just keep it for myself. again a fiendish "mwa ha ha") For a second chance to win, promise that you'll make a quilt using one of the quilts in the book as your inspiration. For a third chance to win, promise that you'll make the blocks in the liberated style ala Gwen Marston. For yet another chance to win, promise to include Liberated Letters ala me (need to know how? Links in the sidebar) in that quilt top. The quilt top must be completed by June and you must send me a photo of the quilt (or a link). Obviously we're on the honor system here, I'm not going to come to your house to get the book back. Okay, so I will enter your name up to four times. In your comment, include contact info and whichever/all of the following words (if you're game): book, quilt, liberated, words. I think that sounds fun anyway. I will close the drawing on Jan 25th and pick a name then. Speaking of giveaways and Gwen Marston, Bumble Beans is very kindly offering up her second copy of Liberated Quiltmaking II. Click over here and leave a comment by 8:15am est on the 22nd. Thank you all for the kind comments about my cute kitties. They've been enjoying Amish Abstractions too:
