bdieges designs

GALLERY

From time to time I will feature special quilts and their stories on this page.
Please page down to see more.

GALAXY OF STARS
30"x37"

Have been fascinated by seven pointed stars for a long time. Played with the design on the computer for many years and finally committed it to fabric for the Hoffman 2005 Challenge. It traveled for a year with the other challenge quilts. The entire design is paper pieced. Designing the quilt was more of a challenge, than using the fabric! The challenge fabric was used in the centers of five stars and the inner points of three others.

BLOSSOMTIME WORKSHOP RESULTS

June didn't finish her quilt in time to join the others in the group picture, since she made a lapsize quilt. Thanks everyone for participating in the workshop and finishing your quilts and tops. See Blossom Time for my sample.

BARGELLO TWIST

These finished tops were made by Sandi, Wina and Anita in a workshop I taught to the Pine Needler's Quilt Guild in Groveland CA. Great border treatment, Sandi! Wina decided to make hers larger by repeating the panels. We had a wonderful time in the workshop, even though there were twenty students. They were busy and most of them were almost finished by the end of the day! Groveland is a small charming community on the way to Yosemite National Park. Though it is not too small to have a quilt shop! To see my workshop information, go to Workshop or to view the Bargello Twist pattern.

Below are finished tops made by Ann, Bernice, Kay, Jean and Judy. Although the instructions were identical, through the individual's fabric choices of color and placement, all of the pieces are very different.

BLOSSOM TIME
120"x120"

About two-three years ago, my friend Ann was looking for an interesting design, to fit into the new decor of their bedroom. With the help of Electric Quilt and Quilt Pro, I developed this design. It took a while to find just the right batiks. Ann finished it just before Christmas. It was machine quilted by Molly Hamilton McNally. It also developed into a fun workshop for me to teach!

HEART 'N' DIAMONDS
55"x60"

In early May I performed my one woman play for the Citrus Belt Quilter's in Redlands CA. During Show and Tell Cathy Kreter of CJ Designs, Riverside, CA shared this quilt. Cathy had taken my class over 10 years ago. The quilt hangs in the entry way of her quilting "house" which has a cathedral ceiling. She had to get out the 10 foot ladder just to get it down, but she figured I would enjoy seeing it. She has no idea how much pleasure I get from seeing my student's work. If you would like to see the pattern, which has a different arrangement of the values, click here.

The Citrus Belt Quilter's puts on a wonderful quilt show every May. What makes it different is that they display quilts in beautifully kept vintage homes in Redlands. This year they were given access to the Morey Mansion, which has just been renovated. It was a spectacular setting for all those wonderful quilts.

VIEW OF THE LAKE
22"x36"

Last year I visited my friend Ann in Redding CA. She asked me what I wanted to do, what else was there to tell her, but "Quilt!" "What? Was her next question. I had been wanting to try a scenic quilt, so I drew this design on freezer paper. She pulled fabric from her stash and I sewed and sewed. We finished the top by that afternoon. It was very rewarding and freed me from my piecing habits, where everything has to match. It is very heavily machine quilted with variegated rayon and metallic threads.

It won a blue ribbon for Innovative Piecing at the Best of the Valley Show in Tulare, CA.

SNOW CRYSTALS QUILT

It was a great honor to have my quilt on the cover of the Jan-Feb 1999 issue of quilter's newsletter. Snow Crystals is a king size quilt, 114"x114". All of the snowflakes are different, as all real snowflakes are different. The quilt is hand appliqued, machine pieced and hand quilted on a Hoffman Batik fabric. The applique technique can be learned in my Snow Crystals Applique workshop.

This quilt has been shown in Paducah KY at the American Quilter's Society Show and in Houston TX at the International Quilt Festival.

CALIFORNIA SUNSET AND HERONS

     This quilt was started by Christy, during the class I taught at Empty Spools Seminar, held at Asilomar, Pacific Beach, California. She now lives in Boulder City, NV.

     Here is the story of Christy's quilt, in her own words. "When I signed up for the class, I had in mind doing something that would be representational of the sunsets I'd been enjoying in central California. I thought I did a pretty good job of moving the colors. I got the final approval on my way home when I witnessed another of those wonderful sunsets. The surprise and what 'finished' the quilt for me was the presence of two heron, in the flooded rice field beside the highway."

     "I fussed for a couple of years on how to do the heron. I got the final method and idea for completing the heron at Asilomar in an independent study session with Sharyn Craig. When I showed the class what I had come up with and done the night before, they all gasped. It was great!"

     If you scroll down you can see a couple of other quilts below that are also based on the same concept.

LEAVING HOME

Cranes flying away from shore, inspired the name of this quilt. I also have three children who have spread their wings, leaving home. The cranes are also found in many Oriental designs, as I worked on it I thought about my five Asian friends who have been there for me through the years. Two of them have passed on, so the image of two cranes is quilted into the frame.

SHADED NINE PATCH

Brenda's quilt top, was completed during the same week long workshop. This quilt seminar offers several sessions every year at Asilomar, Pacific Grove, California. Although Brenda had done some patchwork and quilting on her own, this was the first workshop she had taken.

CAMDEN STARS

     This quilt is the work of a student, Cheryl Classen of Pacific Grove, California, made in the workshop I taught in 1998 at the Monterey Peninsula Quilt Guild.

     She won a third place ribbon at her guild show in April, 2001 and a first place ribbon at the Salinas Valley Fair in the same year.

     I am always delighted and proud when I see work done by my students, as I only plant the seeds in the workshop. So it is very special to see the finished project and the garnered ribbons.

NINE LIVES

     This quilt was made by Pat who lives in Scotland. She used my Nine Lives pattern and is also a cat lover.

     Don't the appliqued fish in the corners look great? She just used the designs that I include for quilting. Using buttons for eyes on some of the cats, was just the right touch. I think this quilt was done in less than 10 days after she received the pattern!

     I always enjoy seeing the results of my student's and customer's work and am eager to share it here in the Gallery.

MY WILD ROSE

     Here on our mountain, wild roses grow in abundance near shady streams. My husband dug some up and planted them where we could see them everyday. The flowers are about 2" across, with five pink petals and in spring the new leaves are a bright yellow green.

     I was inspired by those little roses to design this quilt. Which is what I call a controlled scrappy quilt. That means that there are lots of different fabrics in the quilt, but a limited color range.

     My friend, neighbor and walking buddy, Sally Fimbres, worked on this quilt with me. She did all the applique, while I did all the machine piecing and hand quilting.

     It won a blue ribbon at the Glendale, California Quilt Guild 2001 show for the best two person quilt.

     The quilt is one the quilts featured in my book A Thread Runs Through It.

SPINNING TRIANGLES
100"x112"

This is my daughter and her husband's wedding quilt. It was supposed to be done for their wedding. However, it was finally finished for their first anniversary!

This very versatile block is the same one used in several quilts in this gallery, just page down to see them. A pattern is available for making the blocks. You are only limited by how many blocks you want to make!

MORE BLENDED TRIANGLE QUILTS

     I have finally used up the last of the paper pieced blocks donated by quilters from all over the United States.

     These two quilts will be quilted and ready for auction for the 2006 Sutter Cancer Center Auction in Sacramento California. The star is still in the design stages.

     If you scroll down you can see a several other quilts that are made with this same block. Some are made with the donated blocks and others pieced from scratch.

JEFF'S QUILT

This quilt was made by Rose McIntosh for her friend's husband Jeff. He was diagnosed with malignant melanoma.

PATCHES OF HOPE

     The following was sent to me by Juleen Jaeger, it is from the label on the quilt. As you scroll through the Gallery you will see two other quilts that use this block.

     The block used in this quilt is called "Blending Triangles." The block was designed and generously shared with us by Barbara Dieges of Tehachapi, California. Barbara is a designer, teacher and lecturer out there. Her daughter, Jennifer, is a breast cancer survivor and her name is included on one of the blocks.

     This quilt has been brought together and organized by Juleen Jaeger, a breast cancer survivor. Through her love, dedication, hard work and endless energy this tribute can assure others touched by this devastating disease that they are not alone. Juleen's theory: "This cancer has been but a stitch in the quilt of my life."

     Each name on this quilt represents an individual or family touched by breast cancer. Our thanks to Caroline Murray, owner of The Quilting Bee in Greendale, Wisconsin for her generosity in sharing her staff and providing the guidance and space to assemble the quilt and for her donation of the backing, batting and binding materials.

     Our thanks, too, to the wonderful ladies who helped to piece the quilt top and do the finishing--Juleen Jaeger, Joan Hintz, Diane Baranowski, Telva Szymborski and Judy Hurtienne.

BEYOND TRIANGLES

     This is the second auction quilt that I have made with donated paper pieced blocks, to help raise funds for Breast Cancer Research. There are still enough blocks to make at least two more quilts.

     This quilt was donated to the auction that was held in October 2002, to raise funds to be used at the Sutter Medical Center Foundation in Sacramento, California.

     The arrangement of the blocks, piecing and machine quilting was done by me.

BREAST CANCER QUILT 64"x64"

     Our oldest daughter was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1998. She went through surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. At that time, it was thought that it had been caught in time, however in 1999, there was a flareup and she again went through all of the various therapies. At that time I felt there was nothing I could do, but make a quilt to be auctioned to raise money towards Breast Cancer Research.
     Realizing that many women, have been touched by breast cancer, either in themselves or through a loved one, I asked them to help me make this quilt. Since I have contacts with several quilt guilds, as well as travel to many other guilds, I provided the quilters with a 4" paper-pieced pattern to make blocks. I have received enough blocks to make four quilts this size, not only from these guilds, but from individuals all over the United States.

     My daughter was home that Christmas. Even though she wasn't a quilter, she helped me with the quilt design. We used some of the many blocks that I had received. I would not have come up with such an innovative design, without her help.

     By showing this quilt on this page, I hope that all of the quilters who made blocks for this quilt will be able to see and enjoy it. The Tehachapi Mountain Quilt Guild hand quilted it. It was sold at auction at the Road to California Show 2001.

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