Artist Statement: "I collected 26 brass charms whose motifs started with each letter of the alphabet and decided I could make a quilt featuring them. The letter squares and the charm squares were made by wrapping the black fabric around a dense Pellon interfacing cut to size like I had done on "Alphabet Academy". I then appliquéd the letter and added the 1/4" colored binding, along with a couched gold cord. The center part of the quilt was all pieced and the borders were appliquéd. When it came to the quilting, I was able to quilt the entire quilt before adding the letter and charm blocks. Because of that, I knew where the letter blocks were going to go (I sewed an outline where each block would go) and figured I could quilt each letter in the correct sequence on the back in the outlines of where the blocks would be on the front. That way, it would essentially be a 2-sided quilt with the alphabet quilted on the back and the alphabet blocks on the front. After quilting, I used metal rivets to attach the letter blocks. I used a strong fabric glue to attach the charm blocks. I cautiously painted the letters on the back to make them stand out."
Fun Fact: "I didn't even think this quilt would even be worthy of a prize at the 2013 Paducah show, but it won Best Wall Quilt, a purchase prize! I didn't think I would ever again have the opportunity of making a quilt that was worthy of being in the collection of The National Quilt Museum, and my car needed new tires, so I took that prize money, gave up "Charm School" to the Museum, bought those tires for my car, and carried on with the next quilt."
Maker: Janet Stone
Quilter: Janet Stone
Year Made: 2012
Size: 49" x 74" Inches
Shows & Museums: National Quilt Museum - Paducah, Kentucky
