My take on the 2021 BOM using wool appliqué on wholecloth linen.
My first quilt! When I saw the amazing Wendy Williams design, I knew I had to do this. Problem is, I didn't own a working machine and hadn't sewn in 30+ years. I had just started doing wool appliqué 4 months previous so decided to jump in the deep end of the pool and make it my own. Wholecloth quilt was not in my vocabulary when I started. I learned so much along my journey over the 420 days it took to complete the quilt top.
I decided to downsized the pattern to 65%. Wendy uses wool felt on many of her pieces, so I went that route finding beautiful 100% merino wool online. For threads I started with Valdani. Along the way I discovered Sue Spargo so incorporated her threads in the outer sections.
Each house and building were stitched separately then attached to the background with additional embellishing. Rather than roads, I opted for gardens and included bees, butterflies, a dragonfly, a caterpillar, snail and turtle. Family houses are included in the inner circle including dogs, cats and birds. I drafted the city buildings using photos of buildings that have meaning to me and my family, opting for three in each section rather than 4. Corner skyscrapers are city hall in my hometown of Dover, NH (clock time is when I was born), the Academy Building at Phillips Exeter Academy where my son attended (his birth time on clock), Thompson Hall at the University of New Hampshire where my husband worked (his birth time on clock) and Union Chapel in North Hampton, NH where we were married in 1983. Houses in the city are the four homes we've lived in over the past 40 years. Our fur baby, Bingo, is at two of the houses. I designed the vine border and went wild created penny flowers. When I look at my first house, the gray #9 at the top center (where I grew up) compared to the outer border, I'm amazed at how much I grew in terms of stitching.
I sent my quilt across the country for custom quilting by Cindy Paulson (The Quilted Connection) in Utah. She took my quilt to the next level!
Thank you to TQS for making this amazing design available!
Maker: Carole Behan Berry
Quilter: Cindy Paulson- The Quilted Connection
Year Made: 2021-2022
Owned By: Carole Behan Berry
Size: NA
Shows & Museums: 2024: Road to California | AQS Daytona Beach | AQS Branson | AQS Paducah | AQS Lancaster || 2023: AQS Grand Rapids | Maine Quilts | Cocheco Quilters Guild
Awards: 2024: AQS Lancaster 3rd Place Wall Quilts-Movable Machine Quilted | AQS Paducah 3rd Place Small Wall Quilts-Moveable Machine Quilted | AQS Branson 3rd Place Wall Quilts-Appliquéd | AQS Daytona Beach 1st Place Wall Quilts-Moveable Machine Quilted and Viewer's Choice | Road to California 2nd Place Other Category | 2023: AQS Grand Rapids 2nd Place Wall Quilts-Movable Machine Quilting | Maine Quilts 1st Place, Best Use of Embellishments and Viewers Choice | Cocheco Quilters Guild 1st Place, Excepti
