Rhonda Dort

I live a long long long way from mom and dad but I try my best to not let that stop me from heading north to spend time with them every few months. They still live in the city where I grew up in Missouri and every time I return I see changes everywhere!

I’m a 3rd generation quilter. Mom is the reason I quilt. She taught me that quilting is an amazing way to satisfy the need to create things of beauty. Her talents are many, she paints, she constructs garments, she carves and paints birds, she gardens, she longarm quilts, she’s amazing! She taught me that it’s ok to branch out, to use a pattern simply as a guide and that artistic license makes a project personal. When she could, she was very involved in several quilting groups. Caring for my dad has curtailed many of these gatherings but she gets out when she can. She’s got a wall covered with the many ribbons she’s won over the years, each one so deserved. She has set the standard high!

I took lots and lots of pictures this last trip. In no order I am going to show you just a tiny tiny portion of her amazing quilts and quilt tops. But first, how about a 4 Generation Picture; my grandmother, my mom, my daughter and me. Yes, it’s a picture from about 23 years ago but I love it! Hope you enjoy!

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The picture below is one corner of the finished basement of their home. The sewing machine cabinet (and sewing machine) were grandma’s and my uncle (mom’s brother) made the wall rack that holds the quilts. Mom made both the Santa in the sleigh and the rabbit in the rocking chair, the hand braided rug and all the quilts.  Like I said, talented!

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This fantastic piece is titled “My Old Linens Quilt.” Mom has given this piece to her sister, my aunt and I know she cherishes it.

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I’ve laid claim to this quilt below. I love everything about it, the pattern, the colors and especially the borders.

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This is a  pattern titled Feathered Fantasy by Shirley Stutz. I  brought this top back to Houston with me and plan to quilt it sometime this summer. What a challenge to do justice to this fantastic piecing! See the tiny pink bordered quilt on the left, a Lori Smith pattern, hand embroidered.

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This quilt was made from the pre-printed butterfly quilt blocks from the Fairway Needlecraft Co. Instead of hand embroidered butterflies, she chose to appliqué each of them using different fabrics. The borders are filled with butterflies and roushed flowers. A spectacular and very large creation!

Here’s what the individual pre-printed quilt blocks look like straight from the package:

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This Christmas quilt with poinsettias and trapunto quilting work is fabulous and the finished piece is quite large! The picture does not do it justice. This was a Mystery Quilt project, the pieced blocks are Goose on the Pond.

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In 2007 at the International Quilt Festival in Houston mom and I came across this quilt pattern in the Primitive Gatherings booth: Primitive Gatherings. Love at first sight! We bought the pattern and worked on our quilts miles and miles apart. Mom finished hers first, mine was completed in 2015. I love this picture, mom’s hanging and mine across the bed. You can see both are “cat approved”.

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The hexagon yo-yo quilt is amazing! Each of the hexagon yo-yo’s are smaller than a dime!

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This work in progress is an English Paper Piecing project.

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The hexagon wall hanging below (hanging on a green quilt) is made up of 6 machine embroidery designs from a collection titled “Aunt Bea’s Parlor”.  After a quick search of Black Cat Creations I see the design collection is out of stock. It look like it’s available here: Aunt Bea’s Parlor Embroidery Designs .

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This fabulous quilt titled “Hexie Love” took 2nd place at the 2015 Midwest Regional Quilt Show in Leawood, Kansas. Hours and hours of handwork went into creating this piece!

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This was a guild challenge. Colors were determined by a paint strip from the paint department of a big box store. This is her original design and it won a 1st place ribbon!

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From Crabapple Hill, this quilt is “Over the River and Through the Woods”. The hand embroidery is enhanced by colored pencil shading. The middle strip has added trees and snow, not part of the original pattern.  And yes, mom made Mr. and Mrs. Rabbit and their children on the bench below the quilt.

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Remember the machine embroidery designs up above? Here they are done in redwork, again from a collection titled:  Aunt Bea’s Parlor. I believe most of the tiny redwork designs in the border are built-in designs from both her Brother and her Janome embroidery machines.

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Fantastic colors and a wonderful border on this stained glass quilt top. The borders are of her own design. Look at that detail-there are over 200 flowers in the borders!

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A very patriotic string quilt! Pieced on a muslin foundation, this quilt top weighs a ton!

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A very colorful  Stack ‘n Whack  quilt top:

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Obviously finished in 2006 this Birds of a Feather by Blackbird Designs quilt top is entirely hand appliqué.

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Another fabulous Stack ‘n Whack quilt top:

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I also brought this quilt top home to Houston with me last week. It is from a pattern by Mackie, Quilt in a Day called Nana’s Garden.

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And the final quilt top that followed me home to be quilted, this Bridal Bouquet/Nose Gay Stack ‘n Whack.

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A quilt top from  Miss Rosie’s Quilt Co.  This pattern is called: Elizabeth.

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All we remember about this quilt top below is that I searched and searched on the internet to find this pattern. The top and bottom row of stars were her addition to the design.

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Another wonderful hand appliqué quilt top ready to be quilted.

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I seem to remember this is of her own design.

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A crib/baby quilt, a simple yet crisp project is ready to be quilted:

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This is a sashed Disappearing Pinwheel. A tutorial can be found here.

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A quilt top of her own design using charm squares and fabric strips.

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And finally, last but not least this beautiful quilt top using reproduction fabrics. This is a fantastic Marsha McCloskey quilt pattern: Vintage Moments Quilt Pattern

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Whew! And can I tell you this is just the tip of the iceberg! Next time I head north I’ll spend some time taking pictures of all the finished quilts lying atop the guest room king bed. Thank you mom for getting me hooked on quilting!

Until later, Happy Stitching!

Rhonda