Spring Quilts

This week much of the US had a final, (we hope), blast of Winter and that can only mean Spring will be here, for good, soon. Here in North Carolina the tulips are not yet blooming. We do have daffodils. The daffodils come up way before Spring decides to really take hold. They brave the chances of one more winter snow. Sometimes their prediction is right and other years they get frozen by a final show of winter. But the tulips are more patient and hang back til it’s a sure bet that the sun will shine most days and the temperatures will remain above the frost line.

“Blossom by blossom the Spring begins.”

– Algernon Charles Swinburn

If Spring takes too long, we can always count on quilts to provide our blossoms. The quilts of Andrea Brokenshire are my absolute favorite floral masterpieces. There was a spectacular, special exhibit of her quilts at the Houston Quilt show in the Fall of 2023. Let’s take a look at a few of them and dream of warm Spring breezes.

Andrea Brokenshire

I was lucky to catch Andrea as she was talking about her quilts and techniques in Houston.

Most of the time she hand paints the plant or flower on silk and then machine appliques it onto the background. Her design sources are photographs, usually taken on her travels. Three’s Company’s photo was taken by her daughter, Samantha A Brokenshire.

Andrea adds detail to her paintings with unmarked free motion machine quilting.

The background on this piece uses a technique Andrea calls confetti-style. Small pieces of fabric are scattered and quilted in place, creating depth and dimension.

The stitching to give dimension and detail is exquisite.

Beauty Is in the Blues

This is Andrea’s representation of a true blue iris. She visited Schreiner’s Iris Gardens in Oregon when the garden was in full bloom.

Desert in Spring

Sadly I did not get a photo of the entire front of this quilt.

But Andrea pulled the quilt to expose the back and we can see her amazing quilting!

You can see that she uses many different threads.

A Passion For Purple

Here’s another quilt that I did not get a shot of the front. But you can get a glimpse of it in these photos showing the back detail.

I hope Spring is just around the corner in your neck of the woods.

“A kind word is like a Spring day.”

– Russian proverb 

Be kind to each other and Quilt Every Day!

by Mary Beth Krapil, Handi Quilter National Educator