Zap
Do a search on the Internet for Amish quilts and you may be surprised what comes up. I was. When I made this quilt in 1992 I understood Amish quilts to be made from solid fabrics used in a fairly limited number of design layouts. Even with those limitations I was in love with what I consider Amish quilts. According to Roberta Horton, these more traditional quilts sewn from the same cloth that their clothing was cut from were made before the 1940's. She says in her book An Amish Adventure, "Many of the quilts made today by the Amish are for the outside world, catering to English tastes in Calico prints." I recommend this book if you want to do a study of color or would like to try your hand at making one of the simple yet intriguing designs.
Using the lessons from An Amish Adventure I designed this quilt with a simplified double nine patch layout. The "sparkle effect" is maximized when a very light fabric is used next to a dull fabric. In this quilt, I didn't randomize the fabrics. I made the quilt for my then young son, and I wanted the light to be laser beams. Thus the name of the quilt is Zap. This piece is machine piece and hand quilted.
Next: My Quilt Gallery