September Monthly Blog Tour

"We don't accomplish anything in this world alone... and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry of one's life and all the weavings of individual threads from one to another that creates something."  ~Sandra Day O'Connor

This month we are treated to a tapestry of heart and soul as imagined by the quilter's of Gee's Bend. Bold colors, stacked blocks, even tea stained words all play a part in this masterful textile. And the entries this month are a true testament to the vibrancy and life that these quilts embody.

Lynda of SCDiva created a polymer clay quilt block to honor all the quilters in her family's past who inspired her. The palette she chose - rust, red and brown - is beautiful for fall. 

Starting with a vintage copper button adorned with colorful ribbons and accenting the texture with a grouping of bumpy lampwork beads, Klassy Jool made a cute and sassy bracelet design that would bring a smile to your face.

Personally, I have a tendency to overthink things, and sometimes my designs get overworked because of it. But Cilla of Tell Your Girlfriends proves that simple can be striking if you have something beautiful to work with. The lampwork glass she chose is a fun palette that just makes me happy!

Molly of Beautifully Broken Me (above) says this is her favorite challenge to date! And we can see why. She was inspired by the love of her grandma who taught her how to sew. But more than that, Miss Molly created a stained glass mosaic that is the perfect embodiment of the inspiration quilt. Fabulous! 

As Bee Tree by m.e. says, "I am amused and amazed that artists WILL make Art no matter what!!!" The lack of resources did not hinder the creativity of the Gee's Bend quilters. m.e. made sure to use a variety of textures and patterns including flowers for blossoming talent, birch bark rolled beads, hand painted rag silk and even an old thread spool. This design is a beautiful tribute to those talented ladies of Gee's Bend!


I am all about trees right now. Can't get enough of their branches and of course the amazing blankets of color that they are robed in right about now. And apparently Angela Lund-Logan is also on the same wavelength. Check out her beautiful necklace!

With a nod to the exuberant color palette and the 'wonky lines' used in the quilt, Miss Heather of My Muse, Aquariart (above) made a very tactile bib necklace. The fabric, the tassles, the game tiles are all a wonderful folksy feel, perfect for any quilter. And Heather ought to know, as she is one of the most inventive designers with fabric I have seen!

Mixed media seems to be the order of the day and completely in keeping with the quilter's use of whatever textiles they could find, so Honey from the Bee used vintage buttons, an old belt buckle and some brass tags as well as some Fordite beads that are the ultimate form of beady recycling! This colorful and varied necklace encourages you to Dream A Little Dream with Honey from the Bee.

Cece the Beading Yogini was inspired to create her own textile by knotting colorful threads around a wire base. This clever focal was accented by what else...buttons!

Being doubly inspired, Kathy Engstrum of CatherinesDreams made not one but TWO entries this month! Both feature a completely fun color palette and an explosion of pattern. See the first one above and go to her blog for Part II!

The Bead Therapist went in search of the perfect art beads for this month's challenge and came up with a wonderful glass artist using bright pops of color and multiple textures. This bracelet would be fun to wear and the plus is that it would go with absolutely everything in your closet!

 Mary Harding created a beautiful pendant inspired by actual seaweed from a walk on a Maine beach in the perfect fall colors that I just want to wrap myself in.

I have always had a fascination with sewing and quilting in particular. To be so focused on making those little squares and seeing that each piece will be part of a beautiful larger whole is magic. And those who wrangle seed beads hold that fascination with me as well. Mackin-Art literally wove a tapestry of seed beads that mimics the quilt perfectly.


Lisa Cone of Inspired Adornments created a double-sided focal for her bracelet. On one side there is a resin mosaic of the words "housetop" for the name of the quilt and the other is a little mini felted quilt square. Genius!

And finally, I actually didn't think that I had it in me this month to participate, but that is a stated goal of mine to do each monthly challenge (you all need to keep me honest!), and after perusing all the wonders that you created, I decided that I had no excuses and I would get it done (unfortunately, my son has the same procrastination gene that I have have so he was feverishly working on the first major book report of the year!). You can read all about my artful procrastination here.;-)

Thanks for hopping on the monthly challenge blog tour with us! Stay tuned next week for a look at the October challenge!