Quilt Couture

Although I’ve never had one myself, I’ve always loved old-fashioned quilts. They make a bed so yummy-looking. Once I considered taking a quilting class to try to make a quilt out of all my old T-shirts, but sadly, it didn’t pan out.

So it’s a good thing that talented artists such as Denyse Schmidt are out there, sewing the most gorgeous and colorful quilts. One of her lines, Couture Quilts, says it all. And to top it off, they are made for her by Amish ladies in Minnesota.

Along the lines of my failed T-shirt idea, Schmidt handles custom designs like this one for her friend Wendy, who wanted a quilt made from the dresses her grandmother hand-sewed for her as a child.

Or this one, made from dozens of old ties from a customer’s husband.

Schmidt was recently honored with perhaps her greatest custom order of all – a commission from the Philip Johnson Glass House organization, located in Connecticut at the 47-acre site of the famed architect’s most notable creation.

Schmidt is one of many artists and designers who have been asked to create products for Glass House Commissions, which sells limited editions of each design to raise money for the organization. The commissions are part of the Glass House’s overall mission is “to become a center-point and catalyst for the preservation of modern architecture, landscape, and art, and a canvas for inspiration, experimentation, and cultivation honoring the legacy of Philip Johnson.”

If you love Schmidt’s quilts as much as I do, and you have more motivation than I could muster with my T-shirts, you can go to one of her workshops in Connecticut this fall and let her help you make your own.