The Duathalon by Wendy Butler Berns
Wendy Butler Berns was teaching at Quilt America! in Indianapolis, Indiana in July 2002. On July 26, two of her quilts were stolen from the classroom in the Indianapolis Convention Center. The classroom had been locked while everyone went to lunch, but someone was able to gain entrance and took the quilts off the table.
The quilt shown above, The Duathalon, is an origial design was taken from a picture of her son in a bike race. The 40-1/2″ by 44-1/2″ wall hanging is machine pieced, machine quilted. The label includes the original photo, a description of how the quilt was made, along with Wendy’s name and address. The label is hand appliqued to the back.
Ever-Evolving Nine Patch by Wendy Butler Berns
The Ever-Evolving Nine Patch, shown below, is also an original design. It consists of squares fo fabric falling through space creating first tradtional Nine Patch blocks and then a funky Nine Patch. It is 42″ by 41-1/2″ and was made in January 2000. The main background fabric is a dark blue hand-dyed fabric that looks like a night sky. The blocks are turquoise blues and lime greens. It is machine appliqued and machine quilted. It is embellished with programmed stitches using hologram thread. A detail of the quilting is shown below.
The label says, “All life began from lots of bits and pieces, so too has quilting. The nine-patch has existed since the art of quilting began, but even with this tradition, there is room for change. As the 9 patch twists and weaves its way through time and space, it evolves from straight even patches to curved and wavy patches. This new nine-patch now has a visual sense of movement and energy within its original square space.” The label is hand appliqued to the lower center back of the quilt.
If you have seen either of these quilts, please contact Wendy at wbbquilter@aol.com.
