Quiltingboard Forums - my Avatar pix quilt

I have had a lot of people ask me about the quilt that is my current avatar.

Here is the info. It was made in Bethel, Alaska as a Puzzle/Mystery quilt. It was made by 24 people in our guild and then quilted by a man in Fairbanks.

AFter it was finished it was taken to the Fiber arts festival in Anchorage where it hung at the art gallery that was premiering the artists latest print. She autographed the quilt and then we had pix made of her with the quilt. It was then raffled off.

So here is the details about a puzzle mystery. Only the chairperson knew what the mystery Print was. She worked for 6 months with the artists to get the correct scale we would need for each of the 24 pieces and to get the legal issues resolved.

then Each of the 24 people received and envelope containing a 2" square of the actual print and a 8" x 16" B&W blow up of that 2" colored print! The directions were to replicate that 2" sq using whatever it would take to do so. Paint, embellishments, etc.

4 months later we had a reveal party and it was super amazing to see the blocks go up in order and the pix become clear....truly one of the most memorable group quilts I have ever worked on.

Since I knew the artist, I was chosen to go to Anchorage for the gallery viewing and have her sign it. Which she did gladly.
Her name is Barbara Lavallee and she is the most wonderful lady in the art community.

THe quilt was raffled off that summer and brought in over $5,000. The person who won, later sold the quilt for nearly 3 times that!

The guild also received permission to make note cards using OUR quilt picture and they sold them for about a year. The artists later paid the guild royalty rights and bought them out so she now prints and sells them. There was NO pattern made for this quilt.

That same year Elaine Braun of Polar Notions also used a BL print to make a wall hanging and she won at the state fair with it and at the Fiber arts festival.