My guest is a hand-quilter extraordinaire!

I would like to introduce you to a wonderful high school teacher and friend of mine, Mrs. Pearce!

She quilts with pictures, tracing paper, pencil, scissors, thread and needle.

All the quilts she has ever made have been of original design, 

custom-made for her family.

Her husband happens to love opera...

Let's take a closer look:

Every finished block on the quilt has the name of the opera

and the embroidered, traced signature of the person who wrote the opera.

Meant as wall hangings, her quilts include a lot of interesting materials like

wood, metal, buttons, etc.

Mrs. Pearce is experienced in the black work hand-embroidery style of her Basque grandmother.

"La Boheme" by Puccini

Here she has chosen to utilize plastic eyes, feather and beads for the embellishment for Papageno and Papagena from the Mozart opera "Die Zauberfloete".

Mrs. Pearce couldn't resist adding her own personal favorite opera, "Haensel und Gretel" 

by Engelbert Humperdinck.

Here she has embellished with buttons, yarn, fleece, sequins, laminated paper gingerbread men and more!

Isn't the black word on Gretel's head covering just beautiful?

Even the opera "Wilhelm Tell" was included.

The buildings in the background are all created by Mrs. Pearce and done in black work.

This is so sweet.  Mr. and Mrs. Pearce have been married for over forty years.  This is the very first necklace Mr. Pearce gave to Mrs. Pearce.  She used it here on this quilt dedicated to her husband.

The velvet brocade bedspread and black work satin pillow are so charming, too...

The opera "Aida" 

contains Mr. Pearce's first name

in hieroglyphics done in

black work...

(left, encircled)

Mrs. Pearce's next quilt will contain 24 blocks from the Harry Potter book series.

Hope you enjoyed this inspiring tour of hand quilting!

Do you quilt or embroider by hand?

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