I made this quilt in 2020 for The Modern Quilt Guild’s Quiltcon Together Wedge challenge. I haven’t shared this quilt, Make Wedge Love, before now. Probably because I didn’t think it was that successful, but looking at it now I feel 2020 in it. I see those COVID-19 spiky things in the medical illustrations. Plus the virus curves. There’s a feeling of disjointed fun— how could that be? And, where did I get that purple? It feels like a bad circus poster. That is how I feel about 2020.

My quilt, Light Coming Home, is on display at The Virginia Quilt Museum through December 20, 2025. My quilt is part of an exhibit titled MODern Quilting: A selection of quilts from Quiltcon Shows. Light Coming Home was part of Quiltcon 2023. I started this quilt the week of the Eastern Kentucky floods. I grew up across the border in Southwest Virginia. The images of the debris entangled against the bridges and houses. The lives lost. I processed this through making this quilt. Lots of curves and sharp lines. …

This is the fourth quilt in my Unmentionables series. This quilt embraces menopause and hot flashes. Unlike the other quilts in the series, the design uses only handwork and an experimentation in creating flames with thread. My mother, Rhoda Alice, made the appliqué girls on the back from clothes she made for my sister and me. Polyester! And those prints are adorable plus the color combinations were inspired. The Unmentionables Series: Hot Flashes Some of the embroidered words are other words for hot flashes. And, some are expressions of how I felt or I was feeling through menopause.

This quilt is up for auction as part of The Modern Quilt Guild’s Modern for Modern auction, October 1-15. Top of Southern Gap My quilt number is 33 .

This quilt is up for auction as part of The Modern Quilt Guild’s Modern for Modern auction, October 1-15. Top of Southern Gap My quilt number is 33 and bidding starts at $100. My brother planned to build a new home in Buchanan County (our home place ) in the “Southern Gap” community. I researched and found the satellite view of the building lot. It is a reclaimed strip mines. I had just finished an Appliqué Piecing workshop with Shelia Frampton Cooper. And that’s how I made this quilt.

On the Blue Side of the Mountain Finished in 2024 51” x 64” This quilt has a history. I have lots of hand-dyed indigo fabric. I learned this technique at Slow Stitching Retreat in Washington, Maine in 2017, hosted by A Gathering of Stitches, and taught by Kim Eichler-Messmer. That fall I hosted guild members at my home, and we dyed fabric. It’s nice to remember those times with those pieces. There are also a few remnants I received from Ana Conceicao, a guild member who works at UFab.

For the 100 Day Challenge in 2018 I got creative with photos of quilts in the wild. I have a handout with tips for quilt photography. Click button below: Photo Tips Mama Bear, taken at Virginia Beach Turning Trees, taken Violet Bank Museum, Colonial Heights, Va Star-Crossed Canoes, taken on Appomattox River, Sentimental Soup, taken in Petersburg, Va City Hall Secrets, taken at Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada Modern Plus Sign Quilts Blog Hop, taken at Old Brick House, Colonial Heights, Va Eastern Shore

Even if it’s not your pattern, please sign or label your quilts. There are lots of tutorials on the web. You can buy them too. A few years ago I began using a light box, called Picture/perfect LED …

Ben Millett’s quilts are tactile records, coded with color, memory and meaning. They look soft because they are, but their softness doesn’t dull their message. Instead, it amplifies it.  On […]