Cindy’s Vineyard (Photo courtesy of Jimmy Martin)

This is the second shadow trapunto quilt that Cindy Denton designed and Bettye Kimbrell quilted.  Each grape on the quilt is stuffed with bright purple yarn and each leaf is stuffed with an intense green yarn. They appear pale and hazy seen through the quilt’s sheer batiste top. There is a large amount of stippling around the main design elements.  Stippling consists of tiny stitches placed as close to each other as they can be without touching.  It took Bettye 3 years to complete “Cindy’s Vineyard.”

77” W X 89”L (1992)

Detail of Cindy’s Vineyard

Cindy’s Rose and recognition from Disneyland

This is Bettye’s first shadow trapunto quilt.  “Trapunto” is a form of quilting in which  figures are outlined in stitches then stuffed with extra batting to make them rise above the surface of the quilt. In “shadow trapunto” the top layer is a sheer batiste fabric.  When figures are stuffed with brightly colored yarn, the designs take on a soft, hazy appearance.  The stuffing is usually done from the back of the quilt, but Bettye, devised a way to stuff  the yarn in from the top with a tapestry needle.  This quilt, designed by Cindy Denton, won Best of Show at the Alabama State Fair and got the same honor at Disneyland in California when shown with winners from other state fairs across the country. (Photo of quilt courtesy of Jimmy Martin)

82” L X 78” W (1985)