Happy New Year! Despite the long pause in postings, I did actually complete a few more sewing projects in 2014. January 2014 - Drawstring book bags for Allie and Cate's birthdays February 2014 - Robert Hughes baby quilt (I really need to consider taking a "how to photograph your quilts" workshop:) quilted with stars and spirals May 2014 - Amy Becker's HS graduation lap quilt Amy picked out fabrics at Fabric Depot during her Portland visit, Christmas 2013. I supplemented with a few fabrics I found at The Stitching Post and at Kapaia Stitchery during a trip to Kauai (always looking for an excuse to fabric shop). The blue batik with butterflies was the first fabric Amy chose. Other colors were built around that. quilted with vining flowers and leaves Now Amy has this nice warm lap quilt - perfect for her college years at the University of Arizona in Tucson. She assures me that it does get cold there, especially when the air conditioner is running. November 2014 - New curtains and duvet set for the Sisters house After 20 years, Stefanie and I decided it was time for a change in the upstairs bedroom in our Sisters house. We found some curtain fabric at IKEA (seen below in the medium-sized pillows). After a futile search for a coordinating duvet cover I decided we just needed to make our own. Not as cheap, but so much more fun! On the bed in Anna's old room at our house (tempted to keep it here, but...) Had to add a border piece as it was just a bit too small. Found a fun coordinating fabric at The Stitching' Post. Shams and throw pillows. The quilting in the shams mimics the print in the curtain fabric. All set up in its new home. On to 2015... January 2015 - Jeanne's lap quilt This quilt was made for my good friend and fellow swimmer, Jeanne. She will be out of the water for a bit, recuperating from surgery, so of course this called for a quilt! My daughter, Anna, suggested the colors - perfect for a swimmer. Another swimmer friend, Jenn, joined me for a shopping trip to Fabric Depot and also helped with part of the sewing. Sandi and Jeanne The design incorporates over 60 small blocks with names of some of Jeanne's friends. Next Up???? cityscape art quilt based on a photo of Roussillon, France art quilt based on our Croatia travels last September flower/plant themed art quilt for the Hardy Plant Society Hortlandia Plant Sale in April hopefully taking Hilde Morin's Bowl Art class
I’m not a sketcher or very good at drawing.but I do make some rudimentary sketches for most of my landscape quilts. These are very broad and simplistic ideas of the way I want the art quilt to flow and appear. Much of what I use the sketches for is to figure the proportions of the Read the full article...
I love the look of Flying Geese Quilts and here are 15 inspiration projects to get you making a flying geese quilt of your own!
In a world of hustle and bustle, silence seems like a reduction in man- made noise: no car engines or buses or motorbikes, no horns or music blaring, no screaming children or adults, no loud talking on cell phones. When these are all reduced we say that it is quiet when actually there are probably still a lot of sounds around: insects buzzing, birds singing, wind blowing, rain splattering, waves crashing. We often find these sounds soothing and relaxing. Whether in the midst of man-made or natural sounds, the sounds most difficult to block out are those within our own minds. For many of us there is a running commentary continuously playing in our head and this is the most difficult place to find silence. And yet there is no true silence without the ability to interrupt the monologue in our mind. In this quilt I have attempted to convey the idea of inner silence. The bohdi leaf represents the spirit which is floating noiselessly on the surface of a pond, perhaps a meditation image to focus on when seeking inner silence.
Quilts in 2022 are back! And I have been lucky enough to attend these and teach.
Phyllis Cullen is inspired by the people and places in her life to create art quilts using collage and stain glass quilting techniques.
My previous post showed how to put together a Poppy Field. Here I want to share with you some ideas for creating a similar background but i...
I thought I'd post a few pictures I took along the way making Blue Ridge Mtn. (This is the quilt they chose to be the cover of my book!) It has all my favorite colors and someday I'd like to make a large version of this quilt! How many 'somedays' are there do you think?! Especially for us quilters... we have more ideas than we have time. Well, here is my design, all in strips on my little portable design wall. From here, I sew all my strip segments together and then transfer them to a tear-away foundation. (I love Create-A-Pattern by Bosal Foam and Fiber, it comes off the bolt at 46 inches wide and is so handy for the type of quilts I make.) Ok, you might be wondering what you are seeing? Well... its kinda hard to explain... but sometimes I really don't sew all those angles from my strip segments together, I use glue. I'll admit it - I really don't like piecing all that much. (True confessions - from a quilter - can you believe it!?) I. Really. Don't. Like. Piecing.It takes too much time. I just glue down the background strip, glue the angle from the top strip closed and then glue the top strip on top of the bottom strip. Once all the strips are in place on the foundation, I just use monofilament thread and stitch them down. Piece of Cake. Because I use a tear-away foundation, all I have to do is fold and sew along grid lines that I drew on the foundation earlier. (Hmmm. I'll have to explain that in another post. Actually, I have a patent on this type of quilt top construction. I use it to make all my watercolor quilts too!) Anyway, here is the quilt top, now all I have to do is add the flowers and quilt it. And here is the finished quilt - Ta Da! Blue Ridge Mountain Sunset by Cathy Geier
In my journey to learn more about the history of quilting and fiber arts, I have discovered some incredible makers, artists, thinkers and leaders. A couple weeks ago we talked about one of our founding Quilt Mothers, Nancy Crow, Marti Michell, Rachel Clark and Judith Scott. Today, I bring you someone who is not justContinue Reading...
Quilting Counts! Really, when you think about it, it’s the stitching through the layers that transforms a top into a quilt, so make sure it contributes in full measure to the beauty of your quilt! Elegant & Powerful Straight Lines: Fully integrated and thoughtfully planned quilting enhances and supports the quilt. By integrated, I mean that the quilted stitch design should tell the same story as the quilt’s composition. Strong lines make a very noticeable contribution to the visual impact of a quilt. Lines have the power to direct attention toward or away from its various parts. They can affect the mood of the work by adding movement and excitement or contribute a quieter, mellower feel. For example, horizontal lines commonly create the impression of calm, tranquility and space. Strong vertical lines can give the feeling of importance, drama and height. Diagonals tend to indicate action or forward movement. Tightly angled lines that constantly meet and cross each other give a dynamic, lively effect to the work. The same kind of line, running in different directions, can add interest to the overall quilting pattern. Repeated lines of parallel stitching on traditional quilts often changed direction upon reaching the outside border, thus highlighting the center or the border – or both! Decoding the Magic of Lines: There are three basic qualities of any stitched line; visibility, style and scale. Understanding them lets us easily expand the range of potential designs we can create. Varying each of them opens an endless range of quilting ideas. Melody’s TIP: A great way to test a design before stitching is to draw it onto a piece of clear Duralar™ or Plexiglas™, a piece about 18” by 24”. Mark the edges with tape so you know where to stop from drawing on your quilt top. Place it over your quilt, test patterns directly onto the plastic with a Vis-à-Vis Wet Erase™ pen. This allows you to evaluate how the lines and shapes of your planned quilting design will relate to the pattern of your quilt top In Conclusion…Your quilt top is beautiful – and the quilting is the delicious frosting on the cake! Let the feel of your quilt and your unique artistic interpretation play out in your work. The result? Pure genius!
Libby Williamson is a fiber artist that uses her sewing machine as a drawing tool. Read more about what influences her colorful art.
As the fall arrives and summer winds down, I find myself thinking about images that relax me. I just finished this art quilt in early September. It transports me back to quiet afternoons at Long Beach Island in NJ with my family or visits to the Outer Banks in NC. Beaches are universal. After creating Read the full article...
This is a quilt series inspired by tree bark. Each quilt represents a differnt type of tree bark. Click through to see which one you like.
Fabrics and the role they have played in the decoration of your home is undeniable. Starting from the curtains on your window and doors to the bed linen we
So you want to make a fabric collage quilt. Great! After choosing an image to work from, the next step in creating a fabric collage quilt is making a simple pattern. This is a critical step, one th…
Easy quilts to make in a day. A lot of beautiful patterns, designs, and quilt ideas for you to make in one day only and the tips to finish it
In May 2011 my wonderfully creative mother died at the age of 85. Her death was unexpected but not surprising - nonetheless, it still left a void in my sewing spirit. Several trips, alone, driving back and forth between Michigan and New York gave me a lot of time to process and think. When I returned from the funeral, I also returned to my empty sewing studio. The only problem was that I was not ready to be around a lot of people. I wanted to play. I didn't want to work. I put things on hold and did the bare minimum of business-related tasks. For a while, I mustered up the energy to cut a bunch of quilt blocks, then I decided it was time to laugh. I had ordered a copy of Amy Bradley's Quilters Yearbook and loved the funny caricatures but had never got around to doing anything with it. So I got out the book and started working on moi. I took some liberties with the pattern and directions - OK, I didn't quite fit the templates provided in the book! I had to cut some hair! Plus, I wanted it to be more "pop-arty" and highlighted with free-motion stitching and thread painting. I also wanted to wrap it around an artist canvas rather than bind it. I picked my two favorite colors and got to work, editing and trimming along the way. I laid it out and started fusing. I was totally making it up as I went. I really had no plan. I just cut and cut...and fused. Once I was happy, I accented the design with thread. And added some eyebrows! Then I started working on my mom's caricature. Trademark turtleneck, necklace, big glasses, and monochromatic ...that's my mom...everything matched. When I posted this picture on Facebook, my brother commented, "I knew exactly who that was!" So it's rather appropriate that the necklace I have from my mom's extensive collection is the exact one shown on the portrait! This now hangs in my office at work and reminds me to find my quiet creative spirit!
I recently created an enlarged design of a smaller quilt I had made several years ago. All enlargements have challenges, especially as I’m usually working from a photo and I don’t make patterns. This starburst design is a creation of “rays” with each having seven different fabrics in it, progressing from light to dark fabrics Read the full article...
Explore scalleja's 7476 photos on Flickr!
Learn how Melissa Averinos uses these appliqué techniques and design wall tips in making her quilts.
Check out these picture quilt patterns and projects from the Bluprint community to inspire you to plan your first picture quilt.
Do you want to know all my quiltmaking secrets? Would you like to create your own stunning botanical quilt? The process outline in this article is the same process that I use for all of my art quilts, no matter how large or small, or how simple or complex! This article is a brief overview. If you wa
9-patch scrap quilt, nine patch quilt, quilt top
In my journey to learn more about the history of quilting and fiber arts, I have discovered some incredible makers, artists, thinkers and leaders. A couple weeks ago we talked about one of our founding Quilt Mothers, Nancy Crow, Marti Michell, Rachel Clark and Judith Scott. Today, I bring you someone who is not justContinue Reading...
Como aproveitar retalhos de tecido no artesanato
Sharing another beautiful way to display children’s art today. My friend Amy made a lovely quilt from drawings her children made for their school auction. I was so inspired by it and asked if she could share a bit about her process with us today…
Make a super-simple landscape art quilt with free-motion thread sketched embellishments, regardless of whether you’re a beginner or advanced.
Learn about what Lutradur is and some tips for using it on your next quilting projects in this video from National Quilters Circle
This is the ENGLISH VERSION of the pattern. The pattern includes specifications for two different quilt sizes. The quilt background can. be constructed in two different ways (single fabric or multicolor background). The pattern also contains detailed instructions for the construction of the stars and the construction of the complete quilt top. Coloring sheets for both quilt sizes and background options help you with the planning step. The pattern is great for using up fabric scraps - even very small ones! Of course you can also use yardage. difficulty level: confident beginner and of course advanced quilters. It´s the perfect project to make a big dent in your piles of scraps! The instructions do not include basting, quilting and binding steps. After purchase you receive a link for the digital download of the pattern via email. Please save a copy for your personal use straight away. The amount of downloads possible is 5, the download link ist valid for 3 months. Please respect our copyright rules, you can find the under 'Terms & Conditions'.
