Join us as we learn how to make picture quilts with expert fiber artist Wendy Butler Berns whose method is simple, fast, and oh-sew fun!
Check out these picture quilt patterns and projects from the Bluprint community to inspire you to plan your first picture quilt.
Join us as we learn how to make picture quilts with expert fiber artist Wendy Butler Berns whose method is simple, fast, and oh-sew fun!
At the 20th European Patchwork Meeting in Alsace, France, Quiltmania presented an exhibition called "50 Variations of Yoko Saito's Mystery Quilt", which was published in Quiltmania magazine during 2012. The original quilt was displayed amongst the reproductions or variations of this appliqué masterpiece as well as one entry which is a miniature version. I only had a very short time to take these photos, so apologise that I did not have time to take a photo of each one, or record the maker of each quilt. I have started my own version of this quilt during 2012, so to see all these wonderful quilts in one place was just amazing. I do hope you all enjoy seeing how different each one is: The Original Mystery Quilt by Anneke Bos This one by Toussein Martine: and this is the miniature version by Michele Armanet, France Miniature mystery quilt, only 58cm x 69cm I hope anyone contemplating making one of these will have plenty of inspiration above. If anyone knows the maker of any of the above quilts, please contact me and I will happily add their details to their quilt.
Join us as we learn how to make picture quilts with expert fiber artist Wendy Butler Berns whose method is simple, fast, and oh-sew fun!
Once I read Wendy Butler Berns' article about how to make picture quilts in Quilting Arts Magazine, I knew I had to give her technique a try.
I'm doing a happy dance today because after two three (!) years, I have a finish: My Lake Michigan Quilt, or as we say in all of our state...
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...
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.
Display and quilts by Donna Greenwald, pumpkins made by her sister Donna Greenwald, our Featured Quilter at Annie's Star Quilt Guild'...
Make a super-simple landscape art quilt with free-motion thread sketched embellishments, regardless of whether you’re a beginner or advanced.
So many people at one time or another go to the beach. Many of us day dream about what it would be like to live at the beach, look out our windows to see the endless ocean and the big sky, and listen to the waves. Beach designs and motifs give us a sense of Read the full article...
It has been a weird week. I am running up against the deadline for finishing the "Elements" pieces and I essentially lost two days this week. Monday morning I woke up with a stiff neck and by bedtime I was in a serious amount of pain. Did not sleep and by morning I was in such pain and fear of what might be causing it that I went straight to the Urgent Care Clinic near us. It was a strained trapezius muscle in my neck, making my neck impossible to move without screaming, hot pain and sending tentacles of pain winding up around my skull. The recommendation was rest and drugs and sleep and a soft cervical collar to support the weight of my head. So I lounged around all day on Tuesday reading and sleeping, felt a little better on Wednesday and much better today. So I was back in the studio this afternoon. "Water" should have been easy (that's why I left it for last), but I had a hard time settling on an idea. Close to my heart is the wetland area where we walk, so that began to take shape in my head. I started with an assortment of blue, gray and tan fabrics and fused some strips to form a base. At the end of today I had this: I think I am nearly there. A few additions, then I will trim it to size and bind it. Speaking of the wetland area, we had a surprise when we walked last week. Sofia was with us, and as we came around the corner near the Fanno Farmhouse, Beth and I were talking away and Sofia piped in "look at the turtle!" There, studiously digging in the dirt at the side of the trail, was a large turtle. I took its picture with my phone. That evening on the local news was a story of another turtle that was captured in a backyard several miles away. They are snapping turtles that have invaded the wetlands and creek. They are not native to the area and are thought to have been pets, originally, that were released into the creek and have bred there for years. This is the season when they come onto land to dig holes and lay eggs. They are quite destructive, eating the native fish, frogs, even baby ducks and can take a finger off if you are dumb enough to offer it to one. We found this one pretty interesting and were happy to have encountered it until we learned later what pests they are. If we see another we are advised to call the Parks department or Fish and Wildlife, who will come and take it away. Wish I had known. Now I am on the lookout when we walk.
Another lovely day yesterday spent at Busy Bees teaching Striped Pieced Landscapes.
There's an imminent new arrival in our extended family, so it's time for me to get working on another version of my baby beach scenes. Simon...
The main thing I want to make in 2015 is quilts - lots of quilts. I've started the year right with our national Quilt Symposium that's been right here in Palmerston North. I am full up with inspiration and thought I'd share some of it here with you over a few posts. First up, I attended some great lectures. The artists I saw are all very talented in quite different ways and I took something away from hearing each one. I have provided links to their sites and photos of the quilt they had in the tutors' exhibition :: Sue Benner creates original dyed and painted fabrics which she combines with recycled textiles. She fuses and then cuts her fabrics to create detailed quilts. Her quilt on show was one of her cellular structures : click on any photo in this post to make it larger "Cellular Structure V" by Sue Benner She shared some of her landscape quilts in her talk - tiny detailed pieces and wonderful colour - see her gallery HERE. Betty Busby works with all kinds of fabrics and uses a layered approach to her work. It was really interesting to see her work inspired by the natural world through a microscope in contrast to Sue Benner's work above - go HERE to see her gallery of that work. Her tutor's exhibition quilt was one of her waterscapes - see similar work HERE. But what I'm sharing is a piece from one of the other exhibitions in town since I far prefer flowers to fish : "Buffalo Gourd" by Betty Busby Linda Beach creates all her quilts with piecing and commercial fabrics. It was fascinating to see her take on landscapes in contrast to Sue Benner above. "Evening Wall Shadows" by Linda Beach Go HERE for her gallery of quilts which includes many trees and lots of colour - the one above is much more muted than most of her pieces. Helen Godden is an Australian quilter. Her work is predominantly pictorial, with strong design and colour. Lots of free motion quilting is a feature of her work. "Rainbow Lorikeet" by Helen Godden Click HERE to see her gallery of art quilts. Here are a few of my favourites from the Tutor's exhibition which might inspire quilts from me this year : Sheena Norquay's lovely quilt pair inspires me to make a seascape quilt : "Summer and Winter island strips with oystercatchers" by Sheena Norquay Jo Dixey is a New Zealand quilter - I love the way she uses fabric. It was hard to get a good angle of this quilt because it is quite large, so see it and more of her work in her gallery HERE. "Watching" by Jo Dixey I think I might have to make 1 abstract quilt this year - I just love the colour and composition of this one by Deborah Louie from Australia. "Medallion #8" by Deborah Louie I am very lucky that at the end of January I'll be spending 2 days with Karen Stone - love her work and a good way to start the year with fabric and colour design ideas. This is her tutor's quilt, but not one of the classes I will be doing. "Reptile wisdom" by Karen K. Stone I particularly love the circles in the border There will be more posts about Symposium so I can share other exhibition quilts. I also shopped!...More soon.
In 1996 Karen Eckmeier of Connecticut started making art quilts, which were very well received in national and international shows. Her hobb...
Did this a while ago but was never really happy with it so it went no further. More recently I had another go, but I still wasn&...
Have you ever taken a photograph and thought that it would look great as a quilt? Picture quilts are rising in popularity among those of the quilting crowd wanting to re-create a nature scene, a stitched portrait or a still life.
Creating a landscape quilt from a photo my husband sent me from one of his bike rides on Kelly Drive. See the process.
A fabric collage quilt doesn't need to be scary!
I had both of my Grandson's for the weekend. After they left today I went back to the studio to keep working on my pine needles. I fused the larger part of the each branch, quilt it, outline it and then stitch in the smaller branches in a variegated thread. When I have all the branches in I begin adding the needles with thread. It is a tedious process but the results are worth it. I keep my sketch of the short needle pine close by so I remember the layout of its branches. It is below zero today and colder weather is coming tomorrow. Good weather to stay put in the studio that is for sure!
When it comes time for me to quilt, I usually have a fear of starting. Most people don’t quilt the face at all — but my entire quilt is a portrait and I have no choice but to quilt it. …
In the last few months, we have begun to see some beautiful sunsets painted in our western sky here in central Pennsylvania. I was inspired to make some more sunset art quilts but I wanted to explore some different colors. I searched the internet for photos and paintings for inspiration. For me, the inspiration is Read the full article...
Instantly learn how to create a delightful and realistic pet portrait using fabric, batting, and thread. In this video download, artist Faith Cleary shares her method for creating unique quilted pet portraits.
Karen Eckmeier was our guest quilter/teacher this week. She brought several of her quilts to show us her raw edge machine applique technique. The first 3 photos are from her Village collection. From her Mandala collection This larger, Paducah Quilt Show winner, was quite stunning. Karen also showed us some of her mini-quilts, Accidental Landscapes. She taught a class in this technique. To visit Karen Eckmeier's web page, visit "Favorite Sites" on my right sidebar, which highlights a list of wonderful applique artists.
During the three-part series, we take a simplified approach to landscape quilting. It's all about trees—dark-shaded trees, light-colored tress, snow-accented
How to Design a Simple Art Quilt. Create an image and make it into an Art Quilt. Fabric scrap and fusible web will make it simple and quick
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...
Make a super-simple landscape art quilt with free-motion thread sketched embellishments, regardless of whether you’re a beginner or advanced.
The Boundary Bay Quilters Guild put on a class entitled “Confetti Landscape ” Bring a picture and bring all your scraps to match the colors in your pictures, preferably batiks as they …
