“Color Makes the Quilt”
What to do with a gorgeous piece of hand dyed fabric? Back in 2003 my ideas were limited, so I decided to use it as a sampler for quilting designs. But, it was just too pretty to be relegated to sampler status, so I added some more fabrics and created this, called Color Makes the Quilt.
Click any image for a larger view
This piece has been living in my UFO (unfinished objects) drawer since 2003. I always thought it needed something more and I tried a couple of things. But, they all seemed to detract from the lovely colors, so I finally left it as is. (Detail shot below.)
I came across it recently and immediately knew what to do with it: donate it to the small quilt auction at my guild’s upcoming show. I often do this with samplers, old class samples, and the like, so this fit the bill perfectly.
Since 2003, I’ve come up with lots of things to do with hand dyed fabrics. Here’s a photo of one I’ve been using a lot lately.
As you can see, I no longer have any hesitation about cutting up these fabrics!
These days, one of my favorite things to do with hand dyed fabrics is to turn them into Instant Art Quilts. With such quilts a gorgeous fabric is torn into pieces which are then rearranged. This yields very interesting and wonderful results. Like the one shown below, called Afterglow.
I teach a class in this technique, both live and online. My students have great results and you can see their quilts here. Plus, my own class samples.
Would you like to be notified when the next IAQ class is offered online? If so, leave me a comment. Your email address will show in my private email (but not publicly) and I can add you to my list.
Ellen Lindner
P.S. I’ll also be teaching this class live in both South Carolina and Florida this spring. Consult my teaching schedule for dates and locations.
I want to take this class!