Instant Art Quilts in The Villages – Part One
I recently taught two Instant Art Quilt classes in The Villages, FL. (Yes, that’s the name of the community.) Geared toward retirees, it’s made up of multiple idyllic villages , with a TON of available activities and amenities – including a quilt club with around 700 members!!!
As always in this class, the ladies were a little uncertain about the idea of tearing up their gorgeous hand dyed fabrics. But, they jumped right in and produced beautiful results in just three hours!
Click any image for a larger view
Above: Pat watching Carol
Below: Carol showing off her nearly finished quilt.
Carol actually used three different fabrics for her background, which can be quite challenging. However, she did a great job. The blue-green ovals were the perfect complementary accents to her very warm colors.
Dale cut loose, quite literally. She used a batik for her background, and added fusible applique as her focal point. She planned ahead and it really paid off!
This was Wendy’s very first quilt! Wow! The pride is showing on her face.
The spring colors in Heather’s quilt were very lovely.
Pat’s background fabric had a great variety of values, which she arranged quite well. However, her quilt needed some excitement. As she began to cut random accents from a floral fabric, we decided, instead, to “fussy cut” some of the floral shapes. A unique and appropirate accent, I think.
Ann’s selection of a complementary color for her accents was very effective. (If only I had gotten a better photo.)
Joan did her own thing, which I always applaud. She arranged her base rectangles off-kilter and added a variety of black motifs as accents. Very dramatic!
Lynn was inspired to make a scene with her quilt. She’s working on a setting sun and will add a sheer sail boat on the right. How creative!
This was the third time I’d had Jackie as a student and she was very enthusiastic, as usual. Don’t you love the rich colors of her quilt? And the dark purple accents really set it off.
Micki stayed busy as my hostess, but also had time to arrange her fabric into a dramatic composition. The diagonal lines add a lot of movement.
Can you believe they accomplished all of this, along with a GOOD bit of quilting, in just three hours? Way to go, ladies!
Ellen Lindner
P.S. Learn about the online version of this class. (Just started on April 6th, 2012.)
Looks like a lot of happy people. I know they had a good time with you drawing out their creativity.
Martha Ginn