I added the barns to my farm quilt and was quite happy with them. Click any image for a larger view In places I had to modify the trees and sky behind the barns in order to create enough contrast. Of course, it wasn’t long before I noticed […]
After creating the sky and tree line of my farm quilt, I was ready to tackle the fields. I drew the main lines and the road directly onto the muslin base with a permanent marker. After LOTS of fabric auditions, I got started cutting and placing. Click any image for a larger view I used […]
My haiku quilt, “Quiet Dappled Light,” is now complete. Click any image for a larger view In my opinion,the beauty of this piece lies within its details, and in the story conveyed. You may recall that it portrays a specific country road, where I grew up. That road is very twisty and BARELY wide enough for two […]
I belong to a wonderful organization called SAQA, Studio Art Quilt Associates. One of the goals of the group is to promote art quilts. With that in mind, the group orchestrates trunk shows of very small quilts. These travel, free of charge, to any group that asks. Isn’t that cool? This year’s call for trunk […]
My latest quilt is finished, and I’m very happy with it. I’ve named it “The Last Few Dates.” Click any image for a larger view I kicked up the contrast every so slightly by outlining the foreground elements with a skinny black marker. You can’t see it from afar, but it adds a little definition […]
After completing the background, and auditioning fabrics for the foreground, I set to work on the Queen palm twigs. I was loving the “measles” fabric. Click any image for a larger view But, was it taking over? Hmm. Have you ever heard the artistic advice: If it’s not working, try removing your favorite thing? Darn. I […]
After designing a plan for my Queen Palm (twigs) quilt, it was time to create the background. After some consideration, I decided to slightly mimic the colors in the inspiration photo: blue-green in the background and yellow-green for the foreground. Since the colors are similar, I knew I’d have to create contrast with value. I’d […]
In my neighborhood there are a lot of Queen Palms. They’re sort of THE classic palm: tall and willowy. Click any image for a larger view But, what I keep noticing about them is the fruit clusters. And the bumpy twigs that remain when the dates are all gone. (I get to study these up close […]
After completing the stalks, it was on to the thorns and berries. – How thick should the thorns be? Skinny enough to be sharp, but fat enough to show up. – In light fabrics, so they’ll show. – And what about the berries? Yellow seems like a good choice, but will the high contrast make […]
After sketching the design for the thorny palm quilt, I was ready to audition fabric combinations. Purple background or green? Click any image for a larger view Since the purple background provides such a nice contrast, I selected it. I wanted the background fabric shapes to hint at the horizontal thorns I’d be adding. You can […]
