Create with me

I love to dig into my scrap pile and find art. One of the ways I will often do that is to set myself some starting parameters and see where they take me. Often the starting point is simply a colour. My smaller scraps are sorted by colour groupings already, so I will poke through a single scrap bag to see what sparks my interest. Lately I’ve been playing a lot with a patchwork base of simple squares and rectangles layered with freehand, curvy quilting stitches. Something about the interaction between the boxy background and the free-wheeling stitching appeals to me. In this example (which you can find in my shop!) the curved stitching became the branches of a tree and I used a variety of shades of green thread to suggest a grassy backdrop, but sometimes these pieces are more abstract. These pieces vary in size, but are typically the size of an average placemat. I make them with pockets to hold a rod for hanging, but they can also be displayed on a table.

Original art quilt. Hand stitched tree design on a background of scrappy green and blue patchwork squares. 15.5” x 21.5”

In my September 10th post I hinted that there would be a special opportunity for early newsletter subscribers, and here it is— Everyone who signs up for the newsletter by midnight Central Time on October 15th will be entered into a draw. The winner of the draw will be announced in the first newsletter on Tuesday, October 17th. And the prize? I will make the winner a custom art quilt in this style based on the prompts the winner provides. You will be able to specify a colour theme and a mood or idea you want the piece to convey. If you want you can even send me a photo showing where you want to display your art quilt, and you can specify the size (within a range).

Over the next few weeks I will share some other examples of quilts in this style to get your creative juices flowing. And if you haven’t signed up for the newsletter yet, you know what you need to do!