I look at nature and photography with different eyes and insight since watching the interview of Joen Wolfrom on The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims. 
Joen explained how she chose colors from her photos for her quilts and quilt hangings.  These weren’t landscape replicas as I had expected.  She chose the colors from her photos that inspired her and incorporated them into her work.
In fact, Joen said she matched her photos to her fabric stash and selected colors for her work that way.  She also mentioned staying three hours in one place to get the photos that inspired her.
After watching …read more

What does bird watching have to do with quilting? you wonder. 
*You can find relaxation as you watch birds at a feeder from your window, in your garden, or during walks. 
*The birds around you may inspire your quilting designs.  The pioneer quiltmakers often named designs from the birds and animals in their lives.
*This is an enjoyable family activity that can create memories, as it has done for my family.
As I began to look at quilt designs and books, I discovered that many quilters have been inspired by watching the birds in the world around them.
           

I recently registered for the free e-mail newsletter at How to Quilt and received 10 free Halloween Patterns.  Often you’ll receive bonuses when you register for newsletters.  These is the current gift at the How to Quilt web site.
I enjoy receiving newsletters from online quilt and fabric shops, as well as from quilters and quilting bloggers.  They always have something new I can learn and to inspire me.
To check out the How to Quilt newsletter and site, visit: http://www.how-to-quilt.com .
There’s also a How to Quilt blog at http://howtoquilt.blogspot.com .

American quilts throughout the years generally consisted of two types – “pieced” and “appliqued” although there were many variations.  The word “patchwork” often was used to encompass both types of quilts.
To make a pieced quilt top, the quiltmaker cut patches of specific shapes and sewed together to create a design throughout the quilt.
Quiltmakers created appliqued quilts by laying pieces of fabric on a colored or white background then stitched them to that material with fancy stitching to form a design.
 
        

When I read Ann Johnston’s words, “My first quilts were traditional pieced and applique quilts,” in her book The Quilter’s Book of Design, (www.annjohnston.net) I related to this statement.  It also reinforced something I’d begun to suspect of many quilters.
Many of us started out with those traditional patterns for quilts, then diverged into other art forms and techniques until now we have a great diversity of quiltmakers and fabric artists.  My daughter and I both did the same.  We made the traditional quilts, and still enjoy them.  (I have a fascination for those quiltmakers of old who, midst their busy day, found time to piece and applique …read more

During this season of storms and hurricanes, quilters might incorporate these themes into their creations.  Some of the traditional quilts of years ago also were inspired by events in nature.  They include Storm at Sea, North Wind, Four Winds, Falling Timbers, Ocean Waves, and Streak of Lightning.
Today’s fabric artists may recreate storm scenes or combine colors that give an energizing, even stormlike appearance.  Because of the brilliant color combinations in Kumiko Sudo’s quilts, some may bring to mind the vibrancy and action of storm.
Her book, Harmonies and Hurricanes: Color and Line in Japanese Quilts will give you some ideas for designs of your own.

Other quilts, although …read more

Even though not all soccer and World Cup fans are men, you may be looking for quilt and patchwork ideas and patterns for the sports-minded men and boys in your life.  These may include quilts, wall hangings, and pillows.  Perhaps you’ll even want to make a soccer theme vest.
Quilting for the Men in Your Life: 24 Qulited Projects to Fit His Style by Pearl Louise Krush gives you ideas and patterns for quilts and home decor projects in sports-centered themes.  Among these are patterns for soccer, football, and golf designs.
With a little creativity, you can interchange soccer designs for quilts with basketball, …read more

Browsing through quilt patterns brings us to a variety of names that call to mind summer and warmer weather.
Among these are patterns which refer to the sun:  Sunshine and Shadow, Basket of Sunflowers, Sunbean, Sunflower, Sun Dial, Sunburst, Blazing Sun, Harvest Sun, Rising Sun, Sunshine, Triple Sunflower, and Kansas Sunflower.
From the garden we may find Corn and Beans, Golden Corn, Gourd Vine, Cherries, Grapes and Vines, Melon Patch, Strawberry, Mary’s Garden, and Martha’s Vineyard.
Nowadays with pictorial and landscape quilts, quilters create seasonal scenes and may be taking photos this time of year to incorporate into their work.  They’ll also make quilts …read more

My husband’s grandmother loved to make quilts, and we’re fortunate to have two of the quilt tops she finished but never backed nor quilted.  One of my favorites is “Grandmother’s Flower Garden,” stitched entirely by hand.
This is an intricate design (as seen on the cover of the book below) and can be pieced in many color combinations.  As with most any quilt pattern, you can make smaller projects, like placemats, pillows, wall hangings. 
With the coming of spring and summer (at least in the northern hemisphere) patterns with flowers often seem timely to include in our quilting.

“Tracking” quilts could mean tracing the origins of your quilts to determine who made them, where the fabrics came from, and their significance to those who owned and used them.
However, the term also could refer to various quilting designs through the history of quiltmaking that describe tracks of animals and birds.  Among the names of traditional quilts you’ll find:
*Turkey Tracks
*Bear’s Paw
*Duck’s Foot in the Mud
*Flying Geese
*Bird’s Nest
*Blue Bird
*Crow’s Feet
*Duck and Ducklings
*Puss-in-the-Corner
Even if the quilt patterns don’t specifically picture the foot of the bird or animal, you can introduce that into your quilting design. 
Most of the above patterns can be found in one …read more