Art Quilts

In the past six months, I have become particularly attracted to art quilts. I marvel at the intricacies, the way the fabric flows together to make a scene and the beauty of nature captured in a quilt.

I spent quite a bit of time this summer researching how to make them, and I actually produced one myself. First, I looked at all different types of art quilts, and tried to settle on a method. I played around with different ways to create strips for the ground, including diagonal piecing. However, applique is my thing, so that was a strong pull.

Then I needed to find fabrics that worked well together. The first attempt was a farm field, but I really didn't like how that was playing out. In the garbage it went after sitting around for a month. Sorry, but sometimes I need to do that just to clear my mind. 

One day I happened across the sailboat applique in my files and decided that would my theme. I started auditioning fabric for the water and then worked down to the sand. The sunset fabric was easy - I have been trying to use it up for years!

While my normal applique method uses a zig zag stitch for securing the edges, I tried my hand at a few decorative stitches that my machine has. In the end, I was really happy with this, and hope to start a whole series of them.

In the meantime, I created a more simplified version of a sailboat at sunset. If you would like to make the pattern, or using the applique template for your own design, my pattern can be found in my Etsy shop.