The Painter

We hope that 2021 is treating you well so far. This portrait quilt by Lenore Crawford inspires us to dream about going to a real (not virtual) quilt show again, in person, in the near future.  We wish you good health and happy quilting..

p.s. Check out our eBay shop for great bargains on books, magazines, and collectible items. For free quilt inspiration, please visit us on Twitter.

The Painter by Lenore Crawford

This stunning art quilt was inspired by a photo Lenore Crawford took of working artists in Paris. The colors and detail she achieved transports the viewer right into the scene.  Lenore used her raw edge fusing technique to create the piece, along with a little fabric paint to add fine detail and shading.  The row of paintings were depicted with fabric.

Lenore Crawford lives in Midland, Michigan, and The Painter was featured in the Midland Daily News last year. You can see more of Lenore Crawford's work, plus wonderful creative quilt patterns at her site on Etsy.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2020 Road to California show.  The green and white ribbon shown on the quilt signifies an Honorable Mention award.

Quilts Celebrating Creativity ! part 3

Here are more quilts from the Santa Clara Valley Quilt Association 2019 show! The Santa Clara Valley lies at the southern end of San Francisco Bay in Northern California. This year's show, titled Quilts Celebrating Creativity,  featured some outstanding works by talented quilters. Here are some of our favorites!

(Note: please check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on quilt patterns and collectibles ! For continuous free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter !)

Headed Outback, 46 x 42", by Randa Mulford

The colors and patterns drew us to this outstanding quilt.  Featured quilter Randa Mulford says, "Louisa Smith’s Double Vision workshop inspired me to dip into my sizable stash of Australian aboriginal fabrics. Once I got started, I just had to keep cutting out and adding more motifs from these fabrics as appliques until I had a whole parade of down-under creatures headed somewhere - to the Outback?"

Layers of colorful ovals create a sense of three dimensions in this contemporary art quilt. For more information on "Double Vision" quilts, on which this design was based, please see Louisa Smith's workshop page.

Flowers for Our Lady of Guadalupe, 27 x 27", by Carole Donovan

Carole Donovan says, “Freddy Moran taught a class using flowers cut out from fabric. We made a black and white background and glued the cutout flowers on the fabric to make a design."

Carole continues, "I wanted to make this quilt for special friends who celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. I liked my first try so much that I had to keep it for myself and made a similar design just for them.”
We love the broderie perse (collage) style of this original design!  You can see the raw edge flowers in the closeup photo, below.

Afternoon in Paradise, 24 x 33", by Randa Mulford

This wonderful landscape quilt was based on a photo Randa Mulford took during an afternoon visit to Paradise Meadow at Mount Rainier National Park. It appears to be framed, but the "frame" is actually a border made with wood-grain fabric! The quilt was begun in a workshop taught by Lenore Crawford. Randa says, "Recreating the scene with its late afternoon sunlight and flowing stream out of fused fabrics was a new challenge for me, but I like how it came out."

Marilyn's Home, 18 x 24", by Karel Peer

The Santa Clara Valley Quilt Association is participating in an exchange program known as "Quilts Across the Pacific", where each member has a sister quilter in Australia with whom to share designs, patterns, and quilt ideas. Karel Peer says, “This quilt, made for my Australian partner Marilyn Urane, is a quilted rendering of her home in Newscastle, NSW. [It was made with] commercial and hand painted fabrics."

There is a lot a detail in this little quilt; the flowers in this closeup photo were created with small buttons, and the windows and doors were outlined with embroidery floss.  The roof was made with ruched fabric.

Sufficiency, 46 x 37", by Therese May

This large, expressive fish was created by Therese May, who was a featured quilter at this year's show. She says, “This fish represents the potential for more and more abundance. [The] drawing [was] printed onto fabric and machine quilted.”

On her website, Therese May states, "I make the quilts that feel good to me and that convey what I have in my heart. I’m an artist, a painter and a quilter. I like to think in pictures and to share that vision in my art." For more of her drawings, which serve as inspiration for art quilts, please see Therese May's website.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2019 Santa Clara Valley Quilt Association.

Highlights of the Pacific International Quilt Festival - Part 5

We had a fabulous time at the 2015 Pacific International Quilt Festival, the largest quilt show on the Pacific coast of the U.S.  Beautiful quilts were displayed from around the world. All the quilts were designed and constructed at a high level of talent. We are showing some prize winners, but we also will be showing some real gems that did not win. For a complete list of prize winners in the World Quilt category, please click here. Last week, we featured Part 4; and now, here is Part 5!

Summer in Norway, 36 x 40", by Charlene Dakin (Lafayette, California)

Charlene notes of this original design, "While visiting  [the town of ] Undredal, Norway, I was inspired by the lovely church siting beside the great fjords. I purchased a small watercolor painting, and with the permission of the artist, re-created my Norway experience in this quilt."

Charlene adds, "I began my quilt in a class with Kathy McNeil at the Empty Spools Seminars in Asilomar, CA and completed the many small houses later at home. " Undredal is known for its small stave church , which is lovingly depicted here in this enchanting, elegiac scene amidst the natural splendor of the fjords. Charlene's charming work is machine pieced and appliqued and sewing machine quilted.

Song of the Sea, 49 x 36", by Kathy McNeil (Tulalip, Washington)

Blue ribbon winner for Best Wall Quilt, Kathy says," I had no idea where my lovely sea creature would take me. She ended up in an art nouveau design playing with / or eating her little friends." We were impressed with the textures shown on Kathy's quilt, and the lifelike sense of motion created by the waving tentacles.

At first, this sea creature (perhaps an octopus?) is a little startling with its other-worldly eyes, and then it started to grow on us,as it has such a humorous look to it.  Kathy's very creative original design is hand appliqued and sewing machine quilted.

Pop Corn, 31 x 47", by Jan Soules (Elk Grove, California)

Jan explains, "This quilt began in a class with Lenore Crawford. I used one of my favorite California State Fair photos as an inspiration. I worked on one section at a time, and it was exciting to see the photo come to life in fabric. Now I can make fabric popcorn!"

Very pretty thread painting in clear colors of butterscotch and lemon yellow really make this applique "pop."  Jan's vibrant, energetic original design is machine pieced and appliqued, and sewing machine quilted.

Foldy Rolly Patchwork Pzzazz, 65 x 65", by Jennie Rayment (Emsworth, Hampshire, UK)

Jennie writes, "All the designs are named after fireworks and can be found in Foldy Roldy Patchwork Pzzazz - each design is created from simple shapes, and the folded edges are rolled to create curves. [These are] nine of the amazingly manipulated and totally ingenious designs that can be found in Jennie's book. The border is just rectangles and squares - it is the way they get folded that creates the effect -- magic !

Lovely split-complementary colors of green, blue, yellow-orange, and tangerine characterize these fascinating blocks. To see more of her innovative work, or to purchase books and DVD's, please check out Jennie Rayment's website.

Misty Mountain Pond, 76 x 78", by Renee Perlman (New Fairfield, Connecticut), quilted by Christian Lane Quilters

Renee's stunning quilt is paper pieced and machine pieced. Nine Mariner's Star blocks are each encircled by a ring a flying geese triangles. Such balanced, elegant symmetry is very pleasing to the eye.

The Misty Mountain Pond quilt pattern is by Bradley and Judy Niemeyer.  Here is the closeup photo:

This variegated color quilting thread done in a feather pattern looks so pretty on the deep rose red and red violet batiks, surrounded by cream color and light blue points.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

Painting with fabric: the art quilts of Lenore Crawford

As part of our Color Series, we've been focusing on artists who inspire us with their use of color in design.  Lenore Crawford is an amazing artist who blends fabric and paints to create breathtaking pastoral scenes of elegant beauty.  These works are so painterly, we can't believe they're made with fabric!  Even better: many of Lenore's designs are available as patterns.  Join us as we take a virtual journey to the villages and fields of Europe, the setting for much of Lenore's award-winning work.

Window with Shutters pattern, 23 x 18, by Lenore Crawford

Here's a new pattern, a lovely window to the past, which is available for purchase at Lenore Crawfords's website. Since we've been talking about complementary colors, notice the beautiful green-and-red complementary color scheme in the geraniums. Lenore writes, "I have been wanting to create a pattern of architecture, especially with flower pots. This one was created on the lime green background fabric, then the detail and shadows were added with fabric paints." The texture in the fabric and paints gives a wonderful three dimensional quality to this art quilt.

One Poppy pattern, 13 x 18, by Lenore Crawford

With her paints and fabrics,  Lenore expertly creates texture and depth for her flowers to produce very sensory images. As viewers, we find ourselves wanting to reach out and touch this entrancing flower. A pattern for One Poppy is available at Lenore's patterns page.  "One Poppy" is a smaller version of her stunning Grand Poppy, a watercolor-style quilt which won the Viewer's Choice Award at the International Quilt Festival in Chicago in 2007.  You can see Grand Poppy and many other watercolor quilts at Lenore's gallery page.  Also, Lenore sells a CD-ROM on Impressionistic Fabric Blending, which provides a detailed description on how Lenore creates fabric blended art quilts.

Port of Cassis, by Lenore Crawford, winner of Outstanding Art Quilt at the 2011Road to California Show (see Road to California Win)

"Port of Cassis" is one of Lenore Crawford's latest show-stoppers. It's a stunning scene of a small village on the Mediterranean, close to the famous town of Monte Carlo, Monaco. In our opinion, one of the reasons this quilt is so eye-catching is that it is a study in contrasts. The crisp strong geometric lines of the houses and boats are reflected as languid,  shimmering shapes in the water, which are enhanced with quilting (click to see the detail). Also, note the very effective use of complementary colors. Rust tones and cinnamon red unite beautifully with the soft aqua blue sea tones, and the bright blue windows in the houses complement the orange buildings.

This scene is so romantic and intriguing that it is easy to see why it keeps winning awards at national and international shows:  in February 2011, "Port of Cassis" also won third place in the Innovative category at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival XXII and in November 2010 it won second place in the Art-Pictorial category at the 2010 IQA Festival in Houston.

Dogwood Blossoms pattern, 17 x 22, by Lenore Crawford

These giant flowers have texture that is so lifelike,  that they almost pop right off the quilt ! They remind us of exotic orchids that emerge from lush tropical greenery.This pattern could be seen as a monochromatic color scheme for the blossoms. In places, their neutral white color has been shaded to gray. This gorgeous pattern is formal enough that it could be displayed in any room in your home, with any decor. You can purchase the pattern at Lenore's website.

Also, please see Lenore Crawford's Workshops: Fusing and Fabric Painting to Create Realistic Fabric Art.

Image credits:  Images are shown with the generous permission of Lenore Crawford.

Monet's Garden: Impressionism and Quilting

Claude Monet was one of the best loved Impressionist painters of the late 19th-early 20th century. He painted many scenes of his gardens at Giverny, in the northwest of France, which is shown in the photo below.



Monet was fascinated with the way that bright light fell from the sky and diffused upon the trees, grasses, and water surrounding him. He painted the effects of light in nature with rapid, deft, brushstrokes and broken patches of vivid color. Today, we are featuring four landscape quilts which celebrate Monet's garden and his brilliant "plein-air" style of painting.

Monet, by Darlene Sweetwood



Darlene Sweetwood has created a beautiful quilt, awash in light and shadow. This work focuses on the water, bridge, and sunlight that Monet saw as he painted. Darlene used diamond piecing to portray the quick, energetic brushstrokes of Impressionism. The lilypad and dragonfly perched on the border draw the viewer's eye into the gently rippling azure pond. For more information on Darlene Sweetwood's quilts, visit Quilters Fabric.


Serenity Bridge, 48 x 48, by Marinda Stewart for Michael Miller Fabrics



"Serenity Bridge" was designed by Marinda Stewart for Michael Miller fabrics, using a solid fabric panel in the center to portray the graceful bridge over the lake. The quilt is constructed by using watercolor piecing techniques around the lake and background trees. The shimmering blue, green and white prints lend a light-dappled warmth to this cheerful scene.

Monet's Garden Walk, by Lenore Crawford



"Monet's Garden Walk" beckons us to wander up a flower bedecked path to experience a rainbow of floral color. Lenore Crawford has used precise fabric painting, so that the Impressionist tradition of using both warm and cool hues of nature takes full effect. One of Lenore's passions is painting the landscapes of France. She has captured the garden as Monet himself must have seen it in springtime, burgeoning with fresh grasses and blossoms.

For more information on Lenore Crawford's award-winning artwork, visit her website and blog. Lenore also teaches workshops on her fusing and fabric painting techniques.

Monet's Garden, Giverny, France, 48 x 60, by Joan Jamieson



Joan Jamieson was commissioned to create this quilt by a couple who had just returned from Giverny and who wanted a reminder of their wonderful vacation. She used an endless number of tiny pieces of blue and green fabric to construct this delightful scene. In order to add contrast, she created delicate pink flowers for the lily pads on the lake and added beautiful pink clouds to the sky. The graceful willow tree provides an intricate focal point, as she has lavished it with thousands of perfectly placed stitches to give it added texture. You can see a close-up of Joan's beautiful applique and quilting in the image below.



For more information about the creation of the above quilt, visit this webpage; and to see more of Joan Jamieson's quilts, visit her online galleries at Quilted Views.


Photo Credit: Photo of Monet's Garden, by Michael Scaduto at Wikimedia Commons.