Branching Out

Yes, you have seen this quilt before.

But it took on new meaning when it was installed in this spot.

I was surprised by the effect of the branches on each third of the display.
 

As 2022 Begins

 This is the groups of quilts I currently have on display in the stairwell of my studio.

Welcome to 2022

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU!

I hope your year is colorful and that you are surrounded by quilts. 

Simple Interchangeable Quilt Hanging System

I have been asked how I hang my quilts over the studio stairwell.
This system works so well and I can load the quilts from an area that is not too high and them “roll” them over to the steepest point.

This view is from the bottom of the stairs looking up. You can see the tracks they hang on.
The tracks are traditional closet door tracks.

This close up gives you a better view of the tracks themselves. The tracks are attached to the ceiling.
It would also be possible to hang another set of quilts behind these as there are two tracks---think hanging closet doors and how they bypass each other.
See that black hole on the wall? That is where we previously hung a large quilt. My DH stood on the railing and leaned over the stairwell to hang the quilt. He told me to grab his ankles if he started to fall…..fortunately he didn’t as I would never have had the strength to hold him up. The quilt stayed there for many years as I was not open to a repeat performance the way he hung the quilt.
When we were ready to put up these closet tracks it was done with proper scaffolding and proper ladders and at the same time that quilt was taken down.

The vertical dark line you see in the track is where we joined two tracks to get the length we needed.

If you look closely at the top of the left quilt you can see the closet hanging bracket and the S hook we made to hang it from a clothes hanger.
The S hook goes through a hole in the bracket and also through the hole in the hanging bar for the quilt.
I love this method of hanging and the fact that I can change quilts on view often and easily.
When I want quilts to hang farther down the wall and not at the ceiling I attach a length of fishing line to each side to make them hang lower. If you look at this post you can see one that was hung lower:
http://quiltspluscolor.blogspot.com/2015/08/changing-quilts.html
No one even notices the fishing line.

Quilts–Up Close And Personal

Sharing the view of the quilts on the studio stairwell did not necessarily give you a great opportunity to see each of the quilts well.

Perfect Harmony is the only quilt I have ever shibori dyed fabric with a plan to make a specific quilt. It worked amazingly well.

The title refers to the harmony of the shibori pattern and the quilting design. I’m so glad I have it in my stair well/office area in the studio so I can look at it often.

Rambling Rose uses so many different techniques and also a variety of types of fabric.  It was created over several years as many of my pieces are.

These are two of the 5 quilts hanging in the stairwell area of my studio.

My Quilt Gallery

I am sharing several views of the quilts in the lower level of our home which I use as a gallery.

The quilts you are seeing are not my most recent work, but I feel they have stood the test of time as good work.

This quilt is the other piece I did from the same fabric, color and order. It’s always fun to see how you can start  at the same place and how the view can change at the finish line.

I try to display the quilts in a way that colors flow from one to the next and also so they work with the furniture and accessories in the room.

The hooked rug on the chair was designed by me and my Mom hooked the rug.

Up Where We Belong - the best of my studio

Love lift us up where we belong
Where the eagles fly on a mountain high
Love lift us up where we belong
Far from the world below
Where the clear winds blow


I may not see eagles, but I am up in the tree tops in my studio. When I open the windows I can feel the cool winds blow.



This is an overall view of my studio. The design wall has 4 movable sections and I store fabric behind it. I use the design wall both to design quilts and to display them.



When you open the design wall this is what you see.



This is the area of the studio where I cut, stitch and quilt. Sometimes it looks better than this, sometimes not as good.
It is a working studio, not a show place.




A place for everything and everything in it's place - this is one way I store some of my finished work.



This post office desk houses some of my yarn for knitting. The color arrangement serves as food for my soul and inspiration.



These are some of the books in my library. They have helped shape my adventure as an artist.


This is an area where I can sit and read, do hand work or plan what I need to do.
It is also an area that a group can sit it. It could be a group of quilters, friends or clients.



Although I get a lot of my inspiration working on the computer and seeing the world around me, sketching and painting are always beneficial activities.

The puzzle I have done for you is my post office desk full of yarn.

Unique ways to display your quilts

When getting ready for an open studio I had to find as many places to display quilts as I could. Silent Movie is hanging on a tension rod that is wedged between the sides of a shelving unit.
This has deep shelves that always looks cluttered so I have left this in place both as a decorative accessory in the room and to hide the clutter. You wouldn't believe what is behind it! This is hand quilted.



Gradual Gradations 5 is done with my mirror gradation hand dyed fabric. It covers the TV, photo albums, tapes, etc in the guest room cabinet.
If you look at the vertical strips in the quilt you can see how the fabric changes from dark to light and back again to dark. You may find it easier to see this if you click on the quilt to enlarge it.
I took advantage of the unique value gradation in this fabric to create this piece. Within the 9 patch blocks the gray changes from dark at the top to light in the middle to dark at the bottom just like the vertical strips. The hot pink changes from light at the top to dark in the middle to light at the bottom. This is another way of using intersecting fields of color. The light background is a batik fabric.

Don't ask how I dye this fabric - you really don't want to know. It is way too much work, needs to have special equipment built and wastes a ton of dye. I will continue to work with the pieces I have already dyed but have no intention of dyeing this way again.

Neither of these quilts were designed and made for these particular spaces. They just happened to fit them.

Gradual Gradations 5 is tonight's puzzle.