Monday, November 2, 2015

Landscapes in Art Quilts

I belong to a book club that reads 4 books per year and makes quilts based on the books.  This is a really fun thing to do, as it induces me to read books that I normally wouldn't pick, which in turn widens my horizons.  It also allows me to play with techniques that I normally don't put into a quilt.  The landscape art quilt that I am making is based on the book, " A Sweetness to the Soul " by Jane Kirkpatrick.  Where I started, then, was to quickly sketch up my idea, then look for pictures that I could use for inspiration.   The main character is a heroin who as a young girl befriended a similar aged girl from the Indian tribe.  My idea was to show them hand in hand standing at the side of the river, looking at the scenery and the waterfall.    

sketch



There were quite a few references to a waterfall in Eastern Oregon where the Indians would go to fish.  While Celilo Falls weren't mentioned, they are the falls that I wanted to use as the inspiration, since they no longer exist.  Below are a few old pictures on the Internet.





I also looked through a sales brochure to find a picture of a woman from the back that I used as the model for both of my girls.  These pictures enabled me to refine my sketches of the girls (left) and the background (below).






I enlarged the background sketch to the size I wanted the quilt to be.  This enlargement became the pattern pieces for the fabric.  Here is the pattern after it was match marked, cut apart, then taped back together.


In order to sew the background, I flipped each pattern piece over. I traced around the pattern on the reverse side of the fabric and made the match marks in the seam allowances.  Then the seams were sewn.   Here is the background after piecing, but before enhancing.

Stay tuned for updates as I continue to work on this landscape quilt.

1 comment:

  1. Joanne, I am realizing the wisdom behind preparing a full size sketch of your project! I look forward to reading more updates! --Terry

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