my path to the present

I began quilting, quite by accident, four years ago.  I had just had my third child and was looking for a creative outlet.  Then, on a trip to the bookstore with my kids I stumbled onto these three
books, each chalk full of examples, instructions and inspiration.  The next day I ordered hand dyed fabric and began cutting and sewing and cutting and sewing some more.  Soon I found two great blogs with instructions on dying fabric and randomly piecing 'art quilts' - or quilts not meant to be used on the bed.

Within months I started dying my own fabric and it was at this point that I decided that I, too, was making 'art quilts.'  To assure that these were indeed 'art quilts' I attached hanging sleeves to their backs and declared them too precious to be used by my family.  Trouble was, that while I enjoyed the process of making these, I did not really love the results.  The colors were not as bright and happy as I would have liked, the designs too busy, their size too small for practical use.

Then I followed a link to this super blog and everything changed.  I read Kathy's blog and followed her 'places i visit' to find numerous moms like myself who sewed, knitted and created at home while raising families.  I saw beautiful quilts using commercial fabrics and knew that it was time to switch gears - I did and I never looked back. 

Until now.  I would like to share just a few of the art quilts that I made over a 2 year period - I no longer really like them but they served their purpose in bringing me to where I am today. 


This is the first one made..


this is the last one I completed, binding and all...

above quilt is just the top...

this blue and yellow is about 4 x 5 feet...

this one is about 4 x 3 feet...

and I never got around to putting the binding on these two because I wasn't happy with them - the super dense quilting (every 1/4 inch or so) took forever. 

Tomorrow, back to the present with fun stuff I am working on.

 

Comments

[Betty]

What an interesting journey through quilting you've had! The art quilt looks fabulous. I find that I am much more into practical sized quilts too. I never quite "got" the wall hanging quilt. That's just me though

[Helen]

I dont know, I think they are kind of nice--I especially like the last one with the wavy quilting. But I understand--I wish it werent so but the quilts I have made in the past I dont really enjoy either. So much so that I cant bear to finish them sometimes. I lose interest in them I guess and I always see something new I want to work on. Love your quilting!!