Quilting and Art-to-wear Projects Go Together

Over the years those who sew and never throw anything away amass quite a collection of fabric scraps. Our foremothers knew exactly what to do with them--make quilts. I have made two completed watercolor quilts, and one quilt top awaiting finishing, all intended to be quilt hangings. Watercolor quilts can be made with 2" square pieces of fabric arranged so that the colors and values are graded like a watercolor wash. I used a pre-gridded piece of flannel fabric pinned to a large piece of styrofoam board set up vertically so that the fabric pieces could be placed on it and viewed from a distance, essential to getting the graded effect. Full instructions are in the book Watercolor Quilts by Pat Maixner Magaret and Donna Ingram Slusser.

"Floral Heart I", 27" x 27"

"Light and Shadow" 25"x32"

This is the unfinished quilt top. In the years since I began the quilt, my quilting taste has become more freeform and spontaneous. Now I am thinking that the quilting should be with sparkly threads and yarns in an exuberant pattern. Well, it's on my list.

"Denver Dawn" (unfinished) 24"x36" (approx.)