Harvest Quilts - Part 2

Today, we are continuing to admire some lovely quilts with the theme of a bountiful harvest. Join us for inspiration from these creative and attractive quilts which incorporate images of apples, pears, grapes, pumpkins and other fruits of the season. 

Horn of Plenty,  20 x 25, by Virginia Robertson

Virginia Robertson writes a delightful blog titled Old Dog New Tricks, in which she describes her real-life dream job.  She is the Quilting and Design Coordinator at Bali Fabrics, where she creates patterns for the vibrant Princess Mirah batiks line.  These batiks really sparkle in the vivid diamond border of salmon and violets hues, which perfectly showcase the grapes and pumpkin in the center of the quilt.  "Horn of Plenty" is available as a kit or a pattern at Virginia Robertson Designs. These bright, cheery colors would work well in any room to offset the loss of daylight in the Northern Hemisphere as the end of the year approaches.

Cornucopia Block, by Elly Sienkiewicz, stitched by Karen Pessia

Elly Sienkiewicz learned to quilt from her relatives in West Virginia, and she embraced it with a passion. One of the best known and most popular designers of appliqued Baltimore Album style quilts, she founded her  now famous Elly Sienkiewicz Applique Academy to share her love of both teaching and quilting.  In the Cornucopia Block shown above, stitched by Karen Pessia,  Elly's energetic and lively design really captivates the viewer, as grapes, peaches, apples, cherries, and anything else you can imagine leap out of the horn of plenty in a joyous arrangement. Her latest book, Elly Sienkiewicz's Beloved Baltimore Album Quilts: 25 Blocks, 12 Quilts, Embellishment Techniques has just been released this week. We can't wait to read it, as Elly's prolific designs and excellent instruction are such an inspiration to quilters everywhere.

Apple Still Life,  51 x 37, by Ellen Lindner

Displayed on the home page of Ellen Lindner's  Adventure Quilter website, these tempting apples are made with exquisite colors and precision. They  seem to jump rights off this beautiful quilt, as they are so lifelike and three dimensional. This quilt is an example of Ellen's double reverse applique process, and Ellen has published her own Double Reverse Applique E-Book, which can be downloaded immediately from the website. These e-Books are time-saving, convenient, and economical.

In order to make the beautiful "Apple A Day " block shown above,using the Double Reverse Applique E-book,  you'll need a  sewing machine capable of doing free motion quilting with dropped feed dogs and an appropriate presser foot. If you'd like to see another one of Ellen's beautiful still life designs, check out the July-August 2010 issue of Spaces Magazine, where Ellen discusses her background and inspiration for her fascinating art quilts.

Fall Memories, 34 x 26, by Edyta Sitar

Here's a raw-edge applique pattern from Edyta Sitar at Laundry Basket Quilts which uses the elongated, delicate, lacy shapes of leaves and stems to really dress up a rustic harvest theme. Edyta's elegant and pleasing still life arrangement is rendered here in  light-dappled Bali fabrics, but it would also look great in traditional prints. Edyta is a talented and prolific designer who always has something new and fun on her drawing board , including her recently published book, Friendship Strips and Scraps.  We've featured Edyta's inspiring creations several times before, including our posts titled Dresden Plate quilts and  In Full Bloom.

Apple of My Eye,  18 x 16, by Debi Hubbs

We've all heard the nursery rhyme about the blackbirds baked in the pie, but here they are, in a comical twist, standing on top of the fruit instead of inside it.   The cinnamon red batik border, the apricot print background,and the dark inner border go together beautifully. This quilt is constructed using the raw edge fusible applique technique, and the pattern contains Debi Hubbs' easy to follow instructions, a full size layout guide, and pieces already reversed for applique. It's available at  Debi Hubbs Art Blooms Online Store, where you'll see many other fun patterns for sale.

Cider Mill Road,  50 x 62,  by Nancy Halvorsen

Cider Mill Road is comprised of 16 apple blocks, each one happily sporting a whimsical spiral which adds light and contrast to the pattern. This pattern book which also includes pillows, table runners, aprons, and hot pads, is available at Nancy Halvorsen's Cider Mill Road products page. You'll also find other fun Art to Heart patterns and Nancy's fascinating books. We love this charming fabric from Benartex, and we were glad to see that a Cider Mill Quilt Fabric Pack is available at Erica's Quilting website, which includes the fabrics to make one quilt top.