Simple shapes in quilting

Last week we featured top designers whose easy-to-piece quilts feature simple shapes: squares, rectangles and/or triangles. The results are simply beautiful ! The original articles are: Simple dimensional shapes:  Joen Wolfrom Designs; Simple modern shapes: Esch House Quilts; Simple shapes, jelly rolls and i Candy; Simple shapes by Diana and Laura; Simple shapes in fabulous fabrics; and Simple shapes: jelly roll quilts and other confections.  Links to the designers' sites are below the photos.

Row 1: Joen Wolfrom, at JWD Publishing.  Row 2: Debbie Grifka, at Esch House Quilts.  Row 3:  Stephanie Sheffield, Amy Walsh and Janine Burke, at Blue Underground Studios. Row 4: Laura Nownes and Diana McClun, at Laura Nownes. Row 5: Pamela Goecke Dinndorf, at Aardvark Quilts.  Row 6: Lori Allison, at Allison Quilt Designs.

Simple shapes, by Diana and Laura

California artists Diana McClun and Laura Nownes have been working together since the 1980's, when their first book Quilts! Quilts!! Quilts!!! was born.  With over one million copies sold to date, this book is often referred to as "the bible" of quiltmaking.  Many of Diana and Laura's patterns are suitable for strip piecing, jelly rolls and other confections.... here are just a few of our favorites.

Sparkling Spools,  by Diana McClun and Laura Nownes, Laura Nownes.com

We love simple patterns that look spectacular. "Sparkling spools" is just one of Diana and Laura's Simply Strip Pieced Patterns.

Bow Tie, 64 x 80", by Diana McClun and Laura Nownes, Laura Nownes.com

This easy to piece classic pattern focuses more on the placement of light and dark fabrics rather than the bow tie design, and it looks posititvely modern in this design. Imagine the fabric possibilities !

Origami Pinwheels, by Diana McClun and Laura Nownes, Laura Nownes.com

These pinwheels are so elegant and clever..the look of a traditional Japanese design is achieved without fabric folding!

You can find Diana and Laura's entire line of patterns at Laura Nownes.com.   Here are a few more of our favorites: The Big Tumble (which we featured in our 2010 series on Tumbling Block Quilts); Sensu (fan); Strippy Stripes; Bamboo and Pinwheels; and Pinwheels in my Garden.

Image credits:  Images are shown with the generous permission of Laura Nownes. You also can find Laura at the See How We Sew blog.

Quilt Inspiration 2010: Tumbling Blocks

This year we had the opportunity to show some of our favorite optical illusions in quilting.  We love looking at these Tumbling Blocks quilts again !

 

Row 1, L-R: Amish quilt from the collection of Faith and Stephen Brown, as seen at the Amish Abstractions exhibit; Tumbling Rainbows, by Lynn Harris;  Antique Orange and Blue tumbling blocks quilt, at Material Pleasures; What's In Your Box, by Elisa Lawrance, at the Arizona Quilters Guild.  Row 2: Tumbling blocks quilt, by Penny Halgren, at How-to-Quilt; "Y? Why not !" by Kathy Klassen; Hexagonal Rhythm, by Jane Wilson, at Jane's Quilts.  Row 3: Tumbling Blocks by Ann Moran, at Ann's ULT Embroidery Site; The Big Tumble, by Diana McClun and Laura Nownes, at From Me to You Quilts; Hollow Cube, by Carol Capshaw, at the Oklahoma Quilters State Organization. Row 4: The Shirt Off My Back , by Betty Leppin; Tumbling Blocks quilt, ca. 1910, from the exhibit Common Threads, at the Adirondack Museum, New York; Menger's Cube, by Arnout Cosman; Row 5: Hand Painted Tumbling Blocks Quilt, by C. Jean Horst; Blue Cubes, by Martha Borders; Twin Towers, by BJ Reed.

For more information and links, see these original articles: Optical Illusions,   Tumbling Blocks -More Illusions, Cubic Construction, and Tumbling Blocks Divided by 4 or 9.  "Shirt off my Back" by Betty Leppin was shown in Waste Not, Want Not: Quilts from Reclaimed Clothing.  "Menger's Cube" by Arnout Cosman was shown in New Dimensions. "What's In Your Box" by Elisa Lawrance was shown at the 2010 Arizona Quilt Show.

Tumbling blocks divided by 4 or 9

We're continuing our series on tumbling blocks variations, and the artists who have inspired us with their creations based on this versatile pattern. In the versions we're showing today, each side of each block is made up of four or nine different fabrics. The tumbling blocks are oversized, allowing for each side to be divided into fourths or ninths without each "tile" becoming too small. The use of multiple fabrics in a single block adds to the mosaic appearance of the quilt.

Hand Painted Tumbling Blocks Quilt, by C. Jean Horst



Hand-painted batiks were used to create the above quilt, which was pieced and quilted by the Amish of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The tumbling blocks are huge. Each side of each cube is made of nine different fabrics, such that each cube is made up of 27 individual pieces (3 x 9 = 27). Notice that the three-dimensional illusion is preserved by careful arrangement of light, medium and dark values. We can't help but notice the perfect piecing. For more information, click here.


The Big Tumble, by Diana McClun & Laura Nownes


In the Big Tumble, Diana and Laura have combined bright solids with dots, stripes and other prints to produce a riot of color and texture. Each cube is made up of twelve different fabrics (3 x 4 = 12) but the textures and colors are carefully repeated throughout the quilt to avoid chaos. For the pattern and workshops, including strip piecing methods, click here.

Images courtesy of John & Arlene Volk at Amish Country Quilts, and Diana McClun & Laura Nownes at Diana and Laura.