The Art of Quilting

There are so many different ways to practice your own creativity, and just as many ways to enjoy the art that others envision and produce. One beautiful creative outlet is quilting. Stitching lovely fabrics together to make a soft and comforting quilt in a design that is eye pleasing takes a lot of time and talent.

I love to look at quilts and can appreciate the talent of those who take the time to make quilts. I have made simple baby quilts for my children that are made up of squares and rectangles, but hope to one day be able to sew more detailed quilts.

The Art of Quilting

Quilting is an art that takes time and practice. Intricately detailed quilts are not where you begin on your quilting journey. Generally you will start out with a more simple project - easy blocks to put together for a small quilt. Then as you practice you can add harder shapes, designs, and techniques.

Lovely & Simple Daily Use Quilts

I'll be honest. I have never followed a quilt block pattern for any of the quilts I have made. I designed my own simple pattern, figured out the size of the quilt and fabric pieces I would need, then started to sew my pieces together. I plan to work on a quilt next year and would like to find a pattern that I can follow so I will be able to learn additional sewing/quilting skills.

When my oldest daughter was born, my babysitter from when I was little sent me this lovely I-Spy quilt. Much of her tummy time was spent on this colorful quilt.

This was the first quilt I designed. I used soft cotton fabric (including Classic Strawberry Shortcake) to make this quilt for my daughter. The backing fabric is cotton and it has short sayings about how baby girls are blessings.

I had fun designing this Hello Kitty and Raggedy Ann quilt for my youngest daughter. I found cute coordinating fabrics to include in the quarter blocks I created. The backing was a soft purple flannel with clouds.

Quilts Displayed at a Quilt Show

Living where I do in Utah, there are ample opportunities to appreciate the art of quilting. There are quilt shows throughout the summer at the city celebrations, local quilting guilds, quilt displays at the local fabric stores, and two local museums have quilt exhibits every year. 

During the late summer, the Springville Museum of Art has an exhibit for 2 months that showcase locally sewn quilts. Some are quite detailed while others have a simply beauty, some quilts are made from patterns and others are designed and created by the individual. No matter the type of quilt, it is easy to appreciate the time and talent it takes to sew these amazing pieces of art.

This Tree and Home quilt was an interesting piece to study. A local group had a pattern theme to follow of a tree in the center block, houses on each side of that block, with flowers in the other sections. Each person interpreted the tree and homes differently (there were 4 quilts on display this year that were from the groups so you could see how each one differed). The mushroom houses made this one quite unique.

I loved the natural colors that make up this quilt that captures the natural beauty of  slot canyons in the National Parks here in Utah.

When looking at this quilt, I imagine the many hours it takes to not only piece this quilt together, but the quilted pattern on top also.

This was a family favorite quilt from the museum exhibit 3 years ago. It's such a fun one with lovely colors!

I wish the light hadn't been glaring directly into the middle of this amazing quilt. The repeated pattern on the quilt in different colors is stunning! 

When I saw this quilt a few years ago, I thought what a happy and inspiring quilt it is. Reaching for the light and leaving the darkness behind.

At first glance, I thought this quilt was too complicated for me to even think about making. When I walked closer, I was able to see that each plus sign is made up of 5 squares of fabric. That makes it much easier! That is why I love to study quilts up close to see the trick of piecing them together.

I love this quilt sampler of different blocks. Having it be in patriotic colors is even more appealing to me. I can imagine taking this to the park on the 4th of July to have a picnic and watch fireworks together as a family.

What lovely flowers on this quilt and the girls on the quilt stand for values of young womanhood.

I hope you enjoyed a look at the art of quilting. It can be a fulfilling hobby where you create a piece of artwork that others can enjoy viewing.

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