Art Quilts, A Trip Down Memory Lane

As you know I recently revealed my 31st Art Quilt. Woohoo! Please pardon my temporary pause to celebrate! 🙂 After sharing the last one I was reminiscing abut the stories and photos behind each of my art pieces. Even though I was the person that created them, the older I get I have to admit it is sometimes hard for me to remember what they all look like. To satisfy my curiosity and fill in a few of those hazy recollections I decided to search back through my notes and my posts to refresh my memory. My travels brought back many fond memories and aha moments. Thank goodness for photos as they many times are worth a thousand words.

To celebrate my milestone I decided to share photos and links to all 31 in one place. Their combined history spans a period of more than a year. While that probably doesn’t seem like a long time to you for me it feels like ages ago. So much of my time and my heart has been poured into each and every one. They represent a small piece of my journey through fabric as an art form. Please enjoy my trip down memory lane.

AQ # 1: Bloom

Bloom
Bloom

AQ # 2: Paws for a Moment

Paws for a Moment #1
Paws for a Moment

AQ # 3: Quilting Friends

Quilting Friends
Quilting Friends

AQ # 4: Flowers

Flowers
Flowers

AQ # 5: Sunrise

Art Quilt # 5: Sunrise, The Quilt
Art Quilt # 5: Sunrise with its many embellishments

AQ # 6: In the Right Direction

In the Right Direction
In the Right Direction

AQ # 7: This Way

This Way #1
This Way

AQ # 8: This Way # 2

This Way #2
This Way #2

AQ # 9: Moo

Moo
Moo

AQ #10: Crossroads

Art_Piece_10_Crossroads_1
AQ # 10: Crossroads

AQ # 11: Birch Trees

AQ # 11_ Birch Trees.jpg
Birch Trees

AQ # 12: Autumn

Art_Piece_12_Autumn_3
Autumn

AQ # 13: Ticktock

Art_Piece_13_Tick_Tock_2
Ticktock

AQ # 14: Tulip

Art_Piece_14_Tulip
Tulip

AQ # 15: Hodgepodge

Art_Piece_15_Hodge_Podge_2
Hodgepodge 

AQ # 16: Bird House

Art_Piece_16_Bird_House_2
Bird House

AQ # 17: The Chosen Nine

Art Quilt # 17_ The Chosen 9
The Chosen Nine

AQ # 18: Four Friends # 1

Art Quilt # 18_ Four Friends # 1
Four Friends # 1

AQ # 19: Four Friends # 2

Art Quilt # 19_ Four Friends # 2
Four Friends # 2

AQ # 20: Rising Star

AQ# 20_ Rising Star
Rising Star

AQ # 21: Backwards

AQ # 21_ Backwards
Backwards

AQ # 22: Crossroads

AQ # 22_ Crossroads (Finished)
Crossroads

AQ # 23: On The Fringe

AQ # 23_ On the Fringe
On the Fringe

AQ # 24: Multicultural

AQ # 24_ On the Fringe (finished)
Multicultural

AQ # 25: Towne House

AQ # 25_ Towne House (finished)
Towne House

AQ # 26: Blue Condo

AQ # 26_ Blue Condo (finished)
Blue Condo

AQ # 27: Summer Picnic

AQ # 27_ Summer Picnic (finished)
Summer Picnic

AQ # 28: Buttons

AQ # 28_ Buttons (finished)
Buttons

AQ # 29: Pink Cadillac

AQ # 29_ Pink Cadillac (finished)
Pink Cadillac

AQ # 30: Harvest Medley # 1

AQ # 30_ Harvest Medley # 1
Harvest Medley # 1

AQ # 31: Harvest Medley # 2

AQ # 31_ Harvest Medley # 2
AQ # 31: Harvest Medley # 2

Well, that was quite the tour! I like all 31 but I have to confess that I have a few favorites. Actually, let me rephrase that. I have ten favorites. Making my Top Ten Favorites list are:

  • AQ # 1: Bloom
  • AQ # 3: Quilting Friends
  • AQ # 5: Sunrise
  • AQ # 10: Crossroads
  • AQ # 14: Tulip
  • AQ # 15: Hodgepodge
  • AQ # 16: Bird House
  • AQ # 22: Crossroads
  • AQ # 25: Towne House
  • AQ # 28: Buttons

If I were to narrow it down even further I would select these as my top five:

  • AQ # 1: Bloom
  • AQ # 10: Crossroads
  • AQ # 22: Crossroads
  • AQ # 25: Towne House
  • AQ # 28: Buttons

Then my all-time favorite, if you must know, is……

  • AQ # 25: Towne House

After reading my lists you have probably noticed that I made a slight booboo when choosing the names for my quilts. Oops! Somehow I gave AQ # 10 and AQ # 22 the same name. Who does that? LOL! I mean, it’s not like I have oodles and oodles of quilts that are hard to keep track of.

You would think that I would have a master list somewhere that monitored the name assignments. Sadly I did not. I do now though! I’ve taken the time to organize my blog posts and created categories to make the management of my art quilts easier. The categories also make it simpler to find all of the posts related to each quilt. All this organizing probably makes me sound slightly analytical but I am a numbers kind of gal so it only makes sense that I would do it.

So, which one is your favorite? Notice I am not asking for your top ten or your top five; just your # one choice. I know it probably seems unfair to ask you for only one favorite but I didn’t want you to have to work too hard. Leave me a comment sharing your thoughts of the tour as well as which art quilt is your favorite. You can also ask me questions. I love receiving and responding to comments from my readers! 🙂

I know you probably have a limited amount of time set aside for reading blogs and because of that I want to thank you for stopping here. I’m so glad we had the chance to visit and catchup.

If you like what you have seen and are not currently a follower why not become one! Becoming a follower is a really easy process. In the right margin of my blog there is a box provided for entering your email address. Type your address there and voila you are all set. Then every time I publish a post you will receive a copy in your email.

If you are already a follower let me give you a big HUG! Thank you so much for being a faithful reader. You are the reason for my success!

About Cindy

The world of art has always brought me joy. From my childhood explorations with chalk and paint to my creations using fabric and thread, I have utilized art as my vehicle to stretch my wings and explore the world around me.

My favorite art form has been given many names; I know it as “free-form” quilting. This direction has taken me on a journey resulting in the formation of more than 200 art pieces. Most of them center strictly around the manipulation of fabric. Some of the later pieces have added elements of hand stitchery. All of them have brought me an immense sense of joy.

I use this blog to share glimpses of my art and the environment in which it is created. Most of my art pieces are available for purchase. You may see a sampling of them at Raven’s Wish Gallery in Janesville, Wisconsin.

My art is periodically on display in a variety of venues. To learn about my current exhibits you may send an email to cindy [at] inastitchquilting [dot] com

Now go and create your own masterpiece. With warm hugs…

Cindy Anderson

AQ # 25: Towne House Update

A Favorite

One of my favorite images to create with fabric is houses. In fact, I recently purchased a pattern that makes a village of homes made from fabric scraps. So far all I’ve accomplished is to gather the fabrics for the backgrounds. I won’t even begin writing posts about the village until I start sewing. Now back to today’s reveal.

Number Nine

AQ # 25: Towne House is the ninth of 16 quilts to have it’s debut. I started sharing these reveals after posting the announcement of my accomplishment. This quilt is also one of seven projects all originating from my Victoria Findlay Wolfe‘s 15 Minutes of Play. There is so much about this small piece that makes me smile. I absolutely love the cheery colors, the wonky lines and angels that form the various components.

A Surprise

To claim that my intention was to make a house from the beginning would be a lie. In fact I had no idea what I would end up with. The house simply evolved by accident. Of course once I saw the potential I did what I could to bring it to fruition.

Vibrant Colors and Quirky Subtleties

My little towne house is filled with vibrant colors and quirky subtleties. From

  • stars in the yellow sky,
  • to the slanted colorful roof,
  • the white door with a pink window,
  • the orange topped, yellow and green tree with three birds,
  • the purple sidewalk and
  • finally the orange batik flower garden.

While I agree that some of the items I pointed out might require a degree of imagination, the others I feel will be quite obvious.

The Sandwich

I’ve surrounded the towne house with a sea of teal fabric. Enveloping the teal is a stark white border. Behind my mini quilt is a layer of Warm & Natural batting and a backing created from 100% white cotton.

The Quilting

The towne house and it’s immediate surroundings were all quilted with a variegated thread using flowing lines of geometric shapes. The teal border was also quilted with rectangular shapes and a somewhat matching thread. I found it challenging to locate a thread that perfectly matched. This was the closest I could get. The geometric shaped quilting was also replicated in the outer white border using white thread.

The Finish

The raw edges of the white border have been safely tucked beneath a white cotton facing. To document the quilts name and author a label was attached on the back in the bottom right corner. From top to bottom and edge to edge this quilt measures 21 1/2″ x 17 1/2″.

AQ # 25_ Towne House (finished)
AQ # 25: Towne House

The Predecessors

There are eight quilts in this series that have already been revealed. Links to those eight are listed below:

This has been a long but rewarding journey. Only seven more to go.

Thank You for your visit!

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Scrap Fabric Art Quilt Recap

My mini series on 15 minutes of fun has certainly lasted way beyond 15 minutes. It all started with the purchase of Victoria Findlay Wolf’s book 15 Minutes of Play. Using her book I transformed scraps into home-made fabric and eventually turned that into 7 mini quilts. Here are all seven.

Art Quilt # 23: On The Fringe
Art Quilt # 23: On The Fringe
Art Quilt # 24_ Multi-Cultutal with Borders
Art Quilt # 24: Multi-Cultural ready for quilting
Art Quilt # 25: Towne House
Art Quilt # 25: Towne House
Art Quilt # 26: Blue Condo before adding borders
Art Quilt # 26: Blue Condo before adding borders
Art Quilt # 27: Summer Picnic after adding borders
Art Quilt # 27: Summer Picnic after adding borders
Art Quilt # 28: Buttons
Art Quilt # 28: Buttons
Art Quilt # 29: Pink Cadillac
Art Quilt # 29: Pink Cadillac

Each mini quilt has its own unique style. I’ve had a blast creating every single one. As I write this post I have been busy doing the quilting and adding bindings or facings. If all goes well I hope to share final updates within the next month. Cross your fingers for me.

Thanks for following along!

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