Extreme Quilt Makeover

Dragonfly in Thread

leslie panfil — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 22:24:20 GMT

I created this art quilt for a show titled "Reflections in Nature." I'm proud to say it won best machine embellished quilt.

poinsettia flower

MedhaD — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 05:46:13 GMT

quilted poinsettia flower

purity

artemix — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 08:32:18 GMT

20cm / 24cm

Untitled by Shelli Ricci and Katharina Litchman

ellen seeburger — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 16:52:43 GMT

Quilter in Distress: Shelli Ricci
Rescuer: Katharina Litchman

Untitled • 20" x 17"

Shelli: "This started as my idea of heaven but something went terribly south... way south! Let me explain. I took an improvisational piecing class about 10 years ago. The teacher challenged us to create an original design depicting our idea of heaven. Of course, there was a catch... we only had 30 minutes to complete the challenge.

When the teacher said go the room exploded in a flurry of hurry. Fabric was flying, shapes were free cut, and designs began to quickly take shape. Everywhere that is, except my table. I gave myself a little time to decide on an idea and then I took off. Heaven, I thought, must be bright, sunny, and filled with beautiful flowers. I made an interesting background and then free cut a nice big sun. Many beautiful flowers came to mind roses, orchids, hydrangeas, and then I thought about thistles. I must admit, I love thistles. I love the bright purple flower and the interesting shape of the bud. In heaven, I thought, even thistles would be beautiful! I cut several thistle shapes and quickly placed it on my background. Time was quickly up and we were ready to show the class what we made. Every time I thought about finishing this project I got stuck.... Why can't heaven have beautiful thistles? Maybe it can!"

Katharina: "It was immediately apparent to me when I unwrapped the UFO that it was a turtle and that I had to make a sea world. I took a hand-dyed piece of fabric from my stash and cut out the turtle, fish, and jellyfish, as well as plants from the UFO and machine appilqued them on. I enhanced the piece with crystals, glitter, and machine quilting. The biggest challenge was the several layers of fusible on the UFO, and despite my peeling off some where I could, the heavy fusible glue gummed up my needle."

Untitled by Roberta Baker and Judy Witkin

ellen seeburger — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 16:15:32 GMT

Quilter in Distress: Roberta Baker
Rescuer: Judy Witkin

Untitled 25" x 21"

Roberta: "My plan was to use a traditional design in a non-traditional way. I got stuck trying to finish it. I would like to see some better design ideas-anything goes as far as I'm concerned."

Judy: "This came to me as a fused design. I sliced it in strips and added some beautiful fabrics to the strips."

Untitled by Elizabeth Overholser and Mary Anne Hawkins

ellen seeburger — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 16:01:26 GMT

Quilter in Distress: Elizabeth Overholser
Rescuer: Mary Anne Hawkins

Untitled • 15" x 13"

Elizabeth: "I made this piece with fabric that my dear friend Janet and I dyed on vacation. We made a rainbow of colors using instructions and dyes. In the fall of that year, Janet bought Valori Wells' book. I loved her flowers and made some to see how it worked. I made two roses and was very happy with the result, but wasn't ready to make a quilt with them. Over the years, I would come across the roses when I visited my sewing closet."

Mary Ann: "I cut the UFO up into nine squares to give myself a little more leeway in what I could do with it. The bottom two on the left, I left in the original colors except for touching up the sky a little. The middle two are the original colors and represent a rain forest with the glass beads forming the moisture and dew on the foliage; the bone beads are the animals that live there."

"A Random Moment of Opportunity" by Patricia Ann Hobbs and Renee Atkinson

ellen seeburger — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 19:54:21 GMT

Quilter in Distress: Patricia Ann Hobbs
Rescuer: Renee Atkinson

"A Random Moment of Opportunity" • 15" x 17"

Patricia: This project was inspired by the gorgeous Spoonflower printed fabrics by Winter called "Charted Waters" and "The Gilt Compass." Also in the mix were batiks, bits and pieces of fabric that I rusted. The fabrics suggested a passage of time theme from the ancient rusted artifacts into the future technology. Upon stepping back from the project, I saw that it was too predictable, circular, and lackluster due to missing darker values or an accent color. There seemed to be a lack of one main focal point. A new direction in theme and design was needed, such as a spectacular texture made with thread play, introducing another color or a totally unrelated icon."

Renee: "I loved the UFO swap! When I received the project, I immediately felt an attraction to the piece. I admired the colors and fractal-like shapes. The appliquéd clock faces, leaves, and postage stamp fabric swatches added polarity to the organic quality of the fabric. I approached the UFO by viewing it in three distinct sections: to the circular dyed fractal patterns I added machine quilting, embroidery, and beading. For the appliquéd section I wanted to honor what I thought was the original artist's goal of highlighting the clock face. I added beading to the clock face, added hand embroidery to enhance the veins of the leaves, and added a trellis with green leaves to draw attention to the clock. In the third section I added subtle beading and machine stitching so as not to hide the incredible magic of the shapes and color in the original. Once I was finished embellishing the piece, I searched my stash to find suitable fabrics to complete what I decided to turn into a tote bag. For the back and top edging I settled on a small swirl fabric that was a remnant I had purchased months earlier; the large swirl fabric I had had for about five years. The swirls complement the color tones and various circular shapes of the original piece. The bottom buttons are from my stash. The pocket was a mistake made during my 2010 Thanksgiving table-runner-making spree. I had a great time with my 2-year-old grandson shopping for the perfect handle, a belt sewed together with home décor trim. I wanted to make a tote so the original artist could take her current project in her "random moment of opportunity" she shared with me and share it with others. And thus new growth continues."

"Winds of Time" by Shirley Malia and Nita Markos

ellen seeburger — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 19:48:02 GMT

Quilter in Distress: Shirley Malia
Rescuer: Nita Markos

"Winds of Time" • 40" x 20"

Shirley: "On a business trip to New Mexico years ago I squeezed in a quick sightseeing visit to the Petroglyphs National Monument Park. My unfinished quilt top it based on my pictures and memories of this trip. The top was started last year, many years after my visit to the park. I wanted to incorporate feelings of history, ambiguity, and sacredness. To me the site felt mysterious yet compelling. I believe the center of the piece is too dominate. I used muted colors to imply age but I do not sense age in the UFO as it is today. I believe there is a lack of mystery, history, and intensiveness."

Nita: "I was delighted with I first saw my UFO challenge. The colors were wonderful and the petroglyphs image fun. It reminded me of my trip out west. I manipulated the background until I was pleased with the resulting colors and composition and then quilted it in long gentle lines. In the meantime I began constructing ritual-like objects from my collection of doodads. I made a sketch of how I would quilt the original UFO. Then I layered, quilted, and bound it to appliqué onto the background. I began sewing the UFO and the doodads and beads to the background. I wanted a stick for a hanger but it would be too long for the required box so I bought a curtain rod which expands, wound jute around it and decorated the ends with feathers."

"The Escape" by Nita Markos and Shirley Malia

ellen seeburger — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 19:43:54 GMT

Quilter in Distress: Nita Markos
Rescuer: Shirley Malia

"The Escape" • 28" x 23"

Nita: "I found this air balloon fabric, loved it, and tried a kaleidoscope design. I made the pattern and did three different combinations of colors with it intending to make a long, thin wall hanging. However, when I got done, I lost interest. My quilting skills weren't perfected then and so it has been sitting in my chest. My color preferences have changed since then but I believe this has possibilities."

Shirley: "Decomposition of a traditional kaleidoscope quilt design frees numerous hot air balloons. One large balloon soars high, escaping earthly bounds including its gondola. Made of hand-dyed background fabric, Angelina, tulle, cording and paint. A segment of the original kaleidoscope design is attached on the back of the quilt."

"Primordial Soup" by Nancy Schlegel and Karen Menzies

ellen seeburger — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 19:38:42 GMT

Quilter in Distress: Nancy Schlegel
Rescuer: Karen Menzies

"Primordial Soup" • 20" x 13"

Nancy: "The enclosed UFO was started for a Fast Friday Fabric Challenge using the design principle of chiaroscuro--having a contrast between light and dark. The inspiration for the piece was looking across a lake at a group of dark pine trees with one branch of yellow maple leaves. I feel the design lacks interest and variety. I added a tree trunk but it hardly shows up against the dark background. It does have some quilting on it but could probably benefit from more."

Karen: "I deconstructed the piece, removing the background and foreground leaves, as well as one layer of tulle on the background fabric. Beneath the leaves were pieces of dark brown fabric, suggesting a trunk or branches. Rearranging a few of the leaves along a dark brown strip presented a composition that was less static and more colorful. I then set out to add movement and color. To achieve this, I flipped the yellow leaves upside down and, by using the original leaves as templates, created a new set of leaves in an autumnal color palette. The leaves I added are faced, raw-edged, and stitched down using a variety of colored threads. The original leaves have been repositioned and stitched down. Connecting some of the leaves with brown yarn suggests a living vine. Wavy side edges and varied leaf orientations reinforce a sense of movement."

Untitled by Sandy Huntress and Janet Blackwell

ellen seeburger — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 19:31:56 GMT

Quilter in Distress: Sandy Huntress
Rescuer: Janet Blackwell

Untitled • 18" x 18"

Sandy: "I don't really know what I had intended to create here, that's probably a good part of the reason why it's not finished! Several years ago, after taking Karen Coombs' workshop, "Optical Illusions in Quilting," I purchased her diamond templates and way more Bali Batiks than I could afford and had a blast making this piece. I often take it out from my stack of quilt tops and put it on the design wall, just to enjoy it, and have always love the fabrics, colors, and the M.C. Escher-ish look about it. I never knew quite what it needed to bring it to completion, but I know it needs more than simply to be appliquéd down to a background. I hope whoever works on my quilt has a lot of fun. I know I'm looking forward to the challenge of bringing someone else's project to completion."

Janet: "I must confess that I did not see the pattern of cubes at first glance, or for a few hours of gazing. I had it out on my kitchen counter to ponder the possibilities. A number of hours and gazes later, I recognized the cube pattern, an "Escher-like" pattern of illusion that didn't quite work because of a triangular hole in the middle. I could see how this piece became a UFO. It was kind of mind boggling as to what to do next. My first thoughts were that I would slice the piece up. I had many visions of how I would proceed but for some reason I didn't really want to slice it up. I wanted to honor the vision of the original quilter. Finally I figured out what needed to happen. Hopefully the original quilter will like what I have done with the quilt."

"Storm at Sea" by Janet Blackwell and Sandy Huntress

ellen seeburger — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 17:56:29 GMT

Quilter in Distress: Janet Blackwell
Rescuer: Sandy Huntress

"Storm at Sea" • 35" x 37"

Janet: "I took a class to make a beautiful Storm at Sea pattern. To my dismay I was confronted with bias edges and templates. I did finish one block which has been aging for approximately 10 years. The fabric is beautiful and stormy, the remainder of which was put back in my stash."

Sandy: "The first thing I decided to do when I received the single "Storm at Sea" block was to make three more blocks to complete the pattern. Then the name gave me the whimsical thought of making a scene of little boats in a storm. After some experimenting, I liked the dimensional and layered effect of the tulle used for the waves. Arranging the colors from dark to light gave the illusion of depth. I've used three-dimensional appliqué on other projects and thought it worked perfectly. The waves needed whitecaps so out came my paints. I tucked treasures of shells and beads in and behind the waves."

Untitled by Martha Betts and Gail Strout

ellen seeburger — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 17:38:01 GMT

Quilter in Distress: Martha Betts
Rescuer: Gail Strout

Untitled • 32" x 27"

Martha: "I bought these fabrics because I loved the color combination. I cut simple blocks and sewed them together. I thought it would look good stretched over canvas as a design element, but it lacks pizazz and so it sat unfinished."

Gail: "I pulled out cloth from my collection that I felt would go with the original square. I wanted to keep some of the feeling of the square. I saved the elements I liked best and that I felt were the most important and successful to the original square. I used more curves and softer lines and colors than the original prints."

Untitled by Pat Hemsley and Patricia Dow

ellen seeburger — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 17:30:33 GMT

Quilter in Distress: Pat Hemsley
Rescuer: Patricia Dow

Untitled • 20" x 15"

Pat: "I got the idea for the quilt at a quilting retreat five years ago. It was larger and the title was "Roast Goose and Cold Fish." I never finished the quilt and the fish was never applied. I never finished it because it was unable to fulfill my vision. It needs more color and some embellishments, but I don't know how to do it."

Patricia: "The quilt I received had a white background of pieced fabrics overlaid by a goose shape appliquéd of various red fabrics. The piece suggested a winter snow scene, and only lacked a binding to be a finished piece. As a resident of the Big Island state of Hawaii, I relate a goose shape to Nene, our native goose. The visual movement in a group of red fabrics suggests flowing molten lava. The present active lava flow from Kilauea Volcano has been flowing for almost 20 years. Molten lava regularly breaks out in areas of cooled black lava and flows seaward. The UFO which I completed now represents active molten lava flowing across a black field of cooled lava. I intentionally retained much of the original goose shape."

Untitled by Judy Witkin and Roberta Baker

ellen seeburger — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 17:22:40 GMT

Quilter in Distress: Judy Witkin
Rescuer: Roberta Baker

Untitled • 38" x 18"

Judy: No narrative included with UFO.

Roberta: No narrative included with UFO.