Sunset Over Water: A new art quilt is finished!

I’m completely excited to show the finish of a quilt which began as an idea last July after a summer bike ride in my home town of Niwot. A random thought sparked an idea to photograph citrus fruits on a blue glass plate, and so it began. Came back home, found the fruits in the fridge, grabbed the camera and we were on our way.

Inspiration photo, July, 2012, KG Taylor for Sunset Over Water Quilt

Here’s the original photo, from that lovely summer day, with colors pulled out to form a bright palette I found exciting. But then the idea grew into something else. Once I began to play with the colors and rectangle shapes, I realized this could become an art quilt or lap quilt to keep someone warm and happy in a colorful way.

 Months later! I picked up the quilt yesterday from Mary Hultgren of Lafayette, (town next to Niwot) who expertly pieced the top from my design, and then turned it over to her quilter friend, Shirley Bowen  of Morrison, CO, to quilt the layers with a subtle variegated blue thread. (The quilting pattern Shirley used is named “Van Gogh”. How could I resist choosing that quilting design from a favorite painter’s name?)

Can you see the lemon, the lime and the blue plate inspiration? My editor friend Sherri Driver checked all the specs (in her weekend life!) before it went over to Mary for sewing. Yay Sherri!

Sunset quilt in the studio

Why not photograph the quilt hanging over the easel in the painting studio? Seemed like the best place to do it, spur of the moment.

Sunset quilt detail, KG Taylor

The warm colors of the quilt are found in the “sunset” part. The cool colors are found in the water and sky above and below this section.

Sunset Over Water quilt, detail, photo by Mellisa Mahoney

This quilt was made from a group effort and will be provided as a pattern in McCalls’s Quilting magazine very soon, so anyone will be able to make it too, as a contemporary, fun project. One of the best things about making quilts is the group effort tradition. Might be the BEST thing, actually? What do you think, my quilting friends out there?

A map of quilting contributors to make the Sunset Over Water quilt. Final stop: Golden offices of McCall’s Quilting magazine for patterning.

Madame Bianchi, my bicycle friend who took me on the journey to think up this quilt

Here’s my traveling (bicycle) friend who took me on the summer trip that morning last summer when I thought up an idea which turned into a quilt design. Isn’t she beautiful? Hey Madame Bianchi, it’s almost summer again, let’s fill up your tires, go out in the morning and think up new ideas for quilts and paintings! Yes!

Update:

“Sunset Over Water” quilt was featured in McCall’s Quilting November/December 2013.

http://www.mccallsquilting.com/mccallsquilting/issues/November_December_2013 .