Can you believe it's a storm-at-sea ?

We had to peer at this fantastic quilt for a few minutes to realize that it is, indeed, a storm-at-sea quilt. The designer and author, Joen Wolfrom, has cleverly created a summer garden with giant sunflowers against a blue sky.  Her amazing design, which goes beyond the traditional sea theme, makes us think about this pattern in a whole new way !

Summerfest Garden, design by Joen Wolfrom, at Joen Wolfrom and JWD Publishing

In the close-up photo, below, it is a little easier to see the storm-at-sea block elements...

Summerfest Garden graces the cover of the book, A Garden Party of Quilts, by Joen Wolfrom.  All seven of the flower quilts in the book are pieced, and there are some real beauties - tulips, clematis, poppies, and more - created with various block patterns.

When we told Joen about our interest in storm-at-sea quilts, she was generous enough to share another design: a landscape quilt which is another wonderful example of Storm at Sea possibilities. The design, called Majestic Mountains, has not been made yet and is waiting in the wings. Wouldn't this make a gorgeous quilt? 

With the gridlines removed, you can see how the quilt will look (below). Joen Wolfrom makes her home in the Pacific Northwest, and these peaks remind us so much of the majestic Olympic Peninsula.

Notice the way in which the mountains get lighter as they fade into the distance?  Joen talks about this in her Landscapes and Illusions book. We've learned a lot from Joen Wolfrom's books, and we love her ultimate color tool (it's been called indispensable, which sums it up).

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Image credits and links: Images are shown with the kind permission of Joen Wolfrom.  Joen began quiltmaking in 1974, and she has taught and lectured in the quilting field, both nationally and internationally, since 1984.  She heads up JWD Publishing, a worldwide pattern company that features Joen's own designs along with many other superstars in the quilting world. Additional credits : Summerfest Garden was pieced by Jeanne Lounsbury and quilted by Karen Dovala. You can find Karen Dovala at The Quilted Moose.