Emerald and Green in 2014

March is the month of green, from the arrival of springtime in the northern hemisphere, to the celebration of St. Patrick's Day on March 17.  Today, we're featuring some exciting green quilts from the Houston International Quilt Festival and the American Quilters' Society show in Arizona.

Emerald City, 45 x 46,  by Norma Schlager (Danbury, Connecticut)

Norma says, "[This is] part of a series in which I explore different combinations of my hand-dyed fabrics and the use of my 'wonky' piecing to suggest buildings. I dyed 40 yards of fabric for this quilt."

Close-up, Emerald City by Norma Schlager

We really like the geometric spiral quilting pattern on the buildings in this quilt! This quilt is from her Configuration series (for more examples, see geometric art quilts.) In this quilt, Norma has tranformed the image of city buildings from being impersonal, standardized designs into warm, individualistic spaces with her gently curved lines, cheerful colors, and creatively shaped "windows".

Emerald City was purchased by Yale Maternal Fetal Center in New Haven, Connecticut for display in their waiting area.  For details, see Norma's  Exciting News.

Hiraeth by Kit Lang (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

Kit notes, "I came across the Welsh word hireath online and discovered that one of its meanings is homesickness tinged with grief for the lost. I was struck by this concept and made a piece that reflected the little girl I once was......though she lives on in my heart, [she] is ...lost to me. As a child,  I spent nearly all my free time outside, especially in summer, when the seemingly endless sunny days allowed me to leave the house."  Look at all the imaginative animals who accompany Kit on her outdoors journey! This joyous quilt reminds us that it would be great to be young and carefree again.

Close up, Hiraeth by Kit Lang

Kit adds, "Little Kit lived in a pastoral world filled with all manner of friendly creatures real and imagined, and the sun shone lovingly on her face."  We love the feeling of childhood wonder and innocence that is portrayed here. Kit's work is quilted, painted, fused, stitched, and needle felted.

Crop Circle, Morgans Hill, 2 August 2009 by Joanne Shapp (North Pomfret, Vermont)

Joanne writes, "I was in England in 2009 and saw this beautiful crop circle. Everything about it reminded me of a giant quilt - complete with an Orange Peel [pattern] variation center medallion, surrounded by fancy pieced blocks and finished off with scalloped edges and picots ! It also had a stunning woven inner frame which added even more interest to the 'quilting' patterns of how the crop was laid down."

Close up,Crop Circle, Morgans Hill, 2 August 2009 by Joanne Shapp

Joanne adds, "This is one in a series of quilts I have made based on actual crop circles. It is always a wonderful challenge and great joy to translate the formations into quilts." We love the precision and detail of this intricately constructed creation. Joanne's work is machine pieced, hand-appliqued, and machine quilted.

Labyrinth, 13 x 13", by Sarah Ann Smith, Hope, Maine

Labyrinth is a miniature green quilt which was donated for silent auction in Houston. Sarah Ann writes, "This quilt was for our local Coastal Quilters challenge, with the them of  'Exit'.  I figured that an entrance and exit are the same, so I made this labyrinth ( a maze) and did bobbin work using Razzle Dazzle thread on the edge of the stone. The green fabric is one of my hand dyes....."

If you look closely, you can see the old Syrian proverb that Sarah Ann embroidered in cursive writing around the outside of the labyrinth, which reads, "Be humble for you are made of earth... Be noble for you are made of stars."  We think that this beautiful saying is perfect for the ethereal theme of Sarah Ann's intriguing work.

Mayapple (Podophyllum pelatum) by Judith Busby (Clifton, Virginia)

Judith notes, "Our forest floor was covered with mayapple plants with their big, umbrella shaped leaves. We appreciated the beauty of the plant, but never realized the importance of its medical uses. Podophyllum pelatum provides etoposide and teniposide, which are used against small-cell lug and testicular cancer as well as lymphomas and leukemia.' 

Close up, Mayapple by Judith Busby

Delicate white three-dimensional flowers give a lovely contrast to the sturdy, tropical leaves portrayed here. Judith's enchanting quilt was part of a display in Houston featuring plants used in healing arts and medicine. Her work is hand-appliqued and machine and hand stitched.

Green 2, 104 x 104",  by Eleanor McCain   (Fort Walton Beach, Florida)

Dr. Eleanor McCain is a physician, an internist whose quilts decorate the walls of the building where she practices medicine.  We like to think that her creations provide a wonderful point of conversation for patients and staff alike.  We'd love to see quilts in a medical office, as we think that quilts are so comforting and nurturing !

Eleanor's quilt was part of the Studio Art Quilt Associates exhibit at the 2014 AQS show in Phoenix.  Eleanor writes,  "Green 2 uses grid structure as a format for exploration of color and spatial relationships. The hand-dyed and commercial cotton fabrics are cut, machine pieced, and machine quilted."

Close-up, Green 2 by Eleanor McCain

Eleanor notes that some of her relatives are artists, and she was influenced by the work of her mother, a painter. These rich, color-saturated fabrics really provide a feast for the eyes! We normally think of green as a cool color, but when it is surrounded by butterscotch and lemon yellow, or maize and chocolate brown tones, green is capable of changing its personality and projecting a warm vibrant aura which can really heat up a room.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.