The Best of Digital Quilts (2)

Digital printing technology has changed every industry it has touched, including quilting. Anything you can view or design on a computer can be printed onto fabric, then quilted ! We're featuring award-winning fabric artists who have inspired us with their creative works.

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A Shared Destiny by Patricia Kennedy-Zafred, Pennslvania,  photo by Quilt Inspiration

Patricia notes, "The dramatic faces of these Native American chiefs inspired the bold colors and patterns of the hand-dyed fabric and mandated the bold, impressive size; yet, the softness in their eyes seems perfectly suited to the quilt medium. (The original images are by Edward S. Curtis, courtesy of the Library of Congress).

Close-up, A Shared Destiny

Patricia did an outstanding job of creating a multi-colored quilt which displays the dignity, intensity, and purposeness of these chiefs. Her techniques include machine piecing, fused applique, hand-dyeing, and silk screening. For materials, she used cotton fabric, Procion dyes, textile inks, fusible web, and rayon and cotton threads.

Blossoming by Diane Rusin Doran,  Maryland,  photo by Quilt Inspiration

Second place winner in the Surface Design Category at the 2017 Houston International Quilt Festival, Diane explains, "This is an interpretation of what I see when standing underneath one of our cherry blossom trees in full bloom, backlit by the afternoon sun. I created the image using digital surface design techniques and digital collage, enhancing it with free-motion machine quilting."

Close-up,  Blossoming

We love this gorgeous array of sunset colors - peaches, pinks, apricots, and mauves which make it easy to visualize the light shining through the trees. Diane's technique was digital and professional fabric printing on hand-dyed cotton sateen fabric, with cotton threads for machine quilting.

Happy 80th Birthday, Mama, by Sarah Ann Smith
Maine

Sarah Ann notes, "My mother's 80th birthday quilt depicts three generations. My mother worked in Japan in 1946-47 and fell in love with the country, so I selected a Japanese theme. On the top is Mom's family. In the center is my immediate family and Mom's siblings as adults. Finally, the youngest generation, including my sons, is at the bottom."

Close-up, Happy 80th Birthday, Mama

Sarah Ann's wonderful work is machine appliqued and quilted. It will surely be a treasured family heirloom.

New York Windows 1449, by Marilyn Henrion 
New York

The description card reads, "As a lifelong New Yorker, Henrion's work is always deeply rooted in the urban geometry of her surroundings..... This is one of a series of works that focuses on the metaphorical implications of windows....Windows are the visual bridge between inside and out. Though transparent, the window may serve as the barrier or the link between the viewer and the world beyond. To those outside, it may reflect the world or provide one with a glimpse of the inside. To those inside, it may shield them from the reality outside of offer a connection to it.

Close-up,  New York Windows

This quilt depicts Trinity Church in downtown Manhattan surrounded by the megalithic structures of Wall St. commerce. The three concentric circles of the quilting design symbolize the Christian Godhead. Marilyn's techniques included hand quilting with the contemporary technology of digitally manipulated photography, along with pigment printing on silk. We really admire how Marilyn has fused the present and past by using both traditional and contemporary techniques in working with this intriguing subject matter.

Slate Mine Vanadium by Susan Szajer
New Mexico

Susan writes, "In the copper-rich hills of southwest New Mexico, basic shack-like structures house mining shafts and equipment used many years ago. These abandoned structures have outlived their use and are examples of irresponsible industrial practices and abuse of our natural resources."

According to the Live Science website, Vanadium is a medium-hard, steel-blue metal. Although a lesser-known metal, it is quite valuable in the manufacturing industry due to its malleable, ductile and corrosion-resistant qualities. 

Close-up Slate Mine Vanadium

Susan's techniques include hand-embroidery, machine-piecing and quilting, along with photo transferring, hand-dyeing, and dye painting. Her work makes an important statement on a very timely and relevant topic.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2018 Brigham City Art Quilt Invitational (New York Windows) and the 2017 Houston International Quilt Festival.