Exotic flower quilts (we're dreaming of paradise)

Here are the stunning flower quilts we've been writing about for the last week.   As you can see, each quilter has her own unique style.  These exotic flowers bring to mind Hawaii and other tropical climes.  We wish we were there (but this is the next best thing !)  We hope you've enjoyed the show too.

Image credits and links: Row 1, Sylvia Pippen, Sylvia Pippen Designs; Row 2, Eileen Sullivan, The Designer's Workshop; Row 3, Brenda Yirsa, at Bigfork Bay Cotton Company; Row 4, Ellen Lindner, Adventure Quilter; Row 5, Vyvyan Emery, Rosewood Quilts.

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Gardens of Dreams: the art quilts of Vyvyan Emery

It's Day 5 - and the finale - of our exotic flower quilts series, and we wanted to share with you the inspiring original art quilts of Vyvyan Emery.

It's a Marvelous Night for a Fern Dance, 43.5 x 31", by Vyvyan Emery, at Rosewood Quilts

Vyvyan lives in the mountains of western North Carolina, an area noted for its many cultural opportunities and its abundance of  fine arts, textile arts, and music.  Surrounded with so much natural beauty, she takes great pride in corporating the joys of nature into her quilts which she both sells and enters into quilt shows. We love these appliqued ferns, whose leaves gently undulate as if they are listening to music. Notice how the jewels tones really "pop" against the deep black background. This quilt won first place in the small professional category at the Mountain Quiltfest in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

Garden of Dreams, 47 x 58", by Vyvyan Emery, at Rosewood Quilts

On her Rosewood Quilts blog, Vyvyan notes that the placement of the main caladium leaves in this quilt were done from a photo of her garden,  then she filled in the rest of the details with her imagination. Notice the careful juxtaposition of   patchwork monochromatic blue tints and shades which provide the contrast between the night sky and the day sky in the background.

Native to the Amazon River region of South America, the vibrantly colorful tropical caladium is grown from a bulb and makes a stunning addition to a window box, border, or patio. It can be planted in a container and grown indoors during the winter, then moved to a patio or terrace for the summer. The brilliant reds and pinks with the contrasting green make this exotic plant a perfect and original subject for a quilt.

Lotus Garden, 30 x 30", by Vyvyan Emery, at Rosewood Quilts

"Lotus Garden" is a landscape quilt which uses the traditional Far East inspired color of indigo blue to provide a rounded portal to a scene so serene and ephemeral, that we feel rested and refreshed each time that we view it. Giant lotus flowers float in languorous splendor while in the mist, a large rock rises protectively from the water. Note the use of the split-complimentary colors of blue-red, spring green, blue-green, aqua green, and aqua blue, which really bring the lotus flowers to the forefront of the quilt. A strand of reeds helps bridge the gap between the timeless beauty of the scene and the stately inner and outer border of the quilt. 

Stay tuned for tomorrow: We'll wrap up this exotic flowers series.  Later this week we're beginning a special June feature (you won't want to miss it !)

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Pieces of paradise: the floral quilts of Eileen Sullivan

It's day 4 of our exotic floral quilt series, and we're so excited about this collection. If you've ever wanted to make a floral quilt, but are not that enthused about applique, then these quilt designs are made for you.  Eileen Sullivan has created a series of foundation-pieced patterns for some of our favorite tropical and native flowers: waterlilies, birds of paradise, daylilies, dogwood, and many more. Here is a sampling of her stunning designs.

Waterlilies, 29 x 23", by Eileen Sullivan, at The Designer's Workshop

Waterlilies are among the most beautiful flowers in the world.  These flowers captured the attention of French Impressionist Claude Monet, who created a series of approximately 250 oil paintings known as Water Lilies (or Nymphéas). The beautiful quilt shown above is adapted from Eileen Sullivan's award-winning quilt, "Remembering Monet". Elements which extend into the borders are pieced as part of the overall design. The pattern contains complete instructions, practice sections, and one full size freezer paper foundation.

Birds of Paradise, 24 x 36", by Eileen Sullivan, at The Designer's Workshop

We love birds of paradise... and we are amazed by the perfect detail of the flowers and leaves in Eileen Sullivan's quilt. Even the veins in the leaves are pieced (click on the image to see the detail !) Eileen explains that "foundation piecing makes the sharp points of this exotic flower a breeze".

Dogwood, 25 x 29", by Eileen Sullivan, at The Designer's Workshop

Our favorite memory of dogwoods comes from a springtime trip to Yosemite National Park, when the trees were in full bloom. The delicate white flowers seemed to glow as the sun filtered down through the trees. The quilt shown above features blossoms, leaves and stems that appear to drift in the breeze in this classic styling of a world wide favorite.  We also love the choice of border, which looks just like a natural wood frame surrounding a painting.  The dogwood pattern includes the complete directions and Master Pattern for the project shown above, as well as a 10" single flower block !

At The Designers Workshop you will find foundation-pieced patterns for so many favorite flowers... we'll name just a few: christmas cactus, day lilies, peace lilies, pansy, hollyhock, magnolia, and morning glory. Printed freezer paper foundation sheets eliminate the tracing step and are included in each pattern. In the catalog you can also find such handy items as Foundation Piecing 101: A 16 page booklet that will walk you through all the steps necessary to take the mystery out of foundation piecing (six easy 3” blocks move from simple to more complex).

Image credits:  Images are shown with the generous permission of Eileen Sullivan.

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Ellen Lindner, Adventure Quilter

It's day 3 of our Exotic Flower Quilts series ! We've been admiring Ellen Lindner's photo-inspired quilts ever since we featured her Apple Still life (see our 2010 article on harvest quilts). Ellen Lindner's quilts ranges from pictorial still life to modernist abstracts, and she works in a freeform collage style which lends a natural look.  In addition to creating original art quilts for sale, she generously shares her techniques through workshops, videos, e-books, patterns, and online classes at her website, Adventure Quilter.

High Ti, 20 x 25", by Ellen Lindner

The ti plant was introduced to Hawaii and New Zealand by Polynesian settlers, and the tropical plants grow well in warm climates like Florida. High Ti is one of Ellen Lindner's newest photo-inspired quilts.  Her fabrics capture the colors and the variegated textures of the ti leaves. You can see the detail of the raw-edge collage and the machine quilting, below.

High ti, detail, by Ellen Lindner

You can also see the original photo that inspired the quilt at Ellen Lindner's Art & Creativity blog and at her Adventure Quilter Newsletter. Also check out Ellen's award-winning Ti Plants A-Glow -Glow, which was featured in the book 500 Art Quilts, by Lark Press.

Ripening, 51 x 33, by Ellen Lindner

In December, in Florida, the Christmas Palm Tree berries slowly change into the colors that give the palm its name. Ellen Lindner's beautiful quilt, called Ripening, was made with cotton fabrics, using raw edge collage and machine stitching.

For more information on Ellen Lindner, and for tips, classes and other resources, check out her website, blog and newsletter (also note that she has an online Color Class starting this Friday.... May 27 !)

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The art of Brenda Yirsa: exotic flowers in fabric

Brenda Yirsa is a pastel artist and oil painter whose work depicts landscapes, portraiture, and abstracts of Montana and the American West. She has designed quilt patterns for Bigfork Bay Cotton Company based on her original paintings. Her love of Western themes is revealed in her American Icon (cowboy) and Blue Paint (horse).   Today we're featuring Brenda's gorgeous flower quilts, which include birds of paradise, plumeria, poinsettia, hibiscus, iris, and more.  Her floral designs create a sense of depth through shading and layering of the fabrics, making us feel as if we can reach out and touch the flowers.

Bird of Paradise, 23.5 x 31.5", by Brenda Yirsa, as seen at Bigfork Bay Cotton Co.

Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia) has always been one of our favorite flowers, and this quilt captures its beauty. The genus Strelitzia is native to South Africa, and is named after the duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the birthplace of Queen Charlotte of the United Kingdom. The common name  is "bird of paradise", because the flower resembles the avian bird of paradise.  The orange flowers of Brenda Yirsa's design are striking against the purple-and-green backdrop (color lovers will note the perfect triadic color scheme).  Bigfork Bay Cotton Company offers the bird-of-paradise quilt pattern, or a complete fabric kit.

Plumeria, 19.5 x 24", by Brenda Yirsa, as seen at Bigfork Bay Cotton Co.

Plumeria have a glorious fragrance, which makes them a popular flower for Hawaiian leis. The flowers are most fragrant at night in order to lure sphinx moths to pollinate them. However, the flowers have no nectar, and they fool their pollinators; the moths transfer pollen from flower to flower in their fruitless search for nectar. This system seems to work for both plumeria and moth, since neither of them is endangered ! We love Brenda Yirsa's plumeria applique pattern, which captures the beauty of the flower and its glossy green leaves (a plumeria fabric kit is also available).

Poinsettia, 21" x 23.25", by Brenda Yirsa, as seen at Bigfork Bay Cotton Co.

If you've ever seen a poinsettia growing in the wild, you know that this is truly an exotic plant.  The poinsettia plant grows as a shrub or small tree, which can reach a height of up to 4m (16 feet)!  The plant bears dark green leaves, and the colored bracts—which are most often flaming red - are actually leaves. Brenda Yirsa's poinsettia pattern reminds us of the wild plant in the tropics; the reds and greens of this quilt look perfect against the sophisticated black-and-white border. A poinsettia fabric kit is also available.

For more information on Brenda Yirsa's original artwork, please visit her website, www.yirsa.com. For a complete list of Brenda Yirsa's quilt patterns and fabric kits, visit the Bigfork Bay Cotton Company.

Image credits: Images are shown with the generous permission of Brenda Yirsa.

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Exotic flower quilts: Paradise Stitched, by Sylvia Pippen

Today, we begin a five-part series on quilts featuring exotic and unique flowers. To kick off the series, we are featuring several quilts from an outstanding and prolific designer, author, and teacher, Sylvia Pippen. Join us, as we sail the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii and Australia, lands of magnificent natural floral beauty.

Plumeria floating on water, 22 x 33, by Sylvia Pippen, at Sylvia Pippen Designs

Sylvia has so many fabulous quilt kits and patterns on her website - Sylvia Pippen Designs - that it's difficult to select favorites. However, we were enchanted by the exquisite appliqued pinks, peaches, corals, and magentas of the delicate plumeria flowers as they rest gently on a water background. Unconstrained, the flowers extend from the water, into the border batik. Silvia has made this quilt so life-like by the swirls of Japanese sashiko stitching which follow the curved applique background, thus replicating the ripples and undulations of a quiet pond. As a time-saver, the sashiko embroidery design is already screened onto the background cloth,  so all you have to do is follow the dashes printed onto the cloth in order to complete the stitches. Included in this kit is the Hoffman turquoise batik for the borders, water, and binding, along with sashiko thread and beautiful color-washed fabric for the plumeria.

 Blue lady orchid, 14 x 18, by Sylvia Pippen, at Sylvia Pippen Designs

This quilt block kit  is part of Sylvia's new quilt and new series on Flowers of the Outback, featuring six  Australian wildflower designs. We love how this cerulean blue fabric is gently tinted with pastel streaks to make it appear as if the orchid blossoms are streaked with sunlight.   Sylvia is preparing for a teaching tour of Australia in October/November 2011, where she will give classes and seminars on applique and sashiko techniques. The black Kona cotton background fabric is included in the kit and really makes the vibrant orchids just pop right off the quilt. We think that black is a great neutral when working with high-chroma, pure jewel-tone colors, as it provides a perfect contrast. Sylvia also sells the pattern for this quilt without the fabric, so that you can make a 20 x 24 wall quilt of Blue Lady Orchid.

Heliconia with bamboo, 31 x 38, by Sylvia Pippen, at Sylvia Pippen Designs

Heliconia flowers, with their bright pointed leaves, are an important source of food for hummingbirds in the tropical rainforest. The sashiko bamboo design provides a graceful sturdy backdrop for these exquisite blossoms in shades of orchid, pink, and pale yellow. Note the magenta, fuchsia and orchid inner border of this quilt, which glows against the black Kona cotton and reflects an eye-catching color scheme of fuchsia with yellow, orange-yellow and pale green. This "Heliconia with bamboo" quilt can be seen at Sylvia Pippen's Gallery; there is also a heliconia fabric kit in "sexy pink".

Paradise Stitched: Sashiko and Applique Quilts by Sylvia Pippen

Having lived in California, New England, and having sailed in her own sailboat across the Pacific Ocean to her current home in Hawaii, Sylvia Pippen is living a fascinating life. In addition to being a very gifted designer and teacher, she is also a wonderful author, as you will see when reading her book, Paradise Stitched, from C and T Publishers. It provides numerous ideas for creating beautiful quilts by combining sashiko stitchery with applique, including tips for fabric selection and patterns. Also, check out Sylvia's first book,  Asian Elegance, which she co-wrote with her mother, Kitty Pippen.

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