email Youtube

Home
Galleries
Blog
Workshops & Calendar
Store
Resources
About
Contact

Autumn on Blueberry Lane

This quilt was inevitable.    Right click to view larger.  That thing in the middle is the needle bar of my Bernina Q20.  Notice the difference as I lay in the grasses along the edge of the driveway:  done on the far left, upper grass done on the near left, upper and lower grasses done on the near right (but not the tall grass which will happen in the final pass back to the right), and no stitching at all.

This photo is not the full quilt, but the quilt is a strong horizontal, and this shows more of it than I’ve shared to date on Facebook.  I’ll share the full quilt in mid March when I tape my Quilting Arts TV episode on one of the techniques I’ve developed and used in this quilt.

The photo below, taken in October 2015, was my inspiration, along with every autumn blueberry barrens I have ever seen.  The colors in the wild blueberry bushes are just beyond belief.  So I dyed a lot of fabric and went to town!

More autumn decay with blueberry barrens, decaying stone wall and birches in autumn in Maine.
The usual edits: smart sharpen, tiny bit of vibrance, crunching levels.

Hand dyeing fabric inspired by the blueberry barrens Maine (they look the same in Nova Scotia, too)

Same colors, different technique, scrunch

Scrunch and done. I used just about every single bit of this piece of fabric except for the more pink bits.   The blueberries are more of a russet and burgundy…this needs a touch more yellow in the red to get to that color.  

I’m still doing the facings and hanging sleeve…I’ll share the finished quilt in March, unless I change my mind and do it sooner!

 

 

4 Responses to “Autumn on Blueberry Lane”

  1. Emily Says:

    Wonderful post, Sarah! Spectacular project! Even though I’m a “Maine-ah” and see blueberry barrens often, I am still awed by them. Thanks also for showing the scrunch and crunch step of dying. Can’t wait to see the grand finale.

  2. Patricia L Walters Says:

    Me too! Eagerly awaiting the full quilt! I rt cliked to see larger image but got the same one. Something wrong?
    Let me know when you tape the show and when it airs please. You spoke of a ew technique!
    Love your quilt art!

  3. Kristin Freeman Says:

    DEar Sarah

    Another fine piece of art! You have truly captured the vibrant colors of the blueberries in fall…and the white-barked forest glen behind is perfect. As always, seeing your work develop and grow into masterwork after master work is my delight.
    Now to figure out when that television show is on my cable..and what channel so I can watch your sharing of the new technique.
    Brava, my friend.
    Kristin

  4. Sarah Ann Smith Says:

    Thanks so much Kristin….we don’t get Quilting Arts TV on air here in Maine. It is usually on PBS Create, and then the local station has to carry that on their channel. Maine Public does have a “create” channel with Cable TV down near Portland, but it doesn’t broadcast QA TV. Bummers! I’m hoping maybe there might be an article too….will let everyone know!