Preparing for Landscape Quilting
Tips for Organizing Fabric and Setting up Your Studio
Besides being fun, landscape quilting is also creative. Here are some tips for organizing fabrics and supplies for a landscape quilting studio.
Perhaps you’ve dabbled in quilting, but grew discouraged because the procedures of cutting out and sewing together so many geometric shapes were too long and tedious. Besides a lack of patience, you probably also yearned to express your creativity
Before giving up on quilting altogether, explore landscape quilting. Unlike block quilting, landscape quilting isn't monotonous, and allows you to exercise your artistic juices, creating a work of art that conveys your personality. Here are some tips for getting started in setting up an landscape art-quilting studio.
Ideas for Landscape Quilts
Take notes – Ideas for creating landscape quilts can come from just about everywhere. And they usually pop up when you’re not expecting them. That’s why it’s a good idea to keep a notebook handy whenever you’re inspired.
Take nature walks – here you can record details of particular scenes that inspire you. Stop and note the colors in a sky or sunset, as well as bushes and trees. Record details of landscapes, noting shape and colors of clouds and mountains. Then, go back to your studio and find materials for your landscape quilt.
Files for Reference Pictures
Have a separate file where for reference pictures for your landscape quilts. Pictures can be anything that inspires you. For example, whenever you travel, collect postcards. You’ll be surprised how you can use a simple postcard to create an art quilt (Note photo of quilt made from two postcards from North Carolina). Clip pictures of landscapes in magazines. Then file your pictures according to category, designating folders for such landscape items as skies, flowers, mountains, beaches, and so on.
Collecting Fabrics
When you quilt, you rarely throw away a damaged piece of clothing. Everything from old shirts, dresses to ties can be used in landscape quilting. Begin by sorting your fabrics into plastic containers or stacks of drawers, labeling them according to colors. Collect a wide range of colors, as well as textures in your fabrics. Besides sorting your fabrics into containers, you can go a step further, arranging colors into different shades, tones, and tints.
Fat Quarters and Fat Eights
It’s not long before you’ll discover the value of collecting “fat quarters” and “fat eights” that remind you of scenery for your landscape quilts.
Fat quarters - Found in most fabric stores, fat quarters are ¼ of a yard of fabric, measuring 18” x 22”. They’re invaluable to quilters for creating realistic landscapes. The extra height of a fat quarter allows more pieces to be cut on the vertical selvage. Either buy them or make them by halving a yard of fabric (cut in half parallel with the selvage), followed by cutting a regular ¼ of a yard of fabric.
Fat eighths - Fabrics measuring 9” x 22”, fat eights are excellent for landscape items such as skies, water, and grass, as well as buildings. You can also flip them over for a more subdued color, such as distant mountains and hills.
Organization - For storing fat quarters and fat eights, use smaller containers, rather than the larger ones for bigger fabrics. Label each compartment according to colors.
Miscellaneous Items
There’s no limit to the extra items you can use in landscape quilting. Embellishments may include everything from fabric paints, markers, and inks to embroidery floss. Your imagination is the limit.
Finally, network with other quilters. By joining a local quilting club, you can exchange tips for organizing your stash, as well as take advantage of quilting workshops where you can increase your skills.
