My workshop motto, “Let the fabric & quilting do the talking,” encompasses the simplistic feel of my Minimalistic Landscapes – Less is More. It speaks to the idea of allowing the materials and techniques themselves to enhance the design and make it shine. By emphasizing minimalism in stitching lines, piecing, quilting, and appliqué, it is easier to strip away the unnecessary and focus on the essential elements of the compositions.
For some of us it is really hard to be minimalistic and restrict the amount of fabrics being used. The first quilt I ever tried limiting my fabrics and colour palette was one I made just before the pandemic. It is called Ajo Wash and uses only 4 fabrics in the whole quilt. Created with simple squares and rectangles in strips it is very effective. This quilt is fairly heavily quilted but the quilting blends in with the fabrics and doesn’t stand out – it just adds texture.
The quilt my workshop was designed after was also made with a minimal number of fabrics. Most of them were leftover pieces from something else so larger sized scraps. I just started sewing the rust fabrics together to create the ground. Then I had these odd shaped pieces of grey with rust and sewed them together on an angle to see what would happen. Angles are really powerful lines and create wonderful lines for your eye to follow.
The sky was a little more difficult as I didn’t have a lot of blue fabric that was suitable for a sky and I wanted it to be a bit darker but I also wanted two blues but didn’t have two that worked together. So what did I do – I used the other side of the fabric and created a checkerboard piece. Adding the vibrant orange stripe to it’s complement blue sky made the mountain just pop.
These two quilts were actually fairly easy to put together because I was limited to the number of fabrics I had, I wasn’t anywhere near a quilt shop and I was 1000’s of miles from my stash. I had to make do with what I had and the results were fantastic. Often I become overwhelmed when there are too many choices causing analysis paralysis and I over think the whole process. I’m sure I am not the only one who over thinks things. No matter how many times I tell my students not to over think it I often find myself in that situation.
The following two quilts were are also part of my minimal landscapes and I had a few more fabrics to choose from with this but I still kept the fabrics to a minimum as well as the design. I love the winter scene as it reminds me of winter camping in the Arctic when I lived there and how amazing the sky was with the northern lights dancing around.
Presently I am putting together a fabric selection to create a quilt for a friend based on her photo. I have several fabrics to choose from – way more than I did for the previous minimalistic landscape quilts that I have made.
I’ve narrowed it down to these fabrics. Why because they have texture, they represent what is in the photo and they work well together. The texture in the fabric means minimal quilting and the fabrics will make the piece sing. I still need to narrow it down some more but it will get there.
Do you want to see what the final fabric outcome is from the image above? Here’s a sneak peek of an idea. I have more ideas you don’t want to miss seeing.
Do you want to learn how to work with a minimal fabric selection, simple pieced sections, use lines to add texture and create a simple landscape where the fabrics do the talking?
Do you want to create a minimalistic landscape?
I personally invite you to join me for my Minimalistic Landscapes – Less is More virtual workshop on Saturday June 1, 2024 from 10 am – 4 pm EDT.
Don’t have time to join me for a full day I am also presenting this technique at Layered & Stitched: An Art Quilt Experience May 17 & 18, 2024 put on by Creative Spark and C&T Publishing. Use my affiliate link to register and receive $20 off your registration fee.
If your guild is interested in this workshop please send me an email to discuss a date.
Until next time,
Happy Quilting
