When Wendy and I led a Sew We Go tour to Italy 10 years ago, it was interesting to note that every time we entered a cathedral the majority of the tourists were looking up and snapping photographs of the arches and windows, but every quilter was looking down and photographing the beautiful floors. Obviously ~ this was for their quilt design possibilities 😊. Here are a few I took in Sienna:
And this one was in the Vatican museum:
Recently AQS spotlighted patterns by Christopher Florence. His patterns have been very popular for quite a few years because he gives great instructions for piecing optical illusions. To order his patterns click here! One of them really grabbed me (this image is from the AQS site):
Do you see the similarity to the previous photo? Even the colors are similar.
When I began making my Modular Memory Quilts (which is the topic of my latest book – click here to order a copy of your own), I looked through all my pictures of the trip to Italy and chose the one of the floor in the Vatican to be my “Italy block”. I put the photo in photoshop and skewed it into a rectangle.
Then I made the block in fabric.
It was a real struggle to draft and stitch. I wish I’d had Christopher’s instructions. But it is a lovely memory of an amazing trip that hangs with my other travel memory blocks:
I wonder if Mr. Florence has ever been to Italy 😁. It would have been a real coincidence if that tile floor had been in the cathedral in Florence – LOL.
Have you made an optical illusion quilt? I’ve made a few and I’d like to share one of my favorites from many years ago. I call it Vanishing Point:
It was inspired by a class with Katie Pasquini Masopust and was made completely from fabrics in my stash. The high value contrast and pieced lines of perspective are what makes it work, and it is actually an 8 pointed quilt ~ the gray background is the wall behind the quilt.
If you’ve made an optical illusion quilt, I’d love to see a photo. Please email them to me at: .
judy says
So interesting!
Kai Oelke says
I have taken several classes by a Chris Weinhold who does the same thing. Takes optical illusions from wherever and figures out how to make quilts/patterns from them. The two I did are really cool, and not that hard the way he sets them up. Kudos to Chris W.
Kai
Margaret says
Love your “Optical Illusion” quilt … you really nailed it with fabrics used & perspective design. That must have been a real challenge to hang!
Maren Anderson says
I’ve made 2 of Christopher Florence’s patterns: Labyrinth and Out of Bounds. They are challenging and have a lot of perspective. I, too, took pictures of floors in Italian cathedrals but have yet to make a project with them. Love your “Vanishing Point”.
Joe Wacker says
Love your vanishing point quilt. Are you going to write a pattern for it?
clkquilt says
I hadn’t thought of making a pattern. Hmm. Once I drafted the pattern, the piecing was quite simple because I paper pieced it directly on the pattern. What makes it work is the light valued areas that are drafted flat. There are many sites that offer great instructions for drafting a pattern with a vanishing point.
" class="comment-author-link" rel="external nofollow" itemprop="url">Karen J Dalpezzo says
Your quilt is fantastic, love it..
Carmen Sommers says
I know this is off the subject but, are you ever going to teach the lone star quilt again.?
It is one of my favorites and would love to make another one.
Welcome to the neighborhood been laying low because I had Covid. Hope to see you soon.
clkquilt says
Thanks for the great suggestion. A lone star class would be fun! Hope you’re feeling better soon.