These longarm renters at Quilted Joy have gone wild with their quilts using nature as an inspiration. As artists we can receive inspiration from many different sources, one of which is obviously nature. What we do with that inspiration is what makes us artists. Sometimes inspiration can take us into the wild. A couple of the following quilts were made with patterns, but each needed the creative input of an inspired artist to complete.

“Cora” a Laura Heine pattern

A popular collage artist that people are following these days is Laura Heine. Her quilts have gone wild and because of that they are fun to make and even funner to look at. Jane created Cora the owl quilt. She quilted her by drawing wood grain into the tree and feathers on the owl. The background was just a meander that covered the rest of the quilt with some lovely texture to finish. This fused applique quilt is not very soft or cuddly because of all the layers of fabric and interfacing. But what a fun wall hanging to have in your home. Great job, Jane!

A Not So Simple Panel Quilt

This is a panel quilt. Many fabric lines include one panel, a large single design that typically fills the fabric from selvage to selvage. This panel has gone wild with soaring bald eagles in front of snow capped mountains. But Mary Jane did a little bit more than just slap some borders on it and call it done. She has multiple borders that vary with fabrics and widths rather than the straight even borders we might be used to. I especially like the deep “V” cutting through the borders at both the top and the bottom. It adds a lot of interest to what might otherwise be a very simple top.

And you may be asking yourself, “where’s the batting?” This is where she went wild! She quilted this with Star Dance on Cuddle Dot fabric without batting. This makes the quilt drippy and lovely and so much fun to cuddle in. I want to make one for myself now!

Gone Wild on the Beach

Michelle is a quilter that often brings in some wild designs. This is a quilt that was inspired by her and her husband’s annual trips to Hawaii. Due to Covid, they didn’t get to go that year, so she made a quilt of it instead. This is entirely her design. She sewed all the variations of the fabric showing us a sandy beach through to the white crest of the surf. Continuing up to the dark blue water and bright orange sunset horizon straight line. Above that the deepening purple of a night sky. The turtles are a nice detail, and the diver was actually an after thought.

She free motion quilted this, giving each layer of color its own filler and design. You can see the pebbles in the sand and the wavy texture in the water. It is a good thing to remember that when you can’t go to the beach, you can always make a beach that can come to you! And isn't that 108" wide Wave Texture backing fabric perfect for this quilt?

Quilting doesn’t always need to be the blocks and sashing of a traditional quilt. Sometimes you can go wild with your borders or fabric choice. Or maybe just go wild with your inspiration! After you’ve finished your next wilderness quilt, connect with us on Facebook or Instagram. We’d love to see your wild side and what you’ve been working on!