Beginning Landscape Quilting
Two of Nancy Zieman’s favorite hobbies were gardening and sewing. A little over 20 years ago, she was introduced to a quilting technique by Natalie Sewell, nationally known landscape quilt artist. Natalie and Nancy became fast friends and scheduled two to three quilting dates each year. During this three-part series on Sewing With Nancy, Nancy and Natalie simplify the Landscape Quilting process so that everyone interested can enjoy the pleasure of creating outdoor scenes in fabric.
How to Create a Garden Scene with Fabric
A great beginner’s project is to create a close-up garden scene from fabric. Natalie’s design, Summer Flowers, is the featured quilt during the TV program. It was used as an example for choosing fabric, messy and fussy cutting, as well as designing with raw-edge appliqué.
The book and DVD, Beginning Landscape Quilting, are step-by-step guides for designing simple scenes. We’re confident that you’ll have great success.
First, start with an inspirational photo. Nancy and Natalie show how to study the photo, which will help in the fabric selection process.
Watch online and follow along in the book and see exactly how to create a garden scene. Below are pages from Beginning Landscape Quilting featuring the steps to create a garden scene. It’s a direct step-by-step guide, leaving no question about what to do.
.
We will share a few of Nancy’s and Natalie’s Landscape quilts. Irises in my Garden is one of Nancy’s early landscape quilts.
How to Create Ground Cover
The next landscape quilting topic focuses on ground cover. We’re certain your eye focuses on the Dancing Maple in Natalie’s quilt by the same name. The lively and spirited tree is the star of the design. Yet, without the interesting ground cover, the depth and dimension in the quilt would not be as impactful. If your inspiration photo features ground cover, Nancy and Natalie share the tricks of choosing fabric and designing that all-important landscape quilt element.
You’ll learn that the inspirational photo is a starting point. Nancy’s and Natalie’s quilts rarely, if ever, look like the inspiration. That’s not the point!
Dogwood by Natalie is another showcase quilt. You almost feel as if you could walk right into the woods!
Nancy’s design, If Trees Were Teal, is more impressionist than realistic.
How to Create Background Tree Foliage
By now you should realize that you’re learning to use fabric as paint and scissors as your paintbrush to capture nature in a wall hanging. Natalie’s Autumn Birches design combines many techniques already explained, with the exception of background tree foliage. Next learn the importance of the scale of fabric prints and the importance of really bad messy cutting to give the impression of distant trees. (Learn how to do really bad messy cutting when watching online.)
This inspirational photo gave Natalie an idea of what fabric to choose.
Here’s another showcase, September by Natalie:
Watch Beginning Landscape Quilting (Part One, Part Two and Part Three) on Sewing With Nancy online.
Be sure to check out the blogs for Beginning Landscape Quilting—Part Two, and Beginning Landscape Quilting—Part Three.
Now that you’ve seen how easy it is to create a landscape in fabric, which season would you most like to capture in landscape quilt imagery? Leave your answer in the comment section below for a chance to win a copy of the book Beginning Landscape Quilting from Nancy’s Notions. One winner will be randomly selected.
The randomly selected winner of a NEW! I Sew For Fun Clip ’n Glide Bodkin from Clover, from the May 4 blog post is Rosie.
Her comment is: I have four granddaughters who are at the perfect age to begin sewing. Making each a skirt would be a fabulous project together.
Be sure to check out the 2019 Modern Mini Quilt Challenge!
Enjoy Landscape Quilting!
Team Nancy Zieman
Nancy Zieman Productions. LLC.
Content in this feed is © copyright 2019 by Nancy Zieman Productions, LLC and may not be republished without written permission. You’re welcome to forward the email to a friend or colleague but it’s not okay to add the RSS feed automatically as content on a blog or other website.
The FTC requires us to tell you that Nancy Zieman Productions, LLC has provided products by other companies in the course of doing business. The FTC requires us to advise you to take this information into consideration when reading this posting.
Make sure you are subscribed to Nancy Zieman Productions, LLC enews mailing list so you won’t miss a thing. Sign up here. Join us on Facebook, plus a host of other social media channels. Connect With Nancy and Friends today!
Susie Furgason
Landscape quilts are on my list to learn. Since spring is my favorite season I would start with that.
Ann West
Spring is my favorite time of year, and that is where I would begin, After the long and cold winter with such drab colors,spring bursts forward with such luscious color that it really warms your heart. The daffodils and tulips and lilies signal to the world that the long and cold winter is finally over.
Clovis
It’s something that the fabric we choose can make a landscape quilt.
Linda
I love the idea of making a landscape photo come to life in a quilt! I’m going to do a fall picture, with all the beautiful colors.
Carol Netzler
I took a lecture session from Nancy at Quilt Expo several years ago. She demonstrated how to do a fall birch scene. I think that’s the one I would try. Beautiful!
Martha O.
I’d like to make an all 4-seasons view of the bluffs near my parents’ farm home.
Mary Jane Smead
I started a dragon quilt with castles for my grandson.
It needs to have ground covering, things surrounding the castle to make it look like a picture in motion.
I’m excited for trying some new techniques in Quilting.
Dixie
I love the colors of fall. Would like to try doing one of them.
Catherine Stiele
I would love to do a scene of the wonderful flowers from the Netherlands when I took a biking trip there two summers ago. The colors were so vibrant.
Teresa Williams
I love the flowers. I’ve taken many pictures of flowers on our vacations and this would be a wonderful opportunity to recreate some of those scenes.
Nancy L from IA
Would love to create a Spring landscape wall hanging. In fact, I’ve already sketched out some ideas. Now, if I could only find the time….
Gloria Fraley
As a watercolor painter I am often inspired by nature and would love to attempt to use fabric in such a creative way. The woods behind our home offer many interesting ideas which could be lovely if captured.
Charlene Haas
Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year! The amazing change in color is so beautiful and inspiring. Still seeing greens among the yellows, reds, browns, and oranges …breathtaking. Fall has both warmth and coolness, just like the colors you see around you. Makes you want to be outside, but also makes you want to create.
Kathryn Scheurwater
I just completed a collage ‘fish’ quilt and thoroughly enjoyed the process. Landscape quilting is the next step for me. Thanks for sharing
Ann Burris
I didn’t think I was interested in landscape quilting, but I realize some of my projects have landscape backgrounds. This has become one of my new challenges. Many thanks for keeping Nancy’s expertise available to all of us.
Joyce Migliore
I would love to capture spring in a landscape quilt. But then again all the seasons would look beautiful in this kind of quilt!
Bonnye
I love both spring and fall spring has so many different shades of green and fall has all the warm colors such as orange, yellow and red.
Teri
I would like to start with fall because of the coppery colors.
P. Donaldson
I love the many shades of green in spring. Then comes my favorite flower, the daffodil.
Pat
I would create a fall landscape quilt because I love the golds, reds and other earth colors of this season.
K
I would start with Fall and all the glorious colors of the leaves. It would be fun to make the same scene in each of the seasons. Love watching Nancy and Natalie as they make the process seem effortless!
Gayle O'Grady
I have saved a hundred photographs that I want to landscape quilt but have never done one yet. Hoping that this book will give me the skills to get myself in motion.
Cathy Toplyn
This is what I want to do!!! This is quilting at it’s most creative design! It’s not your grandmother’s quilting! If I don’t win, I need to buy this book!!!!!
Mary Ellen Klugh
I’ve been quilting for a long time – mostly baby, queen-sized and lap quilts but have always been somewhat afraid of taking on landscape quilting. I marvel at the works of art I’ve seen in National quilt shows and really never considered I could produce something that amazing. This book looks like it would make the process quite a bit more user friendly. Thank you.
Regina Harris
What great ideas and I would like to try for an autumn scape.
Sharron Currie
It would be Spring….the promise of renewal season. My granddaughters come by Every May Day. It helps to break up the Northwest Gloom! We each now have our own Featherweight. This summer will be our start to a great shared hobby.
Beverly Allen
I love watching Nancy’s shows on PBS and seeing her helpful tips. So glad her love of quilting is being shared with us.
I love Spring with all the fresh blooms, and would really enjoy the tips from the DVD to create a colorful Spring field in bloom.
Sally
I would like to learn how to make Landscape quilts but unsure how to begin. I am looking forward to this three part series.
I think I would like to start with a spring landscape, all of the colors are beautiful
Carol
I would like the spring landscape to start with this project.
Peggy V
I have made a summer landscape. Next one will be winter, I believe this book would be very helpful. Thank you for the opportunity to win.
Shirley Clark
I love seeing Nancy’s demonstration on this at a BabyLock event I attended. I think I’d like to try the fall season first. She made it all look so easy.
Sarah
I have tried to duplicate small pieces but this book looks like it would help improve my techniques. Thanks for offering.
Marie
I’d like to try a wintry scene. It might help me get through those months of the year that I dislike so much…..
Bev Bolduc Aldridge
I am working on a quilt right now that has portions that are landscapes mostly spring and winter are already in the plans. This is for a bed not a wall. Nancy’s ideas are already helping me with tips for distance or far background elements.
Cynthia d.
It would be a thrill to win this book & share it with my quilting friends at church! I have been collecting fabric with landscape in mind every since I saw the episodes a few years ago. I plan to do a poppies and lavender, spring theme.
Gloria B.
Would like to give landscape quilting a try. Always willing to try something new.
Dianne L Wentworth
I would love to do a spring themed quilt. I have the picture I want but don’t know how to make it work.
Brenda Jeneson
I would choose fall first for a landscape quilt. My favorite time of year.
LoAnn Trowbridge
I have almost finished a landscape wall hanging–it’s of the Fall.
I would like to make “Four Seasons”!! I think I would make spring, summer, fall, then winter! I would love to win this book! Thank you for the opportunity!
Colleen Terry
I have made a fall landscape quilt before and I think I would like to try a spring or summer one next. This has been such a looonng winter this year and I am so ready for spring.
Kathy Lockhart
I would love, love, love to do a Spring quilt. It is my favorite season as everything is coming alive and it makes me feel alive. So many beautiful colors!!!
Tammy Jewkes
I think Summer would be my choice in a landscape quilt, because of the variety of bright colors.
Corina Walters
Autumn Birches, fall is my favorite season!
Dee Joyce
Been saving fabric for a LQ. Maybe this is what I need to motivate me! Fall is my favorite season with warm, sunny days and cool nights. A time of rest for the good mother (nature). While saying goodnight, she spreads open her arms wrapping us with more sunshine and beautiful colors to look forward to her re-awakening!
Elaine
I would like to make a sunny winter landscape. I live in the northern central plains and winter can seem drawn out and dreary at times. It would probably be a wall hanging for my living room or sewing room.
Pam Peterson
I love the rich colors of fall, and would love to capture them in a landscape quilt.
Marilyn Craig
My birthday is in December so the winter scene is something l really love….poinsettias….holly…pines…snow…horses and sleighs…winter!
Julie Kill
I would dearly like to begin with Summer in the Black Hills. I still have get the courage to begin! Thank you for all you do, and the opportunities to learn!
Susan
Would select fall as a landscape quilt design because of the vibrant colors that set the landscape ablaze in color!
Linda H
I would choose Fall. I love the colors that time of the year.
Donna Fecteau
Spring! I love all the flowers and trees beginning to bloom.
Mary
I have begun the process of buying fabric but need help with the planning. This book/DVD would be a great help.
Karan K Williams
I would like to start with Spring. Love the spring colors.
Lorraine Alves
My first landscape quilt would be a winter scene. It’s amazing to me the vast color differences between white fabrics. I think a winter scene with birch trees and snow would be beautiful.