In the almost 7 years that I have been a quilter,
I have attempted to make a quilt for the hubby and I
maybe once or twice.
The first time I tried,
(about 4 years ago)
the quilt top I spent about 15 hours piecing got ripped in half
right before my eyes by someone who thought that the piecing
was not good enough for a bed quilt.
Yep, that happened to me.
(That will be a blog post for another time…
when I finish the top, or can even look at
the 2 halves without crying.)
So a few years have passed,
and even though my piecing has improved tremendously
this quilt top was created without piecing a single seam.
Yep!
Believe it or not, this is a whole cloth quilt.
Here is the reverse side:
Here is the process.
It started with a swatch of colors and some quality time
with my homeboy, Adobe Illustrator.
I am so in love with this color scheme
I have a hard time thinking that I will ever use another color scheme again!
With that palette, I created this design:
Now I am sure you are wondering how I got a
digitally created design into fabric form.
But if you have seen any of my previous work,
you’ll know that this is probably my favorite way to create quilt tops.
There are a few reasons I love printing my quilt tops:
I love quilting A LOT MORE than I love piecing.
I am way better at quilting than I am at piecing.
I had a knack for computer graphics long before I started quilting,
and when I create my designs digitally, the artistic possibilities
are almost endless.
I don’t even know how to do curved piecing.
Bahaha!
Lastly,
I loooove creating my quilt tops and having them printed
because when I am finished with the quilting,
if I love the quilt enough, I can just print out another quilt top and make it again!
So, if you love this quilt,
and you want to make one for yourself,
you can order your own copy
of the quilt top in a few different sizes here.
Anyway,
This quilt has become super sentimental to me because it is
technically the first quilt that I have ever made for mine and hubby’s bed!
To make it even more special, the the design itself
expresses the personalities of My Better Half and I quite perfectly.
It is reversible, and both sides look beautiful when it is laid nicely across our king size bed.
The front side is colorful, edgy and loud!
…
Just like me.
I used monofilament thread because I wanted to quilting to stand out equally
as it laid on top of all the drastically different colors.
I feel like this was also a good representation of my personality
because for me, the colorful moods and tones are much more prominent than the fine details.
With me, what you see is typically what you get.
I wear my heart on my sleeve
and most people can read my emotions like a book!
The quilting is quite intricate, but you can only see it
and appreciate it when you do a little work and look a little closer,
beneath the surface.
I would say the other side is equally as beautiful, but in it’s very own way.
My sweetheart is much more calm, reserved, and leveled out than I.
He is consistent, smooth and thoughtful.
The actual backing fabric is just beautiful.
I wish I could tell you what it is.
But I don’t know.
It is a hand-me-down from my beautiful mother’s
old sewing room.
It is some sort of weave, it has a tiny bit of stretch, but really not much.
It was lightweight and really silky feeling, but not shiny.
Haha… I’m not very good at this.
But it is grey and elegant and soft and beautiful.
And frayed around the edges.
I chose to use black thread in the bobbin
to compliment the ashy grey fabric.
I have always known that using a contrasting thread color
allows everyone to see every tiny little quilting detail
as well as any faux pas.
But, we all make mistakes.
And I didn’t think it was worth blending the thread and making the quilting
less visible just to hide a few minor misalignments.
Finally, I finished the quilt with a
double fold french binding.
I love this quilt so much
and after making so many show quilts and wall hangings,
it just feels really good to actually cuddle up and share one of my own quilts
with the most important person in my entire life.
I love you, A!
Thanks for reading, everyone.
Be great to each other!
-Karlee
26 thoughts on “A Quilt For The Home ❤”
And you planned none of the quilting in advance?- just moved from one element to the next? Amazing!!
Yep I didn’t plan anything out, it is all just done one element at a time.
Thank you for sharing the story that brought this quilt/art work to life. My heart breaks as I hear your art work ripping – it is unimaginable that anyone could even think of doing such harm – trying to destroy beauty, damage what you created. Many of us have had moments of overwhelming pain, but few of them have been caused by such an unexpected and deliberate act of malice – not good enough? Words cannot express or explain the impossible. Your heart, your kindness, found a way to transform the impossible into a whole new way of creating life-giving warmth and transcendent beauty. You built a business, write books, win awards for your works of art, and you share your endless talents around the world. You make stunning whole cloth quilts that inspire me – showing me the way I want to create art with fabric – I love fabric.
Your surprise gifts with your first colouring book: a printed piece – a vision of your personality, and a piece of white fabric. I did not know what to do with them, until now. Thank you.
Hi Darlene,
Thank you for such kind words! It is something that I am long since over with, emotionally. Thank you so much for the kind words and support! That is what this world really needs more of, and I am honored that I could inspire you! 🙂
Love your work! Curious what you use to “color” on fabric. I’ve always been a doodler and I love to quilt, to put the 2 together would be treat.
Thanks Vicky! I actually get the color onto the fabric through printing! So this design in particular was digitally designed and then printed onto the fabric. You can actually purchase this quilt top in 3 different sizes at this link: http://www.karleeporter.com/shop/finished-products/shimmering-symphony-red-printed-tapestry/
You are an amazing quilter. I love your ideas of printing your own fabric. I would go crazy with that idea. I am a 4 letter quilter HAND.
and i love quilting I have to admit I love the old designs and scrap piece quilts from the 20-30’s I am looking forward to see what you come up with next. You have a talent that needs to be set free in the art world. Thanks for the great pictures Maybe some day you can machine quilt one of my tops thanks again
Thank you so much Karen, I hugely admire hand quilters. I have never been able to have the patience for hand quilting. My grandmother made me this beautiful hand quilted quilt for my wedding and I truly truly do cherish it so much! I would love to quilt a top for you. Let me know if you ever have anything. 🙂
Karlee, your work is a testament to your artistic talent. I am speechless. Your piece with the musical notes and piano keys brought tears to my eyes. This piece brought me closer to my son Gregory, he passed in 2008. His love for music was his passion. His legacy in music keeps his loving memory alive. Your quilting is amazing! Please email me.
Hi Darrell, thank you so much for all your kind words! I am so honored that my quilt could speak to you in an emotional artist. As an artist, being able to communicate emotionally to my audience is my entire goal. I love music so much. It touches feelings that words cannot, and is sometimes the only thing that can bring comfort and solace in times of despair. Thank you so much for your comment.
I’m a little confused! Your Shimmering Symphony is just stunning. I order a pattern but confused on the instructions and just how and what you did. Are the piano keys applique and the rest quilted???
Hi Linda,
Great question. This quilt is actually a wholecloth. So the entire design comes from the quilting and the thread colors. So, first you’ll transfer the design to your solid white or cream fabric, and then once the markings are there, you can quilt them and fill them in with whatever filler pattern and threads you like. 🙂
I hope that helps. 🙂 Keep the questions coming if you have any, and I am more than happy to help! Thank you for supporting my work!
All I can say is wow.
^_^
I love your quilting! The designs are quite an inspiration to me. I will be using some of them in a quilt I’m doing on my Brother quilting machine. Your graffiti quilting always looks so happy!
thank you,
Susan
Thank you Susan! I would love to see some pictures when you do! 😀
Stunning! Wow! Wow! Wow! I love the quilt, the quilting, the story, and the love put into this project!
Thank you Roxanne! Your kind words mean so much to me!
Thank you for sharing all of the photos. Your quilt is a masterpiece! Examining every single photo allows me to see that minor imperfections cannot possibly detract from the overall beauty–a great metaphor for life. I feel encouraged to go forth with my own hands with more confidence and ease. Thank you so much.
Susan thank you so much for the dear sweet comment! I agree! Sometimes being vulnerable is hard to do, but I always find that I become a better human being when I show my flaws. 🙂
What a beautiful quilt! I am just over blown with your machine quilting. I love making quilts but I can’t get beyond stitching in the ditch and even echo quilting.
Thank you so much, Lynette. And hey! Stitch in the ditch is tedious and impressive! I totally am jealous of your skill!
Wow,wow,wow…. I’m kind of speechless. I’ve never seen anything more creative and unique and I can see why you love it ! Your graffiti quilting is such a knockout, I always knew inside of me there was a quilter, but I was always detoured by the “rules” of quilting. Now that modern quilting has become popular and social media has turned me onto free motion quilting, my inner quilter is coming out to play even in my late 50s! Your exuberance is delightful to watch and you inspire me to create. Thank you for sharing and as for that top that was ripped in half , I would piece it together with the raw edges hanging out with some beautiful fabric to mend the divide. I would hang it on my wall in defiance of any and all who would dare to judge and bully. Honestly if someone had done that to me,that may have stopped me from ever quilting again, good for you that you stuck with it and became an amazing inspiration to all of us.
Sandi. You are so sweet to say all of that!!! We all have artists inside of us, we just need to give them a little attention. 🙂 I was thinking the same thing about the upped quilt top… I have an idea of exactly what I want to do. 🙂 all these comments have encouraged me to get it out and finish it!
“Great spirits have often encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. – Einstein.”
Don’t let the geeks get you down – keep at it girl. Your quilts are stunning!
Thank you so much! That is so kind of you to say! 🙂