Earth Day - Earth Views

Earth Views - The One

Introducing “The One”  68” x 73” featuring Earth Views from Robert Kaufman by designer Karen Nyberg, a retired astronaut, conservationist, textile artist and quilter.  I was fascinated  to learn more about her and the unique fabric line in this  Auribuzz  interview and Textile Talks QSOS video

There is only one earth. It is unique and beautiful.  It is to be cherished, admired and protected. It takes a commitment to preserve something so special and rare that we are fortunate to have.   This description reminds me of love and wedding vows making “The One” a fitting gift for a newly married couple to cuddle under. 

"The One" photoshoot Capitola CA

I knew immediately that I wanted to make a quilt with an open and airy vibe - letting the Earth Views blues float as if suspended in zero gravity.  The quilt and design needed to evoke hope and optimism. 

Earth Views and Kona Solid Layer Cakes

HSTs paired with Kona solids 

Having recently finished a quilt using Half Square Triangles they were still on my mind and their diagonal design element has a vast quality that was inline with my vision. 

Unlike my previous HST quilt, sashing was added to give the blocks more space (pun intended).  In my head and on paper it was a simple change but the logistics of cutting and sewing the strips was a bit more effort than I had anticipated.  

Making sure that the horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines were properly aligned was a lot to ask of this "perfectly imperfect" quilter but worth the extra attention to detail.    Did you notice the tiny HSTs in the sashing?  There are 22 of them to represent the year 2022.

Auditioning binding 

Once the top was pieced, I brought it with me to my LQS Hart's Fabric and got Kona Quicksilver as the border returning again after quilting was done to pick out Iron for the binding.  I’m lucky to have a well stocked wall of Robert Kauffman Kona solids conveniently available. 

 

Along with the four Earth Views fat quarters, I received  a spool of Aurifil 50 wt color 2715 from Karen Nyberg's coordinating Aurifil thread collection.   Robins Egg also comes in a Forty3 cone, my favorite to use for quilting on a longarm and also piecing on my domestic. 

Aurifil Robins Egg 

Forty/3 cone color 2620 Stainless Steel

The color value placement may seem random but it was very intentional.  With endless options, I distributed  them in a way that created secondary interest and encouraged the viewers eye to wander. 

Quilted free form with only a general concept in mind and taking inspiration from the movement in the prints resulted in lots of atmospheric swirls, crashing waves and cloud motifs. 

The sky was especially stunning during the photoshoot. 

 

 

Check out the details on the Robert Kaufman and Aurifil blog and see the other projects made with Earth Views   

Be kind to the earth and to one another.

Happy Stitching, Karen