Easy to Make Landscape Quilts

Landscape quilts are some of the most beautiful and intricate quilts. I always wanted to try my hand at one, so I did what I always do. I read. What I discovered was that there are several different ways to create a landscape quilt. Most of the techniques sounded very complicated, but the results were beautiful. I tried a few sample patterns provided by the books, some with good results, and some so complicated I gave up. I then received Landscape Quilts by Nancy Zieman and Natalie Sewell. As I read, I felt confidant that this was a landscape quilt I could do with little fuss. It even sounded fun. As a matter fact, Nancy and Natalie describe this technique as fabric painting.

Tools
For this technique, you need your standard quilting tools: scissors, safety pine, rotary cutter, mat, ruler, etc. There is, however, one thing that you probably do not have in your sewing box, but your kids will have in their school box. You need lots of glues sticks. As the book states “Gluing is a key step in creating a landscape quilt.”

Technique
The technique of cutting and gluing fabric onto a background fabric is a lot like placing dabs of paint on a canvas. Using Nancy and Natalie’s technique you have more control over the pieces of fabric and it is easier to see if something is going to look how you want it to look. If you mess up, you simply remove the fabric and try again. Other techniques require a lot of up front planning, because once you place a piece it is difficult to change it. After you have all of the fabric pieces in place, you simply stitched around the fabric to hold it in place. You can add details to the landscape when you quilt it.

Results
I decided to create a fantasy style landscape based off of a picture I saw on the internet. I call it Between Two Worlds. I love the results of using this technique. However, I did discover one issue; the edges of the fabric pieces slightly unravel. It adds an interesting look to the leaves, but the elf details look messy. Use this technique only for wall hangings. The fabric pieces are too fragile for anything else.


Overall
I recommend picking up the book and trying Nancy and Natalie’s landscape quilting technique. It is a lot of fun and it allows another side of your artistic ability to come through.