Linda Seward
  • Home
  • Books & publications
    • Quilting books >
      • Latest: Patchwork, Quilting & Applique
      • Art Quilting
    • Quilt Articles >
      • The Big ‘O’
      • Create Whimsy Interview
      • Crazy Curve Wallhanging
      • Pretty Patches Interview
      • At the Sharp End
    • Bibliography
    • Nature >
      • Fungi
      • Nature Articles
      • Magazine Articles >
        • Fungi Spotting in the Chilterns
        • Professor Richard Fortey
        • Looking for Lichens in the Chilterns
        • Bees
        • Thistles and other Prickly Plants
        • Chilterns Wonderland
        • Yellow & White Flowers of Early Spring
        • Hairstreak article: Silver-studded blue butterflies
  • Quilts
    • Quilt Galleries
    • Galleries >
      • Cricket quilts
      • 2019 to present
      • 2016 to 2018
      • 2013 to 2015
      • 2007 to 2012
      • 2000 to 2006
      • 1994 to 1999
      • For sale
  • Photography
    • Fungi Photography >
      • Fungi Photo Features
      • Rare fungi
      • Best Fungi Photos 2021
    • Nature Photography >
      • 2021
      • 2022
      • 2023
    • 365-day Photo Challenge >
      • 2023 Photo Challenge
      • 2022 Photo Challenge
    • Dog portraits
  • News
  • About
    • Biography
    • Judging
    • Exhibitions
    • Talks
    • Contact

Quilts 2001 – 2006

Ocean Waves for Reiko & Makoto

2006
Each about 96 x 80"/243 x 203cm
cotton fabrics, machine pieced, long-arm machine quilted by Bramble Patch

I made these matching double-bed sized quilts for friends Reiko and Makoto Hiratsuka to thank them for having my daughter Alysson to stay in Tokyo for three months. They chose the colors to match the curtains in their bedroom, and I used Moda Marbles to give a soft effect. 

Collection of Makoto and Reiko Hiratsuka.

Silk Storm

2005
​
38 1/2 x 39”/98 x 99cm
silk, cotton and polyester fabrics, machine pieced, appliquéd handmade silk papers,
machine quilted, slashed, beaded, couched threads

I made silk papers in a workshop and wanted to feature them on a quilt. After piecing, but before quilting,
I inserted about 6 layers of colored gauze and silk between the quilt top and batting in various spots so I could slash the top and expose the fabrics later. I machine quilted the piece with intersecting parallel
lines to create the feeling of a swirling storm. The silk papers were appliquéd to the quilt so they
would look as if they were blowing in the wind. After quilting, I slashed the fabric to expose all the
​layers and added beads to some slashed areas.

Collection of Carl and Christine Laubin

Squares: Pink, Blue, Yellow

2002
52 x 84”/132 x 213cm
silk and cotton fabrics from all over the world—many hand-dyed and hand-marbled,
​machine pieced, machine quilted, embellished with beads

I am fascinated by the way fabrics interact with one another, and the way shapes can be made to float or recede simply by color choice. The traditional square is the ideal shape for experimentation with color because of its simplicity. I decided to make a triptych in three different colorways, exploring the effects and interactions of color within each one. Because of the geometric nature of the piece, I quilted the panels in a series of meandering curved lines that intersect one another. Wherever the lines intersect I have sewn a bead, so the triptych sparkles as you walk past it.

Picture

Feathered Star and Grapes

1996-2005
​
62 x 62"/158 x 158cm 
cotton fabrics, machine pieced, hand appliqued, hand embroidered, hand quilted

This was a round robin quilt. Each person in our group made a central square and gave some ideas of how she pictured the finished quilt; some included fabrics for the others to use so that a colour scheme was maintained. We swapped work every two months, each person doing a “round”. We didn’t see our own top until one year later. Never having made a feathered star before, I decided to use this traditional block in the centre of my quilt, making it in my favourite colour: teal. The instructions to the rest were to use teal and white as the basis for making a traditional, slightly formal quilt top, and they succeeded admirably! Tricia Revest made the sawtooth border, while Paula Nadlestern turned the centre on point. Judy Hammersla spent hours on the appliquéd grapes in her border, and Rhona Neil pieced the lovely little baskets for hers. Patty Hambrick added the final border of diamonds. It took me nine years to hand quilt.

Picture

Little Houses

2001
22 x 22"/56 x 56cm
100% cotton fabrics, machine-pieced, machine quilted, machine embroidered

This little wall hanging was an exercise in using only five fabrics of the same colour but in different
​shades and tones. I made the piece using the techniques I teach in my workshop (called “Building a Quilt”). Students make the various elements of the quilt, such as the houses, log cabin blocks, checkerboard, half-square triangles, flying geese etc. and then arrange the pieces in various ways until they create a pleasing design. There is no pre-planning when making a quilt like this, and it’s lots of fun. This quilt was auctioned to raise money for my daughters’ school.

​Collection of Elisabeth Hobden

All quilts, text and images © Linda Seward
All quilts, text and images © Linda Seward. 
 Instagram
  • Home
  • Books & publications
    • Quilting books >
      • Latest: Patchwork, Quilting & Applique
      • Art Quilting
    • Quilt Articles >
      • The Big ‘O’
      • Create Whimsy Interview
      • Crazy Curve Wallhanging
      • Pretty Patches Interview
      • At the Sharp End
    • Bibliography
    • Nature >
      • Fungi
      • Nature Articles
      • Magazine Articles >
        • Fungi Spotting in the Chilterns
        • Professor Richard Fortey
        • Looking for Lichens in the Chilterns
        • Bees
        • Thistles and other Prickly Plants
        • Chilterns Wonderland
        • Yellow & White Flowers of Early Spring
        • Hairstreak article: Silver-studded blue butterflies
  • Quilts
    • Quilt Galleries
    • Galleries >
      • Cricket quilts
      • 2019 to present
      • 2016 to 2018
      • 2013 to 2015
      • 2007 to 2012
      • 2000 to 2006
      • 1994 to 1999
      • For sale
  • Photography
    • Fungi Photography >
      • Fungi Photo Features
      • Rare fungi
      • Best Fungi Photos 2021
    • Nature Photography >
      • 2021
      • 2022
      • 2023
    • 365-day Photo Challenge >
      • 2023 Photo Challenge
      • 2022 Photo Challenge
    • Dog portraits
  • News
  • About
    • Biography
    • Judging
    • Exhibitions
    • Talks
    • Contact