Autumnal Applique

While I was out walking yesterday around the neighborhood, it struck me how the feeling of Fall was in the air. The weather was lovely; warm and sunny, but there was just the “feeling” of an imminent change of seasons. There was something so familiar and comfortable about the afternoon – like I’d experienced that day so many times in the past. Perhaps a nostalgic reminder of being a child and anxiously anticipating the first day of school? I think Fall is just the best time of the year.

When I returned home, there was a delightful surprise in the mailbox. My quilt, after having been photographed and my pattern published, had been returned to me by Creative Machine Embroidery magazine. Autumnal Applique is currently being featured on pages 34-39 in the September/October 2014 issue of the magazine.

When designing this quilt, I wanted to use unexpected fabrics to depict Fall. Although reds, oranges and yellows make a beautiful Fall colour palette, I had had quite enough of that colour scheme. Instead, I visualized using batiks, especially pinks, browns and limey greens.

Once the fabrics were chosen, I had to find just the right embroidery designs to use for the machine applique. I came across two designers on the etsy.com website; Tracy Dickfos and Karen Gober. Their designs are both charming and whimsical, which of course had me totally captivated. I especially loved both of their tree embroidery designs!

Tracy Dickfos

Tracy is a lovely, young Australian designer. She happened upon the art of digitizing in a round-about way. Her formal education was as a fashion designer….who happened to take some classes in digitizing. After graduation, Tracy received a Janome embroidery machine and set about purchasing and accummulating “a whole bunch” of online embroidery designs. She was disappointed with the quality and brevity of the designs she found online, so dug in her heels and began to design her own images. Tracy feels her greatest attribute is that her brain combines a love of science with plumes of creativity – allowing her to make beautiful, structurally solid, delightful embroidery designs.

Like many of us, Tracy works from her home. She loves to sit and look out the window in her home studio dreaming about her next creation.

Karen Gober

Karen is a young mother; an American, who resides in the state of Georgia with her family. She comically says, “everything in the South is monogrammed” so she began embroidering pieces for her children and for her nieces and nephews. As time passed, Karen, with the help of her IT husband, virtually taught herself how to digitize and create her own designs. What began as a hobby, quickly grew to a business enterprise. Karen started to sell her designs on etsy.com in 2009. Check them out! You will love her work.

Thanks so very much to both Tracy and Karen for their collaboration on my autumn quilt.

Take the time to leave me a comment on my blog or on my facebook post. If your comment is chosen, I will send you a copy of Creative Machine Embroidery magazine!

Till later….

Kim