This quilt has been named as one of "The Twentieth Century's Best American Quilts". This prestigious list was the result of "The Ultimate Quilt Search" which was a collaboration of 4 non-profit quilting organizations: The Alliance for American Quilts, The American Quilt Study Group, the International Quilt Association, and the National Quilting Association. The special magazine "The Twentieth Century's Best American Quilts" was produced by Primedia Special Interest Publications to commemorate these great quilts.
This woodland scene started with a 3 x 5 photograph. I use freezer paper for templates, but not in the traditional sense. The freezer paper stays on while I am sewing and I sew next to the freezer paper, not through it. Every piece is color numbered. There is no guessing about which color to use during actual construction.
The quilt is machine pieced, however, some of the trees in the foreground were pieced and then appliquéd on. Other details such as a few rocks in the water and the yellow triangles on the small tree were also appliquéd. I primarily used cotton fabrics; organzas and satins were used in the water. This quilt took about six months to make and has over 8,000 pieces in it.
The national attention I received for this quilt led to so many requests for patterns and information that I created the small floral patterns to teach the picture-piecing technique and thus England Design was born.
I have three children who are interested in "hide and seek" books, so I decided to use pre-printed fabrics and "hide" two animals in the quilt: a deer and a wolf. They are both located near the horizon line. The wolf is in the center, at the water's edge, drinking.
