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Bloggers’ Quilt Festival – Charley Harper Water Drop Quilt

Posted on May 19, 2012March 21, 2013 by Martha

It’s time once again for the Bloggers’ Quilt Festival over at Amy’s Creative Side.  Although it’s only been a few months since I posted my Charley Harper Water Drop Quilt, I am using it as my entry because it’s my current favorite of all the quilts I’ve made.

The idea began when my husband gave me the book, Charley Harper: An Illustrated Life, which contained beautiful photographs of Charley Harper’s work, including several from the 1961 book, The Giant Golden Book of Biology.  I love using vintage illustrations as inspirations for quilts, and I was immediately drawn to the water drop illustration with its abundance of interesting organisms.  I decided to make the quilt for my nephew, Chris, who loves biology.

The organisms were stitched using a combination of hand applique and embroidery (no fusible), with a little paint for some of the tiny details.  The outline of the drop is white bias tape, and the top is hand quilted with amoeba shapes within the drop and echo quilting on the outside of the drop.

Charley Harper Water Drop Quilt
Martha Dellasega Gray, 2012
illustration from The Giant Golden Book of Biology, 1961
hand embroidered & appliqued (with a little painting), hand quilted
48″ x 62″

 

29 thoughts on “Bloggers’ Quilt Festival – Charley Harper Water Drop Quilt”

  1. Deborah says:
    May 19, 2012 at 10:10 am

    Wow, that is incredible! It’s like a science lesson. HA! The color of the water is just perfect.

    Reply
  2. Laura says:
    May 19, 2012 at 10:13 am

    The nerdy scientist in me loves the subject! The quilter in me appreciates your color sense and style. Your quilt inspires me. Thanks for posting the pictures.

    Reply
  3. CitricSugar says:
    May 19, 2012 at 11:13 am

    Holy cow! That is way too cool. This satisfies so many things at once that I’m giddy.

    Reply
  4. Lauren aka Giddy99 says:
    May 19, 2012 at 11:24 am

    Probably one of the most amazing (and one of my favorite) quilts of all time! It’s spectacular!

    Reply
  5. Annie says:
    May 19, 2012 at 12:36 pm

    Wow, just….fantastic!

    : )

    Reply
  6. kerry says:
    May 19, 2012 at 12:48 pm

    I loved this when I saw this first time and I still an stunned by it! Your applique work is, as always, beautiful!

    Reply
  7. Karen Beigh says:
    May 19, 2012 at 1:46 pm

    I remember seeing your posts as you created this piece. I thought it was very intriguing.

    Reply
  8. Rachaeldaisy says:
    May 19, 2012 at 1:49 pm

    Amazing!!

    Reply
  9. Allie says:
    May 19, 2012 at 3:31 pm

    I love everything about this quilt Martha – utter perfection – a fabulous entry for the festival!!!

    Reply
  10. Leanne says:
    May 19, 2012 at 3:33 pm

    This is stunning. I love Charlie Harper and you have done an excellent job capturing his style and drawing. I love the quilting too.

    Reply
  11. Alison says:
    May 19, 2012 at 3:53 pm

    That is quite incredible

    Reply
  12. AnnieO says:
    May 19, 2012 at 5:06 pm

    I only learned of Charley Harper a year ago when I made my first trip to Cincinnati–loved his work immediately. This is such a great quilt! Wonderful interpretation of the inspiration. Thank you for sharing your quilt’s story.

    Reply
  13. margaret gunn says:
    May 20, 2012 at 3:13 am

    very cool!

    Reply
  14. Pratima says:
    May 20, 2012 at 4:22 am

    This is incredibly stunning! The backdrop of water in subtle shades and the various greens and browns in the applique are picture perfect!! Your work is impeccable, Martha!

    Reply
  15. Mickie says:
    May 20, 2012 at 5:07 am

    I love LOVE this quilt and I love how your use personal things in your life to make quilts. We can all learn so much from you Martha, you’re the best!

    Reply
  16. barbara says:
    May 20, 2012 at 5:20 am

    I don’t think many people would have thought to use this as the inspiration for a quilt – it is fantastic.

    Reply
  17. Jill says:
    May 20, 2012 at 5:58 am

    This is so original and fantastic!

    Reply
  18. Gill says:
    May 20, 2012 at 1:04 pm

    I love this!
    I like Charley Harper’s work – would you recommend this book??

    Reply
  19. sherry says:
    May 20, 2012 at 6:38 pm

    love it

    Reply
  20. Carolyn @ Sweetboaterchick says:
    May 20, 2012 at 7:09 pm

    I saw this on flickr a couple months ago and fell in love with it! Beautiful!

    Reply
  21. hafza says:
    May 21, 2012 at 1:35 am

    This is one unique and beautiful quilt…very rare!!

    Reply
  22. Carrie Wikander says:
    May 21, 2012 at 8:49 pm

    This is way cool AND beautiful to boot! I love it!

    Reply
  23. Edit Takacs says:
    May 21, 2012 at 11:56 pm

    Very nice quilt!

    Reply
  24. Sally says:
    May 22, 2012 at 12:19 pm

    I could look at this all day.

    Reply
  25. tusen says:
    May 24, 2012 at 3:39 am

    Yay, such a cool idea and I love your choice of colours, too.

    Reply
  26. amy ( sew~amy) says:
    May 24, 2012 at 11:12 am

    I love this quilt.

    Reply
  27. Marci Girl says:
    May 24, 2012 at 12:42 pm

    I swear this is one of my favorites this year! So great!

    Reply
  28. Michaelanne says:
    December 12, 2012 at 5:43 am

    This is SO perfect! In SO MANY WAYS:) LOVE!!! LOVE!!! LOVE!!!!!!

    Reply
  29. Kate says:
    April 25, 2014 at 7:04 am

    The most WONDERFUL and UNIQUE quilt I have seen in a long time! Thank you for sharing it. And thank you for your fantastic blog – I love the old children’s book drawings, they remind me of my mother’s old annuals from the 1950s which had drawings inside the front and back covers that she’d carefully coloured in with crayons decades earlier.

    Oh and the ‘children from around the world’ book with its pictures of Australian kids is hilarious! The baby kangaroo is a pet – um, no.

    Reply

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