‘Optical Illusions’ Blog Party, Day 5

Welcome back! Today we feature two designers from Optical Illusions: Innovative Designs for the Modern Quilter, Mary Kay Fosnacht and Karen Hansen.

Mary Kay Fosnacht

Mary Kay’s quilt is another great example of modern traditionalism. Her inspiration was the Tumbler block. She experimented with color and value, finding just the right balance of each.

Karen’s quilt also has its roots in tradition. She worked with a single concept – the circle – and by splitting and shifting, came up with a simple, yet effective optical illusion.

To see their quilts and get their thoughts on design, read on:

Mary Kay Fosnacht

I’d like to thank The Kansas City Star for allowing me to collaborate on the book. I’m thrilled to be part of this project and have great admiration for the other quilters who have quilts in this book. Really. these gals are amazing.

Tangerine Tumbler, by Mary Kay Fosnacht

A lot of people have asked me how I came to be a part of this collaboration. Quite simply, the book’s editor, Deb Rowden, asked me to submit a design or two, and this design was accepted.

I love taking a concept, like optical illusions, and making something tangible from the idea – without being too literal. I knew that the Tumbler block could look dimensional if done with light, medium and dark fabrics. So I took the Tumbler block and started playing with different color combinations and arrangements of the block. The white surrounding the blocks gives it a modern look and adds negative space at the same time.

I chose to quilt with a circular pattern outside of the blocks using the circle template that came with my Gammill longarm. You can achieve the same result on your domestic machine by using freezer paper templates – or any other method that works for you. I like the contrast of curves against the angular blocks and have used this idea in many of my quilts. If the blocks have a lot of curves, then I often use angular quilting. Read the foreword in the book by Angela Walters for more great quilting ideas.

Happy quiltmaking!

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Karen Hanson

Karen Hansen

I had just finished a miniquilt for a charity auction using a similar block design and colors when I heard about the Optical Illusions project, so I challenged myself to use the same blocks in a different layout.

I liked the way the colors worked together. They reminded me of summer by the shore – sand and water. When I stacked them on point, they gave off a rippling effect, like ocean waves. After that came the fun part, picking out the fabrics and arranging them on my design wall. I quilted it on my Bernina in wavy rows from top to bottom, adding some bubbles here and there.

Surf’s Up, by Karen Hanson

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Today, we have two great giveaways – a copy of Optical Illusions and a Kona Color Card! To enter to win, leave a comment. One comment per person, please. Winners will be drawn next week.