Needlecrafts Quilting Quilting Basics

Lovely Landscape Art Quilts

Miniature Quilt

Diane L. Schwandt

You'll love this photo gallery that displays pictures of landscape quilts and other types of art quilts made by members of the online quilting community.

Some of the quilts in the photo gallery are made from patchwork, but many of the designs are created using applique, thread painting, embroidery, and other techniques.

Many landscape and art quilters used hand-dyed fabrics and fabric painting techniques to translate their ideas to cloth. There's no limit to the methods you can use to create an art quilt.

If you're beginning your first art quilt, try using a simple color wheel and learn how color value affects the ways that fabrics contrast or blend together.

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    Three Sisters Mountains Landscape Quilt

    Three Sisters Mountain Quilt
    Alaffin

    Alaffin created this quilt from a photo of the Three Sisters Mountains in Central Oregon and added a bit of imagination toward the front. The landscape quilt measures about 24 inches by 36 inches and was donated to a charity auction.

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    Grow Already!

    So Grow Already! Art Quilt
    Joy

    From Joy: Grow Already! is an art quilt designed and constructed by Joy. The quilt is based on the "Chronicles of Narnia" books by C.S. Lewis. It measures 30 inches by 30 inches and made from all cotton fabrics, cotton batting, and glass beading.

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    Tualatin Valley Landscape Quilt

    Tualatin Valley Landscape Quilt
    Alaffin

    Alaffin designed this quilt using a photo taken in the Tualatin Valley. It depicts a walkway around the Jackson Bottoms Wetlands in Hillsboro, Oregon.

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    Kokopelli Sunset Quilt

    Kokopelli Sunset Quilt
    Lizzyquilts

    Lizzyquilts created her quilt in the bargello style and, after piecing the background, realized that it looked like a sunset. The look inspired her to add Kokopelli and other themed motifs to the quilt.

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    Poppies, a Raw Edged Applique Landscape Quilt

    Poppies Landscape Quilt
    Dona Hartney

    Dona made this raw-edged applique quilt for one of her daughters.

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    Pirates Cove Landscape Quilt

    Pirates Cove Landscape Quilt
    Inell

    Pirates Cove is Inell's first landscape quilt and was made for her quilt guild's annual challenge. She started with the schooner ship that's visible on the water and built the design around that theme. The quilt includes embroidery, along with shell and coconut embellishments.

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    Fantasy Forest Landscape Quilt

    Fantasy Forest Quilt
    Joyce R. Becker

    From Joyce: This quilt was in my head for years before I had the time to actually design it. The hand-dyed fabric is by Judy Robertson and was used for the sky—her fabric was actually the inspiration for the design.

    Many techniques were used in this quilt, including raw edge applique, extensive free-motion machine embroidery, overlays of tulle for filtered sunlight, and coloring with Tsukineko inks and wax pastels. The piece was machine quilted.

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    Mountain Landscape Quilt

    Mountain Landscape Quilt
    LilyBee

    From LilyBee: This miniature landscape quilt was made during a 2010 Quilt University class with instructor Susan Brittingham. The quilt was based on her class model.

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    Boats in the Riachuelo Art Quilt

    Boats in the Riachuelo
    Pat Garcia Uriburu

    From Pat: I had to base my art quilt on a famous painting, so I chose one by Don Quinquela Martin, a great self-made artist who lived in Buenos Aires (born 1890, died 1977). His paintings showed the docks by the Riachuelo (a branch of the River Plate) packed with boats that were never at sail. The quilt measures 47 centimeters by 46 centimeters. It was created with machine appliquè and machine embroidery.

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    Art Quilt Inspired by Tacky the Penguin

    Art Quilt Inspired by Tacky the Penguin
    Joy

    From Joy: This little quilt measures only 8 inches by 10 inches. It is made from cotton fabrics, cotton batting, and glass beads. The quilt was inspired by the Tacky the Penguin series of children's books. The weaving represents the stiff penguin world of those around him and the bright coat and beading both signify the carefree way that Tacky lives.

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    Natural Wonders Landscape Quilt

    Natural Wonders Landscape Quilt
    Kathy McNeil

    From Kathy: Natural Wonders is a 60-inch by 63-inch landscape quilt made in 2010. The quilt is all about the simple magic of discovery. One-hundred-three different fabrics were hand appliqued together to create the seascape. For now, the destination only exists in my mind, but I expect to find it someday. Techniques used include hand applique, hand embroidery, 3-D yo-yo embellishments, and machine quilting.

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    It Takes a Village Miniature Quilt

    It Takes a Village Miniature Quilt
    Diane L. Schwandt

    From Diane: It Takes a Village is a 14-inch square quilt made during a quilt guild challenge for a storefront design. I chose my sister Patsy as the subject—she is a watercolor artist and does art classes on the lawn of her house during the summer. I gave the quilt to her for her birthday.

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    Frozen Lake Landscape Quilt

    Frozen Lake Landscape Quilt
    Pat Garcia Uriburu

    From Pat: I made this quilt after a photo taken by Carlos Alberto Bau, a great photographer who died in a plane crash at the beginning of 2010. The picture depicts a frozen lake and the Andes in the south of Patagonia. The sky is red because I assume it was at dusk. I used machine appliqué and machine freehand quilting to make the quilt.

    It measures about 7 3/4 inches by 7 3/4 inches.

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    Rhapsody Meets the Southwest Art Quilt

    Rhapsody Meets the Southwest
    Sally Murray

    From Sally: I took a class from Ricky Tims in 2008 and learned how to design my own Rhapsody quilt. Rhapsody Meets the Southwest was the result. I live in Arizona and I am an archaeologist who loves rock art.

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    Wind in the Willows Quilt

    Wind in the Willows Quilt
    Annie

    From Annie: I love this story and thought it had some cute characters that would display well in a quilt. I chose something from each chapter to applique into a block. It uses needleturn applique, hand embroidery, and hand quilting.

    The quilt measures 76 inches by 84 inches.

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    Sunset Landscape Quilt

    Sunset Landscape Quilt
    Nancy

    From Nancy: This 22-inch-by-21-inch wallhanging was inspired by the fabric in it, which was a scrap from another project. When I saw the orange/yellow batik, it immediately said to me "sunset." I drew the tree freehand, cut it out and appliqued it in place. The "sky" and the "grass" were quilted quite densely to add dimension.

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    My Sunshine Landscape Quilt

    My Sunshine Quilt
    From a Class Taught by Susan Loland

    From the Quiltmaker: This is a wallhanging created in a class by the designer, Susan Loland of Black-Eyed Susan Designs, who visited us in the fall of 2009. We used Batiks in the class, and white and burgundy flowers were embellished with thread painting. This was my first time using this technique and I was very pleased with it.

    The quilt measures 26 inches by 33 inches.

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    Solitude Landscape Quilt

    Solitude Landscape Quilt
    Downsouth

    From Downsouth: The photography of David Lorenz Winston has always inspired me, as I love nature, especially trees. After getting Mr. Winston's permission to copy his photography into a fabric landscape quilt. Looking back, there are things I would do differently now, but I assume a lot of us feel that way after a project is complete.

    The quilt measures approximately 34 inches by 39 inches.

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    Nature's Sampler Landscape Quilt

    Nature's Sample Landscape Quilt
    from a June Jaeger Workshop, Quilt by Kathie S.

    From Kathie: Nature's Sampler is a landscape quilt inspired by a class taught by June Jaeger. I finished the quilt after a few months. I enjoyed making the quilt and learned how to do machine applique using fusible web.

    The quilt measures 72 inches by 77 inches.

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    Desert Etchings Quilt

    Desert Etchings Quilt
    Linda Visnaw

    From Linda: Desert Etchings is a quilt inspired by the petroglyphs of the southwest, and was made using a combination of machine appliqué, half-square triangles, and straight piecing. Set on point, the images of ancient American Indian petroglyph art are set off by a colorful sashing and then surrounded by a rain cloud border.

    The quilt measures 54.5 inches by 68.5 inches.

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    Tranquility Quilt

    Tranquility Quilt
    Claire D.

    From Claire: This is a raw-edged applique wall hanging that was inspired by a calendar of New Zealand scenery. The original picture had reflections, which were a bit beyond my capabilities, so I changed the bottom half of the image. Pieces were put on with a glue stick and when the picture was completed all edges were secured with a straight stitch in matching colors. Quilting anchors the larger areas.

    The quilt measures 25 inches by 26 inches.

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    Grass Trees Landscape Quilt

    Grass Trees Quilt
    Clothscape

    From Clothscape: This quilt is based on a photo I took in the Warrumbungle National Park, near where I grew up in Australia. Grass trees, sort of a cross between a palm and a fern, are pretty common in the area. This was one of my first experiments with this style of applique.

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    Champ Etoile Art Quilt

    Champ Etoile Quilt
    livanachat

    From livanachat: I made this quilt using the block wonder pattern, combining a few colors with butterflies because I wanted a very quiet wallhanging. I added grasses over the quilt with fusible web and will topstitch them and add beaded stars when I have time.

    The quilt measures 45 inches by 40 inches.

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    Oak Tree Art Quilt

    Oak Tree Quilt
    Marion Boddy-Evans

    From Marion: I made this quilt not long after discovering the tree quilts by Ruth McDowell though it's nowhere near as complex or neatly made. The tree was appliqued onto the pieced background, then quilted, all by machine.

    The quilt measures about 1 by 1.5 meters.

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    Pointe Betsie Light House Quilt

    Pointe Betsie Light House Quilt
    Nettie

    From Nettie: This quilt originated from a photo taken by my uncle. From that, I made a pattern. This was my first attempt at a landscape quilt.

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    Sunflower II Quilt

    Sunflower II Quilt
    Wendy Gatzke

    From Wendy: This is a quilt I made for a juried art show in Cortez, Colorado. I enjoy making sunflowers, and this was my second time around with this design. It looks totally different from my first sunflower quilt.

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    Southwest Pots and Cactus Quilt

    Southwest Pots and Cactus Quilt
    Wendy Gatzke

    From Wendy: I made this quilt for a juried art show at our local Cultural Center in Cortez, Colorado.

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    Isabella's Water Garden

    Isabella's Water Garden Quilt
    Toni

    From Toni: This quilt was inspired by the water gardens in Balboa Park, San Diego. We used to visit them when we were young and lived there. My brother and his wife still live there and when their daughter was born I designed this for Isabella.

    It measures about 50 inches by 60 inches.

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    Spring in the Swamp Quilt

    Spring in the Swamp
    Black Swamp Benefit, Inc.

    From Kelly: This fabulous art piece was made especially for the 6th Annual Black Swamp Benefit Bazaar. Measuring 97 inches by 116 inches, the quilt was designed by Kathie McClarren, owner of Corner Quilts in Wauseon, with assistance from Mary Clark of Sylvania, Ohio. The background was pieced by Carolyn Snyder of Pettisville, Ohio. The 2007 feature quilt was hand quilted at Zion Mennonite Church in Archbold, Ohio by community volunteers.

    The quilt is a multi-media piece featuring appliqué, embroidery, hand quilting, and some machine quilting. More than 17 animals and birds native to northwest Ohio are represented on the quilt, including a pheasant, blue heron crane, cardinals, bluebirds, hummingbirds, red wing blackbirds, gray squirrel, and frogs. It was sold at public auction on June 16, 2007, at the Fulton County Fairgrounds in Wauseon to benefit Sunshine Inc. of Northwest Ohio and Mennonite Central Committee.

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    Hafadai Hibiscus Quilt

    Hafadai Hibiscus
    Teresa Suek

    From Teresa: Hafa Adai is a greeting in Chamorro, the language of Guam. The island is filled with naturally growing hibiscus bushes of all colors. This quilt was dye painted and thread embellished.

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    Rocky Mountain Foothills Quilt

    Rocky Mountain Foothills, Alberta
    Shirley, Canuck

    From Shirley: This quilt is 35 inches by 47 inches—it is an original of a scene outside of Cochrane, Alberta. I have lived in this area all my life and love doing art quilts of the area. The quilt includes hand-dyed fabric, rough-edged applique, and thread painting. It is machine quilted.

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    The Village Art Quilt

    The Village
    Shirley, Canuck

    From Shirley: This is a southwestern themed original quilt inspired by the nine years we wintered in Arizona. The quilt measures 47 inches by 47 inches and was made from my own hand-dyed fabric. Techniques used include rough-edged applique and thread painting. The mountains, sky, and clothing were hand-painted.

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    Fairies and Flowers Quilt

    Fairies and Flowers
    Shirley Canuck

    From Shirley: The fairies in this 24-inch-by-24-inch quilt were thread painted and the flowers were appliqued.

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    Breast Cancer Support Quilt

    Landscape Quilt for Breast Cancer Support
    Shirley Canuck

    From Shirley: I donated this landscape quilt to a breast cancer support project.

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    Winter Visitors Quilt

    Winter Visitors Quilt
    Shirley Canuck

    From Shirley: This is an original quilt made for a friend in Washington state. I used my own thread painted fabric. I painted the sky, some of the fir trees, and the buildings. The trees are appliqued. I thread painted fir trees over the painting and did lots of additional thread painting on the rest of the quilt.

    The quilt measures 25 inches by 39 inches and is machine quilted.

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    Twelve Day Howling Success Quilt

    Twelve Day Howling Success Quilt
    Reggirl

    From Reggirl: This is a single bed size quilt that I made in 12 days before my oldest daughter's 21st birthday, which happened to be two days after Christmas, 2006. I hand-painted the background and appliqued the black wolf and foreground. Where the colors change, I changed the embroidery thread.

    There are 15 different colors used throughout the quilt. I created an embroidered Celtic design on the blue outside border.

    The inspiration for this quilt was my daughter's love of wolves and Celtic designs. I enjoyed making the quilt but would have enjoyed having a bit more time to complete it.