“There’s nothing more exciting to me than a quilty challenge! I have been honored to create several complex stunners for Windham/Anthology. It’s such a wonderful feeling to receive that email, think about the complexity of the pattern, and open that ultra-creative part of my brain. Sometimes I can’t wait even five minutes before hopping on the computer!
So when my friends at Windham Fabrics tasked me with creating a quilt based on one of Grant Haffner’s incredible pieces of art, I immediately thought about the logistics of this pattern, how to create a digital image of it in EQ8, and what would be the easiest path for makers. I started with deciding which of Grant’s pieces I would try to duplicate. I studied his art, searching for opportunities for straight seams, ways to assemble a quilt in sections, and simple template work. Some of this pieces would be incredible to see in fabric, but may not translate in fabric, or more importantly for me as the writer, translate to a feasible quilt pattern.
Mohawk Trail Quilt: designed by Natalie Crabtree and quilted by Holly Seever
Finally I settled on Mohawk Trail! In order to get proportions, lines, and angles right in EQ8 I uploaded an image of Grant’s art into EQ8 and began tracing. Some angles had to be modified in order to have a straight seam, or a seam that was possible. Using the tracing feature in EQ8 allowed me to, almost exactly, mimic Grant’s art
Detail photo of Horizon fabrics
Now time to plan creating this sample! In order to begin work on this project, I had to print around 150 pages of templates. Whew! 150 pages of templates that had to be cut out, paired together and taped. Generally, when I create an intensive project like this, it never fails that I create the sample quilt before the pattern is written! I actually love that method, because I learn and write as I go based on my actual sewing experiences. Because I had to print 150 pages of templates for the large sample quilt, I knew that it would be best to create a smaller wall hanging size for the actual pattern. We were able to reduce the number of template pages greatly by making the pattern based on a 40” x 40” quilt.
Mohawk Trail on the longarm!
Corner detail of Mohawk Trail
I created the sample in a few days, speed sewing to ensure we met Quilt Market deadlines! The gorgeous custom quilting was done by Holly Seever.
I adored this quilty challenge and look forward to seeing what Grant creates next!”
~Natalie
Natalie (& Joel) with Take Flight
Where it all began…
Mohawk Trail by Grant Haffner
The original Mohawk Trail by Grant Haffner
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