tales of sunrise--the courage of designing

Have you noticed that sometimes quilts just have a mind of their own? This time it was a quilt I was making to test colors for a custom order. I knew what the customer wanted. I knew where it was going to hang but I wasn't sure about how could I get them to work just right. After all, these customers seem like really special people and I wanted to do my best.

The quilt was to be based loosely on "gentle morning" but with a golden sun and slightly warmer colors that are more alive. The bottom perhaps a glowing tan to echo the sky.

gentle morning--40x40 inches--quilt--Ann Brauer 2017--image by John Polak

Sometimes the best thing to do is just start. I knew I could make a wonderful happy quilt for them but I wanted to learn about the colors and the design.

tales of sunrise--work in progress--ann brauer 2018

tales of sunrise--work in progress--ann brauer 201

tales of sunrise--work in progress--ann brauer 2018

Yes, I am loving this quilt. I have learned so much. Which colors work. How to get a wonderful progression. I can't wait to start on the next one with a slightly larger sun. This quilt though deserves to be finished.

I keep coming back to my recent quilt "view from my window."

view from my window--99x99 inches--ann brauer 2018

This requires so much nerve and steadiness. I don't think about it but just cut slowly and steadily. Courage yes. But design takes courage, doesn't it? Then I sewed it back together. I still have to add the bindings which will finish it off and give the quilt a nice polished look. Don't you love how it tells a story. Don't you love the dreaminess of the golden tans at the bottom. Then I get to start on the next one with the larger sun and slower progression of the colors.

view of sunrise--30x55 inches--work in progress--ann brauer 2018

What do you think? Do you ever have to cut apart a quilt to get the right detail?

half way there!!!

Today's entry in my Count Down to Spring is my quilt Color on the Mountain. I made it several years ago as part of my landscape series. Then it ended up in a gallery hiding a fuse box. I still love it but it is not in the style that I am currently making so I decided it was time to reduce the price from $875 to $675.

Don't you love the colors? There is a hint of the sun rising or setting at the horizon.

color on the mountain--32x48 inches--Ann Brauer 2012

At 32 x 48 inches this quilt will work in many locations.

color on the mountain--detail--Ann Brauer 2012

 Of course it is signed.

color on the mountain--detail--ann brauer 2012

To find out more, check out my Etsy shop HERE.

nor'easter--take two

OK--I confess. I missed a day of posting. What can I say. There was a nor'easter. The world was beautiful and white but it did not feel like spring would show up. So I didn't post.

Oh well. Today I am thinking of warm blue skies and summer. Those are the colors of this pillow. Wouldn't it make a delightful splash of color for your sofa. While pillows look fabulous in my studio, they don't always fit in my van. Therefore I tend to have them for a while.

blue pillow--16x16"--quilt--Ann Brauer

I have reduced the price of this pillow from $110 to $75. To learn more about it, please check out my Etsy shop. The link is HERE. I actually have two of them if you want a matched set just e-mail me.

only 13 more days--tra la

OK--only 13 more days until spring. Repeat after me. Thirteen more days. Yes, I am trying to ignore the snow falling around me. We could get 18 inches!!! Maybe we should be celebrating this snow. Thinking of winters past where it snowed into April or even May. After all it will help preserve water for the summer. There are no mosquitoes. I can't weed the garden. And it is beautiful.

Regardless it is time for the Count Down to Spring quilt. This is the other river quilt that I have left. Don't you love the colors in this one? Wouldn't it look great in a country home--maybe with lots of wood and views to the forest outside. Just saying.

autumn river--38x38"--quilt--Ann Brauer 2018

The river flows through the center of the quilt with the green outlining it. Have you ever seen rivers in dry areas? This is actually what happens with the water creating a wonderful respite from the drier land.

autumn river--detail--ann brauer 2014

The browns are a wonderful rich color in long even rows.

autumn river--detail--ann brauer 2014

Of course it is signed. Hanging is simple since I have attached looped tape on the top and bottom. I provide the customer with the matching hooked tape and thin strips of faux wood that can be attached to your wall.

autumn river--detail--quilt--ann brauer 2014

I do like the simple colors in this quilt. However, I have had it for several years and it needs a new home. So I have reduced the price in my Count Down to Spring sale from $675 to $375. You can see more about the quilt on my Etsy shop HERE.

Yes--we get another Nor'Easter--Day 14

Only 14 days to spring. I guess the weather wants to get all the snow in now while it can. At least that is my theory. Why not?

Meanwhile my next quilt is one I love. Perhaps it is a bit more intellectual than some of the others. I think of it as a quilt about quilts. Indeed I carefully created the colors in the blocks by choosing the fabrics to make coordinate but stand out. Just look carefully at all the different prints I used. Don't you love how the blocks stand out against the black bindings.

One of the hardest blocks was the grey with the pink. I tried to make it different from the "solid" grey block but also co-ordinating with it. There are by the way more than 40 strips of fabric in each block. It took forever to sew this quilt.

pink butterflies--detail--quilt--Ann Brauer

I also love how the bright spring green in the detail below echoes the darker green while adding its own life. The various whites in my opinion calm this quilt and let the other colors stand out.

pink butterflies--detail--quilt--Ann Brauer

Of course I signed the quilt. Don't you love its name--pink butterflies. I hand finished the bindings and added looped tape on top and bottom for hanging.

pink butterflies--detail--quilt--Ann Brauer

I see this quilt in a modern room maybe with a simple sofa and coordinating pillows. Or it could be stunning with a changing display of flowers. Have fun deciding.

Because I have had this quilt for a couple of years I decided to include it in my Count Down to Spring collection. Therefore, I have reduced the price from $800 to $575 at least temporarily. To see more info you can check it out on my Etsy shop here.

between the storms--day 16

Don't you love how--if you commit to a goal--and tell others you are going to do it, you actually get it done. Now posting clearance items for 20 days is a lot of work. I have to go through the work I have and find the quilts that have been here too long. Then I have to admit they need a new home even if I don't get the price that I feel they deserve.

Still the word "clearance" does have the word "clear" in it and there is something liberating about creating new space in the studio.

This is the case with my quilt "river of gentle autumn." I made a number of quilts in this series when I was building the new studio. The object was to create works that would sell to help me pay for the building and I made a number of them. What wonderful studies in color and place they were.

Now I only have two of them left. This one I call "river of gentle autumn." Don't you love the peaceful colors? At 38x38 inches it occupies space while fitting in many locations. This is one of the last I made of this series and also one of the last quilts I made that relied on quilt as you go to provide the texture and substance. Therefore I have reduced the price from $675 to $375.

river of gentle autumn--38x38"--quilt--ann brauer 2015

Don't you love the subtle contrast between the free flowing river and the geometry of the banks of the river?

detail--river of gentle autumn--quilt--ann brauer 2015

Of course it is signed.

detail--river of gentle autumn--quilt--ann brauer 2015

To see more images of this quilt, please check out my Etsy shop here.

field of purple--17 more days

Today. Cloudy. Windy. Cold. Just a hint of snow with another Nor'Easter in the forecast. More dreaming of spring. Crocuses. Lilacs.

I love the simple long lines of this runner which I named "field of purple".  At 13x40 inches it will make a lovely statement on any table or bureau. I did attach looped tape on the top and bottom if you want to hang it vertically. Of course it is signed.

For some reason, I still own this quilt. I had listed it at $195 but for this special I am reducing the price to $125.

field of purple--13x40"--Ann Brauer 2014

 Aren't the colors wonderful?

field of purple--detail--13x40"--Ann Brauer 2014

If you want to see more images, it is listed here on my Etsy shop. Thanks.

and now the sun is shining--only 18 days

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday it snowed, sleeted. The wind blew. And I decided to stay at home rather than drive through the slush. So I didn't get a chance to get a new image until this morning. However, aren't these placemats perfect? The hint of warm sunshine against the grey of March. Wouldn't they make a great wedding gift? Or maybe you want to spiff up your own kitchen.

two quilted placemats--copyright Ann Brauer

At 13x19 inches I find them just the right size for most place settings.

Two quilted placemats--copyright Ann Brauer

And because of the polyester batting, they can be washed gently and dried at a cool temperature.

Two quilted placemats--copyright Ann Brauer

But I have had them for a while and they don't match most of the mats I am currently making. So I decided to reduce the price from $80 for a set of two to $45 for this particular group. Of course I won't tell if you don't. To see more images, they are listed on my Etsy shop here.

only 19 more days--nor'easter riley

As the snow swirls around my window (doesn't that sound dramatic--or is it just cliched) there are believe it or not only 19 more days until the Vernal Equinox. And today's entry into the spring cleaning is my wonderful quilt "study in stripes".

Don't you love the geometry of this quilt? Aren't the colors perfect for spring? Yes, it is based on the traditional log cabin pattern although I have played with the design. I made it by piecing and quilting the many strips of cotton fabric going through the cotton batting onto the back. Yes, I had to tie off threads at every seam. Argh!!!

study in stripes--detail--ann brauer

At 12 x 48 inches wouldn't this be a dramatic table runner for the spring? Wouldn't this look great in either a modern home or a country cottage.

study in stripes--quilt--12x48"--ann brauer 2013

Of course you could also hang it as an accent piece in that nook that needs a bit of color and design. I have attached looped tape on the top and bottom  and provide you with the matching hooked tape and faux wood to attach to the wall.

study in stripes--detail--ann brauer 2013

For some reason, this quilt needs a good home so I have decided to reduce it from $400 to $225--at least until spring comes. Of course I signed it. The quilt is listed here https://www.etsy.com/listing/176420147 on my Etsy shop. If you want to hang it horizontally let me know and I can attach the looped tape for an additional $20 fee.

study in stripes--detail--ann brauer

Count Down to Spring--Only 20 more days

Can you believe it--the Vernal Equinox is Tuesday March 20 at 12:15 pm Eastern Time. So soon. And yet so distant.  I want crocuses NOW. Not another Nor'Easter.  Oh well. Time for a spring cleaning.

I need to go through my studio and find the quilts have been here too long. Maybe part of a series from a few years ago. Not quite what I am making now. Maybe they were at a gallery. Or maybe they were a direction that I did not continue. Certainly when I do a craft show, I cannot take everything with me.  I only have a mini-van and a designated space. I need to present a concise statement of my current work so I don't overwhelm my customers. So some of these quilts hang around and become even more dated.

Anyhow, I decided this year that I will post one work a day at a reduced price until spring actually comes. Some will be larger quilts at reduced prices. Some will be smaller items that need a new home. When they are gone, they are gone. If they aren't gone by spring, I may relist at the regular price. I do like many of these quilts after all.

So here goes. The first quilt is aptly called "colors of spring." I love the colors and the simple lines of this piece. Wouldn't it look great against a white wall? Maybe in your kitchen or sunroom? It could even make a statement in your office or hallway? At 38x38" inches it will fit in so many locations. Hanging is simple as I have sewn strips of looped tape on the top and bottom.

colors of spring--38x38"--Ann Brauer 2014

Don't you love all the wonderful colors in these piece. Here is a bit of the detail of the work.

Detail--colors of spring--Ann Brauer 2014

And the wonderful blues in the quilt.

Detail--colors of spring--Ann Brauer 2014

Of course it is signed on the back. You can also see the looped tape for hanging. I will send you the matching hooked tape and strips of faux wood for hanging. It is simple.

Detail--colors of spring--Ann Brauer 2014

Anyhow, I have reduced the price from $625 to $375. If you want it, I listed the quilt on my Etsy shop here. https://www.etsy.com/listing/208562454 Or as they say, tomorrow is another day and I will have another listing as I wait for spring.