Jane Hicks Art Quilts

Q: Your quilting designs are beautiful. May I ask what type of quilting machine/design templates you use?

A: I do not use a quilting machine or design template at all. I create all my own quilting designs, piecing and stitching. The machine I use for sewing & quilting is my home sewing machine, a Bernina 1008. Playing with color in adapting traditional designs has been great fun. I employ a free-motion quilting technique to enhance the design. Thank you for your compliment.

Q:How long does it take you to design and construct a quilt?

A:Since I'm 'retired', my quilting can be an all-day activity. Usually, I'm thinking about a design for two or three weeks before I start working in fabric. This way I can plan the design and any sewing problems that might arise. Then there will be one or two days when I'm cutting, pinning it on my flannel board, and starting to sew. Sewing will take one day once I get started. Needing one more day to quilt and finish off, it's about a week of sewing after a few weeks of thinking.

Q:What is the process by which you pick the patterns and colors for a quilt design?

A:This is a tricky question. Usually I see a picture, a scene, or have a thought, that starts a design growing. As I develop a design, I would say its more of a feeling I want to express in a quilt. The size of the quilt, the strength of the colors, their relation to each other, and the overall composition, all work to express this feeling. Sometimes a quilt will pull itself in a certain direction and I really just follow. Some quilts design themselves!

Q:Where do you get the batik fabrics?

A:There is a store the Southern Virginia, Batiks Etcetera, that has rooms of batiks. It's Nirvana to me. Batiks are so full of color and patterns, I can just get lost in them. I truly want to get inside beautiful pieces of color.