Today I’m continuing work on my landscape quilt. Remember in previous posts when I selected colors from my reference photo and started building up a backdrop? That was really just a starting point to guide the process. What caught my attention most in the original image wasn’t the muted colors of the background - it was the dramatic contrast between light and dark.
Adding the Trees - Giving Yourself Permission to Play
One of the joys of being both designer and maker is having the freedom to experiment. Creativity gives us permission to play. A photo reference is exactly that - a reference. I can move elements around, leave things out, exaggerate shapes, or completely change the colors if I want to.
The finished quilt doesn’t need to look exactly like the original photograph - and mine certainly won’t.
That’s something worth remembering even when following someone else’s quilt pattern. You’re never locked into the exact fabrics or colors a designer has chosen. Patterns are a foundation for your own creativity.
So while the photo inspired this piece, I’m now focusing more on creating strong contrast and visual depth rather than copying the original scene exactly.
With the background in place, it’s time to audition fabrics for the foreground trees. I like rolling the fabrics into loose tubes first to quickly test how the colors and values work against the background before cutting anything.
I decided to use just two fabrics for the tree trunks. I’ll fuse them first, then use a rotary cutter to cut freehand, uneven strips - one of my favourite techniques because it creates wonderfully natural-looking trees.
Here’s the process I used....
I started with two fabric pieces roughly 7" x 13" and fused the backs. The exact size isn’t important, and if a trunk ends up too short, it’s easy to disguise joins later with foliage or greenery layered over the top.
Once fused, I removed the backing paper before cutting. Trust me - it’s much easier to do this now than trying to peel backing pieces off narrow strips later.
Next, I flipped my cutting mat over so the grid lines wouldn’t influence my cutting. (That part is completely optional, but I find it helps me create more organic shapes.) Then I freehand cut uneven strips with my rotary cutter.
A little tip: don’t cut all your fabric at once.
Cut a few strips first and audition them on the background. From there you can decide what additional widths, heights, or shapes you might need. Because the fabric is fused, you can cut extremely skinny trunks without fraying.
I’ll continue cutting and rearranging trunks until the composition feels balanced and natural.
Can you see how the trunks that begin higher up from the bottom edge appear farther away in the landscape? That simple placement trick instantly creates a sense of depth.
I can also see that the left side probably needs a few more distant trunks to visually balance the right side. At the moment the trees on the left are starting to feel a little too evenly spaced and linear, so I’ll keep adjusting things over the next day or so.
What do you think - should I add more trees, remove some, or is it starting to feel about right?
