A love of quilting has been passed down to me from my mother, who learned to sew from her grandmother. My mother and I both started out making more traditional quilts based on blocks that have been used in quilts for generations. Recently though we have both become very interested in modern quilts, which feature bold and simple geometric designs in retro or bright colors. Many of these modern quilt patterns are designed digitally, and they are often quilted by computerized machines that create perfectly even stitches.

 

      A quilt has traditionally been a family heirloom since it is warm, comforting, beautiful, and practical. Can these feelings associated with quilts be captured in a digital format? Are the computerized elements of modern quilts changing how we appreciate quilts? In my portfolio I examine whether I can retain the texture and warmth of a quilt using a digital medium. By scanning my fabric I tried to preserve the texture of the material. Using the grid, fill, and crop options in Photoshop, I laid out my quilt much in the same way I would decide where to place my fabrics in a textile quilt. One of the benefits of digital quilts, however, is that I can undo a bad cut in my fabric. After building my quilt I overlaid quilting designs from fabric quilts to create a sense of depth and softness in the quilt. The binding (my least favorite part of sewing a fabric quilt) was exceptionally easy to make as I just created a fill border in Photoshop.

 

      Although I much prefer creating fabric quilts, I see the potential for using Photoshop to design my quilts in the future. While I love the speed of creating digital quilts, I miss the feel of the fabrics, the hum of the sewing machine, and the tangible completed work that softens over time.