I was recently asked to review Kerry Foster’s new book, Paint-by-Number Quilts, recently published by C & T, and I eagerly said yes. I’ve been a quilty-pal of Kerry’s for some time, and enjoy her style of quilt-making.
Her style reminds me somewhat of Edrica Huws. I love the energy this type of quiltmaking generates, as I trend toward the pristine and ordered, and am not as comfortable with the assemblage/collage. I always want to be better, but it’s like trying to straighten that errant curl in your hair–when you are not looking, it springs back to where it wants to be.
So I thought I would give Kerry’s techniques a try in recreating this picture, taken when we were in Burano, Italy some years ago. I like the weather-beaten look and knew that it would be better served by Kerry’s Paint-by-Numbers approach.
I threw it into an image processing program and used a filter on it to highlight the edges, but you could just trace the strong lines using a lightbox.
I extracted all the color, so I could see the shapes, then printed that directly onto the dull side of freezer paper, cut to size and put through my color printer.
I trimmed the freezer paper to size, taped it to a piece of cardstock at the top edge and fed it through the printer. Mine has a rear cassette access, so the paper path is flow-through (it’s the reason I purchased this one). Since I’m making one of my tiny picture-stand quilts, there are two images per page.
I did draw on lines and prepared it for construction, according to her instructions in her well-written book. All the information is clear and concise, with great photo illustrations to accompany each step.
I’m mid-process in the upper left photo, layering up the pieces as per Kerry’s instructions. Yes, it did dawn on me at this point, that I’ve hardly broken out into wild new territory, but I liked this door when I took a photo of it some years ago.
In retrospect, I realized that some of the proportions are off a bit — like the doorway is kind of floating, but I am always learning. Next doorway will be better…and wilder!
Instructions for a tiny quilt on a frame are here.
The back. I’ve finally wised up and am using some of my favorite fabrics in quilts, instead of leaving them on the shelf. I can enjoy them that way, instead of never seeing them.
Okay, back to the real reason for this post: letting you see a couple of the fun things that Kerry has in her book for you to make:

Kerry, and C&T Publishing would like to for you to have a copy of her book. There are many others who have reviewed Kerry’s Paint-by-Numbers Quilting book; I’m one of the last. Each one is running their own giveaway, if you want to visit them:
Monday Sept 17 – Kerry @ PennyDog
Tuesday Sept 18 – Deirdre @ C&T Publishing
Wednesday Sept 19 – Anita @ Daydreams of Quilts
Thursday Sept 20 – Sarah @ Coopcrafts *
Friday Sept 21 – Krista @ Poppyprint *
Monday Sept 24 – ME! Elizabeth @ OPQuilt
Tuesday Sept 25 – Wendy @ The Crafter’s Apprentice
Wednesday Sept 26 – Angela @ Heart of Charnwood *
Thursday Sept 27 – Leanne @ She Can Quilt *
Friday Sept 28 – Katy @ The Littlest Thistle
To enter to win a digital copy, please leave me a comment below. Thanks to you, and many thanks to Kerry and C&T!