When you consider the way modern quilters
use technology and share their work so
widely, perhaps it isn’t that surprising
that these quilts are attracting attention
and inspiring others to try pixel portraits.
QuiltCon 2015 was further proof that the
rules about what constitutes a modern quilt
are loosening up, and that modern quilters
want to keep pushing the envelope. For that
matter, one of the Judge’s Choice Awards
went to another portrait quilt this year, “Face
#1,” by Melissa Averinos. This pieced self-
portrait was not pixilated, but clearly very
modern. This quilt was a stripped down
portrait showing only her eyes, nose and
mouth, against a neutral light background.
So portraits are now fair game generally for
modern quilting, but it’s the pixel portraits
that are most likely to boom because of new
tools available to quilters.
Methods get easier with
software and online classes
Consider the challenge facing Kristy Daum
when she began her fi rst pixel portrait.
She mostly favors improv quilting and
wasn’t sure how to proceed until she heard
about software that pixilates a photo and
turns it into a cross-stitch pattern. She
used the website pic2pat.com (for picture
to pattern). Once the photo she uploaded
was turned into a pattern, she received a
list of fl oss colors to use. She bought all the
recommended fl oss, then compared fl oss
skeins to colors on a Kona® Cotton color
card. She fi gured out which fabric solids
were the closest match, and then determined
how much fabric she needed for each color.
Her pieces were just one inch square. Kristy,
who works fulltime as the product manager
for a footwear company, fi gured it took 51
hours of piecing, which she accomplished
after work and on weekends. Her Sherlock
quilt, which measures 70" × 100", contains
thousands of pieces.
Left:
Quilt label of “Th e Ron
Swanson Along” quilt, signed
by “Ron” himselfOpposite:
“The Ron Swanson Along”
Monica Solorio-SnowPhotos by Caro Sheridan“Don’t Blink” • Caro Sheridan