 Featured Artist
Karen Combs
Quilt Artist, Teacher, Author
 Karen uses several different kinds of software in
quilting and writing. She uses QuiltPro to illustrate teaching brochures and articles.
Several of the designs in her book "3-D Fun with Pandora's Box",
co-authored with Ms. Jorgenson, were designed in QuiltPro. She has been a guest on
Sharlene Jorgenson's "Quilting
from the Heartland." Karen's first
book "Optical Illusions for
Quilter's was published in 1997.
Karen Says: I began quilting
in 1974 while still in high school. I loved quilts, but we did not have any in our home.
So I decided to create some of my own. My first attempts were awful! But through lots of
reading and trial and error, my efforts got better and better.
Since I began quilting, I
have been interested in quilts of illusion. I was drawn to the traditional patterns of
Baby Blocks, Storm at Sea, Spider Web and other quilts of illusion. I wanted to learn how
to make these quilts and other quilts with illusions, but no book was available to show me
how to do this. In 1990, I began designing my own designs and studying art books. I wanted
to learn how to create illusions in quilts.
 In 1994, I started writing this book, because non-existed. In 1995,
the American Quilter's Society offered me a contract to write "Optical Illusions for
Quilters." I finished it in 1996 and it was published in 1997.
"Optical
Illusions for Quilters" shows quilters how to create quilts with all types of
illusions: space, depth, motion, and illusions using color. Masterpiece quilts are used to
demonstrate these techniques and traditional quilt blocks are also used.
I began teaching in 1988
and now teach nationwide to guilds and at quilt shows. I teach how to create quilts of
illusions, as well as classes on color, designing, perfect machine patchwork and a class
of "successful teaching."
In 1996, I was teaching at
the International Quilt Festival for the first time. While there, I met Sharlene Jorgenson
of "Quilting from the Heartland." She and I started brainstorming about quilts
of illusion. We came up with a terrific way to create 3 -D Patchwork Cubes using templates
from her template set -Pandora's box. In fact, we co-authored a book "3-D Fun with
Pandora's Box" showing this technique. This book was released in 1997. I was a guest
on her TV show "Quilting from the Heartland" this fall and the Series 700 is
showing now, nationwide.
 I have
been invited to participate in many challenges in the last few years. I was invited to
design a quilt for the Silver Dollar City Wallhanging Challenge in 1995 and have had
quilts in the Hoffman Challenge in 1995 - 1997. Last summer, I was invited to show my work
at the Fitton Center for The Arts.
 I use several different kinds of software in my quilting and
writing. I use QuiltPro to illustrate my teaching brochure and articles. Several of the
designs in my book "3-D Fun with Pandora's Box" were designed in QuiltPro. I
also did all the illustrations for this book in Quilt-Pro. Shar, later redid some of the
drawings in Adobe PhotoShop and Illustrator. However, all the initial designs were drawn
in QuiltPro.
 The Electric Quilt and Block Base
software helped me write my book, "Optical Illusions for Quilters" as well as
the quilt, Christmas Cube. I used BlockBase to look up the traditional quilt designs for
the book as well as for the illustrations in the book. The Electric Quilt helped me
design the patterns for the blocks included in the book.
Learn more about Karen at her website at:
Karen Combs,
Quilter, Teacher, Author, Designer.
Back to the
gallery
| 
Online since
1997