Dianne Kane - Water Works
Hanalei Waves
Hanalei Waves was inspired by a photo my husband took on our way to Hanalei, Kauai several years ago. I've always loved the vivid colors in this photograph. I think the ruffle fabric was designed to adorn a wedding gown, but doesn't it make beautiful surf. Fabrics were "sliced and diced" to create the strata.
Hours of hand stitching completed the design.
Original Design. Machine piecing and large stitch hand quilting.
40" x 40"
Beads of Water
Cousin Katie Moser made these beautiful fused glass pieces to represent river rocks. The sky was mostly hand pieced using hexagons and triangles from Stamps by Kate. Beads are secured by hand-stitching around them after the netting was added. Incorporating artist Katie’s beads into my artistic endeavors was a satisfying process.
26" x 32"
Dianne Kane - Name That Tune
8 Days a Week
Inspired by the Beatles' song of the same name. This project morphed from a pieced top to a changeable calendar I can update for my studio. Sari ribbons were used to create my own numbering system along with unique blocks to represent the “8th day of the week.” More work than originally planned, but ultimately a usable piece of art.
Original Design. Machine piecing and domestic-machine quilting.
49" x 43"
Material Girl
When I saw this Marcia Derse fabric, it screamed at me: “Buy me and cover me with embroidery stitches!” So I did. This piece is all about the fabric (aka material). Get it? Material Girl by Madonna.
Whole cloth with hand embroidery.
34" x 42"
My Idaho
Who could have imaged that the Jersey Boys (The Four Seasons) would have created a song about Idaho! This was my first Block-of-the-Month challenge. I was pleasantly surprised when I realized I could design the blocks to reflect my Idaho home (Where I long to go from the lyrics). I did take license to add an extra small block of purple squares. Look carefully to find a few Y-seams. I love this quilt and I love my new Idaho home
Machine piecied and long-arm quilted.
60" x 73"
The Ditty
“The Ditty” moved to Idaho. That’s how our kids describe us: “The Ditty” after the John Cougar Mellencamp song Little Ditty ‘bout Jack and Diane. I chose ribbons to connect the blocks because someday I may want to hang it horizontally. I think it should live by our front door.
Original design. Machine pieced and hand embroidered.
10" x 65"
Dianne Kane - Seeing Red
Dendrochronology
den·dro·chro·nol·o·gy
ˌdendrōkrəˈnäləjē/
noun
the science or technique of dating events, environmental change, and archaeological artifacts by using the characteristic patterns of annual growth rings in timber and tree trunks.
My red rings represent the cut view of a red tree.
Original Design. Machine piecing and long-arm quilting.
40" x 40"
Red Woods
Little” trees” left over from cutting Dendrochronology created their own little “red woods.”
Original Design. Machine piecing and long-arm quilting.
49" x 47"
Red Is My Neutral
This color wheel was created by alternating a jelly roll with red fabric and then cutting the strata with a wedge ruler. I used a circular ruler to add the extending pieces to make the square. I love how it vibrates when I squint my eyes.
Original Design. Machine piecing and long-arm quilting.
45" x 45"
Tula 10 x 10
After I made all the blocks from Tula Pink’s “100 Modern Quilt Blocks,” I wanted to create a unique setting for the 10 x 10 blocks. Each block was quilted, then finished with a pillowcase backing. Ribbons in each corner connect the blocks.
Blocks designed by Tula Pink. Machine piecing and long-arm quilting
60" x 60"
Modern Geometry
“Red” was a theme; a rectangle, a square, a triangle, and a curve was the assignment. Loved this challenge.
Original Design. Machine piecing and long-arm quilting.
35" x 24"
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Black, white, and red make a stunning combo. I was inspired by the story of Kya in "Where the Crawdads Sing." Life for her was bad (black), ugly (red), and then good (white) with just a little bit of ugly at the end of the story.
Original Design. Machine piecing and long-arm quilting.
43" x 20"
Tree of Life
The amazing discovery tree focus fabric was the inspiration for creating my "tree of life." Was fun to gather coordinating fabrics, make squares with curved piecing and then layout the design.
45" x 45"
Dianne Kane - Architecture
"Hong Kong Canyons" by Dianne Kane 42" x 51"
Cousin Mo lives in NYC. She often says the streets remind her of canyons with the skyscrapers serving as the canyon walls. I wanted to create a piece using silks to replicate Mo’s canyons.
Techniques: Machine pieced, hand embroidery, beads, and machine quilting.
"Times Square" by Dianne Kane 24" x 36"
This quilt was constructed using Katie Pasquini Masopust’s Artful Log Cabin method. The original Times Square photo was taken by my husband and then photoshopped with different colors.
Technique: Machine pieced and quilted.
"Boston Window" by Dianne Kane 40" x 40"
My husband took this photo at a park in Boston. I love the perspective. Fabrics are hand dyed pieces from Freida Anderson.
Technique: Raw edge appliqué and paints. Both techniques are new to me. Machine quilted.
"Building Blocks" by Dianne Kane 60" x 40"
Cousin Christy introduced me to the Missouri Star method for making (most of the) small blocks. I wanted to make a modern quilt that would look like skyscrapers. Not my usual color scheme and certainly not my usual type of block. Christy will be proud of me.
Technique: Missouri star blocks, machine pieced and machine quilted.
"Fort Concho" by Dianne Kane 20" x 30"
My husband took this photo at the Fort Concho State Park in San Angelo, Texas. It was fun to use the log cabin method of construction to recreate his art into my art.
Technique: Folded log cabin, hand embroidery and quilting, stamps and buttons.
"My Wonky Neighborhood" by Dianne Kane 50" x 52"
This piece started in a class with Karen Flamme at Sisters. I love the freeform wonky houses that create this funky neighborhood.
Technique: Machine pieced, applique, and machine quilted.
Dianne Kane - Cities
"Assisi Skyline" by Dianne Kane 54"x16"
Our happy place. We spend many evenings on the terrace at "our" little farmhouse looking up to the Assisi skyline. I see the San Francesco Basilica, the temple of Minerva, Basilica of Santa Chiara and San Rufino. These linens were purchased in Montefalco.
Technique: hand embroidery and raw edge machine and hand appliqué. I wanted my piece to reflect the rus
"Summer in the City" by Dianne Kane 88"x42"
Big bold flowers. I can imagine them painted onto the side of a warehouse or a parking garage.
Inspired by a sample from DelveMIY.
Technique: Machine quilted and machine raw-edge appliqué with cheesecloth, sari ribbons, and tulle.
"Lookin' Up" by Dianne Kane 36"x36"
My vision was of someone standing in an intersection in a city looking up to see the tops of all the buildings. I love working with wedge rulers and consider black and white fabrics to be the printed versions of Zentangles. Can you see the sky?
Technique: pieced and longarm quilted.
"City Triptych" by Dianne Kane 45"x39"
Isn't this a gorgeous piece of fabric? It's a digital print by Hoffman. When I found the variegated piece in my stash, I knew they belonged together. At an Artist Retreat in Lake Tahoe, one of the painters looked at the two fabrics on the design wall and said, "This needs to be a triptyk." Why didn't I think of that!
Technique: pieced and longarm quilted.
"City Lights" by Dianne Kane 86"x93"
It all started in Brussels with a needle, thread wrapped around a business card, and enough half-hexagons to make 12 Y-blocks. Years, miles and multiple cities later, it's all done by hand. My Mother said it reminds her of city buildings and some of them have their lights on. I used a half-hex stamp to mark, cut, and stitch the blocks. Here's the trick to see i
"Ravello: The Villa on the Hilla" by Dianne Kane 24"x36"
My husband took a photo looking out from inside our villa (on the hilla) in Ravello, Italy. His photo was the inspiration for an Artful Log Cabin taught by Katie Pasquini Masopust at Sisters in 2018. These abstract log cabins are addictive. This will be the first in a series. (See "Times Square" in my Architecture gallery.)
Technique: Pieced
A Few of Dianne's Favorites
"Suspended in Time" by Dianne Kane
66" x 43"
2013
Original design.
Inspired by "The Invention of Hugo Cabret." I wanted to use Paula Nadelstern fabrics to create a piece of suspended kaleidoscopes that would represent the clock gears in the Paris train station. Two of the pieces were designed in a class Paula taught. The others are made with wedge rulers, dahlia templates, and Angle Play templates. Th
'An Asymmetrical Rabbit Hole" by Dianne Kane
49" x 49'
2011
Technique: Woven center was created in a class taught by Anna Faustino "Simply Stunning Woven Quilts." Original design.
Alice in Wonderland and the rabbit hole. What made her want to come in? I wanted to create a piece that would entice the viewer to come closer. This quilt uses symmetry with precise lines and circles to attract the viewe
"An Asymmetrical Rabbit Hole" by Dianne Kane
44" x 46"
2011
Original Design
The concept of creating a two-dimensional piece that draws the viewer into the middle fascinates me. This abstract version of Alice's rabbit hole uses the color wheel to pull in the viewer into the center of the quilt. Inspired by "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland."
"Many Many Moons Ago in Never Never Land" by Dianne Kane
58" x 46"
2012
After reading "Peter Pan" by J. M. Barrie, I realized this quilt could represent the multiple moons in Never Land. I like the juxtaposition of the lame fabrics with the homespun plaids. and the precision of the center blocks against the curved outer edge. Block patterns by Karen Stone. How many moons do you see here?
"Radio Waves" by Dianne Kane
57" x 76"
2016
Technique: wedge ruler. Started in a class with Kathy Doughty. I love the use of unusual fabric combinations. The quarter circles on the sides are made with a fabric from each of the larger connected circles.
Inspired by “All the Light We Cannot See,” by Anthony Doerr. The music and voices carried on the radio connect the blind French girl to the young Germa
"It's a Puzzle" by Dianne Kane
49" x 64"
2012
After reading "Prayers for Sale," I decided it was time to make my own sampler. After all, I've been a quilter since 1998 and have never made one. Look carefully to find the six pairs of blocks made from the same block pattern. By fussy cutting fabrics, each block can be so unique it's hard to find its partner.
Pattern from Paula Nadelstern's book Puz
"The Blue & The Gray" by Dianne Kane
41" x 46"
2016
Original design.
Technique: curved piecing
Inspired by "Gone with the Wind." The Blue represents the Union Army. The Gray represents the Confederate Army. I wanted to create a piece that could reflect the division of soldiers during the Civil War. Families located between these two factions often had sons who fought against each other. This piece st
"Broken Memories" by Dianne Kane
50'" x 40"
2014
Original design
Technique: curved piecing, Boondoggle ruler, beading
Inspired by “Madonnas of Leningrad” by Debra Dean. Marina’s memories are broken. As her mind deteriorates, her memories become disjointed. Pieces of her mind are no longer coherent. This piece reflects that disorder. The blocks were started in a class with Scott Murkin.
"Disconnected" by Dianne Kane
34" x 39"
2014
Original design
Technique: curved piecing
Inspired by “Madonnas of Leningrad” by Debra Dean. As a young woman, Marina was a docent at the Hermitage Museum where she retained vivid images of the artwork before it was hidden from Nazi Germany. Her young mind is juxtaposed with the dementia-ridden mind she has as an old woman. She is now “disconnected” from
"Fairy Dust in the Wind" by Dianne Kane
59" x 34"
2012
Original Design
Technique: curved piecing and crystals
Inspired by "Peter Pan" by J. M. Barrie. Fairies use magic to create fairy dust. I think they threw their fairy dust into the wind to provide a passageway to guide the Lost Boys to Never Land.