Judy Severson
Judy’s love of quilts dates back to 1979, when she was beginning her printmaking career. She chose quilts as the subject of her prints because she enjoyed using embossing to show texture. In order to learn about the different quilts and quilt patterns, she sought out people who were knowledgeable about quilts and traveled with them to view quilts in many museums and private collections throughout the country. Broderie Perse quilts quickly became her favorite style and knew she would one day make one. When her career as a printmaker was winding down she was taught to appliqué by a long-time friend of her mothers. After making several appliqué quilts, Judy found quilting fabric that she thought suitable for a Broderie Perse quilt and her life as a quilter begun in earnest. She wrote the book, Flowers in Appliqué, wanting to show others how fun it was to create their own Broderie Perse quilts with the printed motif fabrics that they loved. As a result of the book, Judy travelled to many quilt guilds to teach Broderie Perse appliqué. She then focused her teaching for the next 16 years at The Academy of Appliqué in Williamsburg, VA.Personal Notes When creating a Broderie Perse quilt: I generally start with the layout of the flowers in the fabric and study how they are grouped with other flowers. I let the fabric suggest if it is suitable for the medallion center, or whether it would be better used in a border, or both. Studying quilts and seeing quilts from the past, as well as quilts made today, gives me inspiration. I think of my quilts as bed quilts, and enjoy the traditional approach using reproduction and contemporary fabrics, as well as some patchwork. In the beginning, I would add different border edging designs like dogtooth, stuffed quilting, other appliqué designs such as leaves, along with border prints. Now I am enjoying adding the different English paper piecing designs and exploring different shapes in the center medallion. I have such fun making Broderie Perse quilts and I want other quilters to have the same experience. In class, my students make their own “one-of-kind” medallion or block style quilt. I show how quickly these quilts go together when the layout of the fabric is used to the best advantage.
Judy Severson
Author of 1 book:
Academy
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