It’s been a little while since Craft Book Month, but throughout the year, we like to keep in touch with authors who are celebrating new releases! This time, we are here with Sujata Shah, author of the new book Cultural Fusion Quilts: A Melting Pot of Piecing Traditions 15 Free-Form Block Projects (C&T Publishing).
Let’s take a look at how Sujata came to write this inspiring book, and learn more about what she’s got up her sleeve next! Don’t forget to leave a comment at the end for your chance to win a copy of her new book.
Sujata, can you tell us the story of how your decided to take your ideas on world-culture-inspired quilts and write a book?
Up until 2002, I made quilts with traditional blocks. They were precise, perfect and different than what I knew as quilts. Back in India we called them Godharis. When I saw the quilts of Gee’s bend, my focus shifted from making every quilt perfect to “just make quilts.” For the first time, I connected my roots and quilting. The Quilts of Gee’s Bend were simple, utilitarian quilts made for everyday life, from everyday materials, the same as Godharis from India. I discovered a connection between the two cultures.
During the past 29 years of life in this country, I have had many opportunities to live in different cities and meet people from around the world. Many trips to import stores and arts and crafts fairs also led to my fascinations with distant places. It is easy to find the same geometric patterns in woven baskets as well as in prints and patterns seen in textiles and quilts. Basic traditional quilt blocks are not limited to quilts, but they are also found on walls and windows of forts and palaces in India. Although, there are several books written based on the influence of specific cultures on quilting, my ideas changed from time to time with each piece of inspiration. Objects that had nothing to do with my background or heritage would remind me of places and things from home.
My process became more about the shapes, forms and textures than fabric and traditional patterns. Although not new, I felt there was a place for this concept in modern quilting.
How does your childhood growing up in India influence your quilting designs today? What about your family’s current home in Pennsylvania?
It is next to impossible to escape colors when you are in India. If you were born and raised there like me, colors are going to stay with you for rest of your life. At least that is how I see it. Whether it is the kite festival with thousands of colorful kites in the sky or the festival of colors celebrated in early spring, or the festival of lights to celebrate the new year with bright and colorful new clothes, Indians know how to live in colors. Whether it was six yards of beautiful print in a sari or the streamers made from fabrics over the walkway to a temple, woven fabrics or beautiful silks, colors and prints were part of my daily life. I think it has everything to do with how I design my quilts. I generally shy away from defining myself as one kind of quilter and move from scrap quilts to simple and bold quilts. But it would be very difficult to limit myself with choices. I love experimenting with colors. I find the best color inspirations and accidental surprises from the floor of my messy sewing room.
My current home in Pennsylvania is painted with neutral tones. I believe that the grey tones gives the best background for my colorful quilts. I have quilts hanging in every room, hallway and nook of the house. The oldest quilts and a few textiles from India adorn the walls of my home. I also like to decorate with arts and crafts from India and some from around the world. Some are bought from import chain stores. I surround myself with things that inspire me. Sometimes they are as simple as rocks, pebbles and plants.
What do you love about piecing a quilt from free-form techniques?
With traditional quilting, most of the times during the design process, I start seeing the final result way before the quilt is made. Once that happens, I lose interest in finishing that project.
I am usually drawn to textures, patterns, imperfections and irregularities of handmade crafts. As much as I like traditional quilts, the accuracy required in cutting and piecing a quilt top is unappealing. After seeing the quilts of Gee’s bend and experimenting with free-form blocks, every step of the quilt-making process has been exciting. To me, free-form blocks are like ever-changing colors of sunrise or sunset. They keep me engaged till the last stitch.
What was the most surprising or challenging part of the book-writing process for you? The most rewarding part?
Well, I realized writing a book is not as easy as making the quilts. I could come up with 10 different ideas while I was working on one quilt. To break down every step that comes naturally to you is a very difficult process. To learn the technical aspect of writing a book was hard. Having said that, I knew I had something different to offer to the quilting world. I wanted my blog readers and other quilters to feel same excitement as I was feeling when making the quilts.
For a girl who never wanted to sew, who learned English as fourth language in school, publishing a book at age 51 is a great sense of accomplishment. Hearing all the quilters from around the world and how excited they are to read the book makes up for all those challenging times.
Tuesday December 2 Sujata Shah @ C&T Publishing
Wednesday December 3 LeeAnn Decker @ Nifty Quilts
Thursday December 4 Victoria Gertenbach @ The Silly Boodilly
Friday December 5 Rachaeldaisy @ Blue Mountain Daisy
Saturday December 6 Lori Dejarnett @ Humble Quilts
Sunday December 7 Casey York @ The Studiolo
Monday December 8 Malka Dubrawsky @ A Stitch in Dye
Tuesday December 9 Sherri Lynn Wood @ daintytime
Wednesday December10 Bonnie Hunter @ Quiltville’s Quips and Snips
Thursday December 11 Jake Finch @ Generation Q
Friday December 12 Jan Burgwinkle @ Be*mused
Saturday December 13 Janet Treen @ Quiltsalott
Sunday December 14 Lindsay Conner @ Craft Buds
Giveaway!
Would you like to win a copy of the book Cultural Fusion Quilts? For your chance to win, leave a comment on this post and tell us what country or world culture inspires you, or just somewhere you dream of visiting! We’ll pick a winner one week from the date of this post. (U.S. winner will receive a hard copy of the book and non-U.S. winner will receive an e-book.) Good luck!
98 comments
I would like to visit Scandanavia–I am always intrigued by their spare interpretations and decorations….
thanks for the opportunity to win hugs, Julierose
I would love to visit New Zealand! As far as cultural inspiration, I am drawn to the continent of Africa.
I dream of taking a cross-country(USA) trip and thousands of photos to use as inspiration for my future quilts. Right now, magazines, books and museums are my color inspiration.
I love the colors and fabrics of India, the scenery and colors of Switzerland/Germany, the waters of both oceans, and every variation in the sky’s color all around the world.
I would be honored to win a copy of Sujata’s book (mine was on pre-order from the first day she announced it on her blog). I want to give a copy to one of my quilting friends who wants to loosen up her work but isn’t sure how to proceed – Sujata’s approach would make SUCH sense for my friend.
Thanks for a great post about Sujata and her book!
New Zealand is so inspiring to me. Lush florals and greenery, native Maori people and just everything about NZ can be seen as a palette for design.
There is so much inspiration online that it’s difficult to pick! I dream of getting back to my homeland of Brazil and taking my husband there. He’s never been!
Our trip to Australia earlier this year was wonderful! I’d love to return to see all the places we didn’t have time for. But then I’d also like to go to Europe, and South Africa, and the UK. And closer to home, I’d like to do the Lake Superior Circle Tour (in the summer). So many destinations! And each has inspiration.
I would love to visit New Zealand – it’s been top of my list for a long time!
My friend just went to Lima and the photos looked great!
My leanings are so eclectic but I am inspired by South America. Lush greens, bright colors, thriving countries, civil unrest, verdant jungles, soaring peaks, extreme poverty….all points on the human continuum.
I love Sujata’s comment about losing interest in a project once she could see the final result. It took me years to realize this was the reason for my many ufo’s. I am most inspired by Native American weavings.
I’d love to go back to Argentina and Peru. The textiles my family has brought from there are so lovely.
I love reading Surjata’s history and how she came to her wonderful use of colors and design. Ireland, that is where I would love to visit, all shades of green.
my inspiration comes from my fabric, colors, my everyday life in America. Not too exciting compared to sujata’s well written book & description of her quilting journey. China & Scandinavia are next up on our travel plans.
I am SO inspired by the colors and patterns in east Africa – not just the richly patterned textiles, but also other inspirations (saturated red or blue worn by the Maasai people, curvy zebra stripes, etc.). I have been there only once, and if I’m never able to go again, at least I have MANY memories and photos. (These often work their way into my quilts!)
I want to go to Morocco, the colors and feel of so many of the interior there are just amazing!
I’m a music teacher, and have always thought Gamelan is such a cool type of music… from Indonesia / Bali, I think…
i would love to visit New Zealand and visit all the sheep farms and visit the people.
I’ve always wanted to go to Greece. Or Hawaii. Or Alaska. Or the Caribbean. Maybe Scandanavia.
Morocco was a huge inspiration to me – the pattern and texture in the architecture was amazing. Thanks for the chance to win!
I lived in rural northeast Nigeria for 6 years, the colors and designs were great there also, Kathy in Colo
The earth tones of the Canadian wilderness really speak to me. I love Sujata’s quilts because I do see the vibrant colours of Indian in her work but there is also an earthiness about it. Thank you for the opportunity to win what looks like a wonderful book!
Ireland! I can get soooo lost in the Celtic knot work. Mexico…. So much color just on the houses on the street and the tile work…. Middle East tie work! Whopps I could just keep going.
I would love to go to Africa again. I would look at it differently now because of my interest in sewing. i would appreciate the textiles and handmade crafts. I would also like to visit Japan because I love the fabrics produced there and to introduce my daughter to her culture.
It would be hard to narrow down my list of places to visit but Bali for batiks and textiles would be near the top of the list.
I have a grand daughter that is currently in Indonesia and the pictures she has posted are beautiful, I’m thinking it could be a very inspiring place to visit.
Sajuta’s quilts dazzle me. I keep coming back to look at the pictures. Sajuta must be extraordinarily sensitive colors – and how colors interplay against each other in patterns. She is clearly unusually gifted.
The idea “just make quilts” fascinates me. In the past, have only made very precise, traditional quilts, where only “perfection is acceptable.” The concept of free-form quilting is very appealing to me.
I buy very little fabric now that I am retired and cotton has risen so much in price. Instead I hand-dye fabric. This book looks like it would be wonderful to use with one’s own hand-dyed fabric.
Ireland for the greens, Scotland for the purple heather and India for the amazing, vibrant colors in this book!
Sujata’s quilts make me travel…..and yes, I would like to win her book to realise some of her beautiful quilts !
Hugs from France ! 🙂
I have wanted to visit India and Egypt for a very long time. I have been almost everywhere in the US but the only other countries I’ve been to are England and Kenya.
I really enjoyed yout interview with Sujata!! What a great finish to the blog tour.
I love seeing handmade things from around the world, but especially from mountain cultures, such as in central Asia, the Alps, and the mountains of Central and South America. And this book looks so inspiring – I would love to win it!
I would love to visit New Zealand and Australia. I get inspiration from handmade textiles from every corner of the world!
My cultural inspiration comes from Italy and Great Britain. I would love to visit Florence, especially.
Inspiration:
Walking from Cambridge to Boston. Walking from Times Square to Brooklyn.
Looking at floors and buildings.
Visiting:
Swedish buildings and countryside I’d see it all differently now that I think quilts!
Thank you for putting my name in the hat for this terrific book!
I am attracted to all quilts from all over this world and would love to travel to every remote corner to discover them at their most utilitarian. This is where I believe the beauty lies. I particularly like Hawaiian quilts. What a great place that would be to travel to.
Mine is not so much a culture as a time in the World. The late 60’s with its flower children and the British invasion of the Beatles was when I was exploring my life and growing and maturing. So the Hippies were great and I did admire their free way of living. Never managed to life the nomad life I thought I would like and am happy with my conventional education and life. I do so love the colorful life.
I am inspired by the colors and mosaics of Italie , country & civil war fabric but I also love work bright modern colors .
For me It will be a great pleasure to win an e-book of Sujata (I have just discovered her fabulous quilts and history)
her wonderful colors of India I have seen in Singapore
Best regards from France
I’d love to visit Peru – it looks so beautiful, colourful and exciting.
I would dearly love to travel to Sweden, to see the land of my ancestors. I feel so drawn to the people and their culture. I would love to live with a family, to experience what it is like to live there.
Thanks for a lovely post. What an amazing book Sujata has written!
Having never visited Europe, yet, I have always dreamed of visiting Holland. I want to see the windmills and tulips, the canals and narrow, tall buildings. Of course, there are so many other places I want to visit in Europe they’re too numerous to list. Since I live in the same great and beautiful state of Pennsylvania as Sujata, (although on the other side of the state) , we both know gorgeous landscapes, hills & valleys, and brilliant Autumns……enough is here to inspire one daily!!!!
South East Asia is an inspiration to me-a riot of colours, tastes and smells! Thanks for the chance to win a copy of this book!
I would love to visit Australia and New Zealand. I feel like the scenery would be inspirational, although I’ve only seen it in photos. I am inspired by a number of quilters and pattern designers from Australia and New Zealand — I see wonderful things on their blogs and have used a bunch of their patterns.
The country of Africa with the colors and symbols inspire me.
Curiously, I don’t find inspiration in one country in particular… Rather, in places, or little things… I’d love to go back to India, though. The colours are spectacular.
Some countries that inspire me: Japan, Austria, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, the USA, and England.
no particular country comes to mind, but any place aboriginal art is preserved, like Australia, Africa, South America, Mexico, etc….. But I would love to travel to Scotland and look at the ancient ruins.
India, Guatemala, USA, Australia, Africa
Actually, the whole world
All countries have aspects of design and beauty – I don’t really have a favorite except our own country. I love the looks of Sujata’s quilts and would love to win the book!
What an awesome book with amazing quilts! Love it! I’d love to visit Switzerland where my Mom grew up and went to school.
Thank you for a super giveaway and a chance to win.
usairdoll(at)gmail(dot)com
I would love to go to the UK! My parents and my daughter have both been able to go and I love their photos and stories about what they experienced.
On a totally different tangent, I love the idea of doing a Route 66 road trip with the hubby!
Thanks for the wonderful giveaway!
I would have to say the quilts by the Amish. I love their use of solids!
I love Switzerland, the country is small but borders 4 countries that have so much influence on their culture. and language. I have gotten to travel all over Switzerland and see all the color folk dress of the many regions.
Such a beautiful country to visit and be inspired by color everywhere!
Thanks for the chance to win this wonderful book.
Happy Sewing and Merry Christmas
I live in New Zealand, and it is lovely to see how many people chose here as their destination. For me, I would love to go to New York one day.
I have two dream destinations-Australia and Ireland. I am inspired by the use of brilliant color in the book “Cultural Fusion Quilts” and would be thrilled to win-thanks for the chance!
OMG, this book is so amazing!! Such a different take on quilting than I’ve ever seen. Would love to win a copy! Thanks so much for what you do for us!!
I would like to visit Norway, where my ancestors were from. I know I’d find plenty of quilty inspiration there!
I am inspired by the colors of New Mexico in the United States. The browns, clay, and turquoise speak to me.
I am inspired by the quilts/quilters of Japan.
I am inspired by the textiles in Africa, India, Mexico and ethnic fabrics in general. They are often rich in color and texture. Somewhere I want to visit? Everywhere I can to see what i can see and take it all in.
I live in Rajasthan, the desert state in India, which is home to arguably the most vibrant and colourful textiles anywhere in the world. Perhaps that is why I am attracted to and would love to visit Japan and imbibe its minimalism!
I would love to win Sujata’s book. She is an inspiration!
Germany for the Christmas markets… I am on my fifth Christmas quilt & love to bring my German Steinbech ornaments out. Seems I still have some more Christmas trees left to design.
I would love to win an E-book from Sujatas book and if I ever have the chance to go to India… what I liked most is her philosophy of “just” make quilts and use simple fabrics – not just the most modern crazy prints
i think all world cultures are interesting and inspiring but, having said that, I would have to put India as a country that is in the top of the list. I look forward to reading Sujata’s stories along with finding out more about her wonderful quilts in her book. I very much hope that I am lucky enough to win a copy but, if not, I imagine I will find a way to purchase it eventually. It really does seem like Cultural Fusion Quilts is a spectacular book! Magistra13 at yahoo dot com
Beth
I just love her style……her use of color is wonderful. I always liked the simplicity of Amish quilts.
Thanks for the chance to win.
My great-grandparents were from England, and I would love to spend time there. When I imagine the quilts a trip to England would inspire, I think of quilts in patterns like floral china, or crisp blue and white, or maybe Union Jack quilts, or something resembling an ordered English garden. And then there’s the Liberty of London. There’s no end to the inspiration, and I haven’t even been there yet.
My grandparents came from Norway. I’ve always liked the stylized designs used in rosemaling.
Oh the beautiful colors of India, the unique jewel tones. Dear Hubs’s family is from Germany and I would love to visit there, India and China for both cultural heritage and the wonderful fabrics. Japan also has some beautiful silks.
Thanks for the chance to win …
I’ve always wanted to go to Spain speaking of a land cultural fusions!
Interesting book!
Greece! Such beautiful land and all the wonderful light playing on old and new structures.
I have been fortunate to be able to travel with my husband. But there are so many wonderful places to visit. I guess I would like to visit Italy, since I am half Italian descendant. Thanks for the chance to win this great book.
I love the quilts from Japan
cooladam1 at live dot com
I love the geometrics and colors of the Ndebele women of Africa! I have traveled to India but long to go back on a textile tour and Sujata’s quilts fuel that dream. They are so alive in form and color! Thanks!
I would love to visit South America.
Thanks for the chance to win.
I love this book – “cultural fusion quilts”
I would love to go Peru – see the ruins and the mayan textiles….
I would love to visit Spain or Italy. Both cultures have always fascinated me.
Absolutely beautiful book. Would love to win!
Hi there,
I would like to go back and visit more of Denmark and Sweden. Went there on my honeymoon, but there was so much to see and not enough time to see it!
Thanks so much for the giveaway,
Jacqueline in Pitt Meadows
I would love to visit Ireland, England and Australia! And would love, love, love to win this book!!
I would love to visit India! Such vivid colors and fascinating architecture.
I really do wish I could visit them all… but top of my list, Greece, Ireland, Australia & Japan. Would love to win Sujata’s wonderful book – the colors are incredible!
I would love to visit Japan and Australia. This looks like a wonderful book. I need to go back and visit the other stops on this tour. Thanks for the chance to win!
Greece, for it’s architecture and beautiful fruits , vineyards.
Thank you Sujata, your work is absolutely inspiring!
Like to try free form quilting. Her book looks as if it might be the one to get.
My family comes from the Netherlands so I would love to explore their traditions in sewing.
But I would love to travel anywhere in the world to immerse myself in the culture.
I love the birds of Peru so I need to learn about the quilts.
I’d love to visit ireland and I’d love to win that book – looks awesome – thanks for the chance !!
I dream of visiting Ireland for my family heritage. I am going to go paint all my rooms a nice light gray and make every quilt in this book to pop against the neutral background. I want to be free and curious – would love to have this book.
I’d like to go to Greece. I love the food, I love the blue-white colors, and I’d like to see the country
gorgeous! I live near phillly and and a member of the Philly Modern guild. I will see if we could have her come speak or even join us. I especially enjoy her colors!
I was born to a French mother and a Finnish father, so I’m half of both ancestries and grew up with both languages being spoken in our homes. We weren’t taught the languages or the cultures, they were simply, and intuitively part of my childhood. I would love to visit both France and Finland and truly experience those cultures and have never had that opportunity. But I love to read blogs from both countries and yes, of course, I do dream. Just as I dream of winning this book 😉
My husband and I lived in Germany for 3 years, courtesy of the U.S. Army, and I fell in love with the bright colors and graphic look of so much of the folk art there. I do think that has been an influence on me and my work. I love folk art from around the world! Thanks for the chance to win Sujata’s awesome book!
I would love to go to Bali for the fabrics and Ireland for all the green grass!!
Japan inspires me since my grandmother is Japanese. I love the designs and the fabrics they have are truly gorgeous.
I’d definitely LOVE to visit Ireland one day. The book seems wonderful!
I am from the USA and find inspiration in Scotland when I was there! If I had known then what I do know. I find myself looking through the photo books I made of the trip and see geometric shapes everywhere that I love to try! The book looks really incredible and I would love to read it! Thank you for the opportunity!
My country of inspiration is Sweden. Beautiful nature, very nice people. Interesting old-fashioned crafts. Modern design.