Happy village

I have never wanted to make an art quilt, or at least that was true until I saw Karen Eckmeier demonstrate her Happy Villages on The Quilt Show last year.  I have always been a sucker for cottages and villages and so I tucked away this idea for the future.  The future arrived last week and I was amazed how quickly this little quilt came together.  

On a small piece of batting, I started with a chunk of sky, added a mountain and then some ocean.  

Next I cut out lots of different step shapes.

And started to place these on the quilt.

The key is not to overthink where you are putting the shapes, simply put up them as quickly as possible.

Nothing like a village is it.  But when I started adding rooftops and windows, something magic happened.

When all the houses had been completed I covered everything in a very fine tulle which I quilted to hold it all in place.

 I couldn't resist adding a little umbrella to the terrace of the house at the bottom left.

And here is my little Cinque Terra village (with a bit of artistic licence).