Superior Star
JANE SASSAMAN
Jane began quilting in 1980. Since then her graphic quilts have been shown in many national and international exhibits. Her quilt Willow was named as One of the One Hundred Best American Quilts of the 20th Century. Jane is also the author of The Quilted Garden, Patchwork Sassaman Style and Color My Garden. Jane’s love for historic decorative arts can be seen in all facets of her work, but it is especially evident in the exuberant fabric she is currently designing for FreeSpirit.
Jane tells us, "Appliqued shapes are the main players in my fabric compositions. I like a hard edged graphic look, so I choose stitches and threads to sharpen those edges and to add texture, rhythm and movement to what would be a very flat surface without them. I like to use heavy 12 weight thread for quilting. Sew Sassy paired with a matching color of 50 weight in the bobbin is my favorite for bold, visible stitches. Sew Sassy works best when paired with Superior's Titanium-coated Topstitch needle, size #100/16. I use a very long stitch length, which creates a “Sashiko" hand stitched look. Sew Sassy is a very two-fisted thread. It has a lot of muscle and makes a big statement. "
- Jane Sassaman -
Favorite Thread: Sew Sassy and Bottom Line
Non-Quilting Hobby: Reading Mystery Books
Quilting Since: 1980
Jane's Recommendations
Jane's Featured Quilts
Minor Miracle
Minor Miracle was made for the Oxymoron Art Quilt Invitational. I chose a favorite oxymoron to interpret. As a “nature girl” I chose to represent the energy and life force from a tiny seed, which is definitely a Minor Miracle! I love that the vines come swinging out of the main orb like tentacles. Most of my designs are abstractions of nature. I love to play with stylized and idealized natural shapes.
I used Sew Sassy to orbit the circles, giving them a bold, almost science fiction look. I echoed the appliqued shapes with Sew Sassy. A heavy top stitching thread is really two-fisted and makes a big statement, especially when teamed up with a bold composition. As you'll notice, there isn't much quilting beyond the outline of the shapes. This helps the central piece of keep the attention of the viewer.
Feather Quilt
Feather Quilt is one of my favorite quilts. It is an idealized abstraction of feathers. The colors were suggested by peacock plumage and other iridescent birds. I like this quilt for its simplicity. Simple shapes and stitches in a very graphic composition. Each appliqued shape is finished with machine embroidery. I like to use a variety of threads with various weights for my embroidery. I have discovered that Bottom Line in the bobbin works perfectly for embroidery work.
Once you decide the style of stitching you want to use on your quilt, use them the same way throughout the quilt. For example, if you have three repeated motifs in your composition, such as a leaf, a spiral and some berries. It adds a feeling of uniformity to stitch all the leaves the same way, all the spirals the same way and all the berries the same way. I learned this from Mother Nature. Each of her creations are made according to their own set of rules. That’s why we can tell a daisy from a rose. They all have their own blueprint and Mother Nature sticks to that plan. The same applies to your composition. If you treat your elements consistently you are instilling a sense of order. Lack of consistency will create chaos and confusion.
I was very pleased with the bold stitches I created with Sew Sassy. The stitches anchor and pull the design together in a way that a fine, blending thread could not.
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