Dreaming of Dancing Cranes

If you've visited our blog before, no doubt you've seen Ro Gregg's rich and elegant Dancing Cranes fabric line. But unless you have a copy of the winter 2013 issue of QuiltTrends, chances are you've never seen a Dancing Cranes quilt like this. 

"Dancing Cranes" quilt designed by Ro Gregg and pieced by Dawn Connery, 

featured in QuiltTrends winter 2013

Fabric designers often say that they like to see what others are inspired to create from their fabric lines. We think it's equally interesting to see how a fabric designer uses her own work. Ro sat down recently to talk about her queen-size bed quilt design.

Q. How did you come up with the design for the quilt?

Ro: I wanted to do something with an Asian fusion look—east meets west, Oriental style mixing with traditional, yet sophisticated. I really wanted to showcase the panel because it looks deceptively complex, but actually it's not. Then I wanted simple borders to go around the panels. After that I wanted to showcase one of the allover prints—the crane—the namesake of the quilt. I came up with a few ideas for patchwork for the outer border so Dawn could highlight the center.

Q. Why did you decide to use three panels?

Ro: In engineering the 3 panels across, I felt that it really gave a beautiful showcase to the quilt. It also allowed me to make a queen-size quilt

Q. What else do you like about the ensemble?

Ro: I used the Chinese ribbons print for coordinating pillowcases. The print really shines on these.

Q. Why did you decide to use the fan blocks? 

Ro: The crane is a symbol in Chinese for eternal youth, happiness, longevity. I wanted another symbol in the quilt and chose the fan. It's a very traditional Chinese symbol that dates back hundreds of years ago in Chinese culture. These blocks also highlighted the colors in the panel.

Q. What do you like best about this quilt?

Ro: I like how the three panels are showcased in the center. 

Q. What do you like about your fabric line? 

Ro: I'm such a bird lover—I always love cranes. We have them down the shore and they fly up to an island across from our house. They are such a beautiful symbol. I love this panel because it can also be cut. The cranes can be cut apart vertically in half, like Patricia Lackey did on this jacket (pictured). It looks like there are two cranes flying, but it's all made from one panel.

Click here to buy a kit for this project.

Click here to find Quilt Trends winter 2013.