Klee's Trees by Malka Dubrawsky

Malka Dubrawsky is one of the quilters I admire most. I am constantly inspired by her use of color, her graphic fabrics and quilt designs that look difficult, but are really straightforward. She uses shapes and patterns in the most interesting ways.  Her latest pattern, Klee's Trees, is no exception.

In Malka's words,

A while back I traveled to Switzerland and saw so many amazing things, but not the Bern Bears. Rather, I opted to visit the Klee Museum and view an extensive array of work by the artist, Paul Klee. I was especially struck by his drawings of trees. They were simple, stylized and abstracted.
I came home knowing I wanted to translate those drawings into a quilt pattern and, after several attempts, came upon a block design that I feel captures the essence of Klee’s trees.
This simple-to-piece block is graphic and clean and has a decidedly modern feel. Craft it in solids against a dark or light background or play with warm and cool colored prints to differentiate the “trees” from the “forest”.

I was happy that Malka asked me to share this pattern with you. More specifically, I was excited to make the block and have a chance to play a bit! While I love Malka's use of solid fabrics, I was intrigued to see how the modern shape would translate if I used a more traditional fabric for the tree. I chose a guava colored shot cotton and a Liberty print from my stash and just love how they look together. Even with a fussier print as the main fabric, this block still has a decidedly modern feel to it. Can't you just see a whole quilt of Liberty Klee's Trees? I can!

You can get your own copy of Malka's Klee's Trees pdf pattern in her etsy store.

She is also offering TWO copies of the pattern as a giveaway to my readers. To be eligible for the random drawing, please comment on this post before Sunday, May 18th at 5:00 pm EST. Good luck!

Comments

[Cindy]

Love this! Have done many of Malka's patterns . Looking forward to this one!

[daniela]

what a wonderful pattern, i was just last week at the paul klee zentrum in bern. i'm so tempted to try this tree pattern...

[Erin in PA]

This looks so stunning! I have never paper pieced before, but I find it intriguing. I am definitely interested in this.

[mjb]

This would be fun to play around with

[Tamie]

Love the modern twist on the trees. Thanks for the giveaway.

[Vickie]

Hi Erin. I love your take on Klee's trees. Trees are one of my inspirations.

[Jenelle]

Such a fun and graphic design! I think this would look amazing in moody blues with a low volume background.

[jenn]

i am speechless. amazing!

[Sue]

What a lovely, graphic design. Thanks for the chance to win a copy of the pattern

[Pip]

Love the trees, this pattern would be really versatile and you could get many different looks depending on your fabric choices. Thanks for the chance to win.

[Grace]

Paul Klee is my favorite artist. In fact, way back when we were doing the Virtual Quilting Bee (7 years ago or something?), one person asked for trees for their block and I based mine on his rendering of cypress trees. How funny to see this now!

[folksmith]

love this quilt pattern.

[Jessica]

I love the solids on black, so pretty!

[Karie]

I love this pattern!

[Allison C]

Super cool pattern!

[Nancy Lee]

Its not often that you come across a brand new, not like all the others pattern. Ths is wonderful.

[Judi Creed]

Fantastic pattern. Thanks for the chance to win!

[Dayna Harris]

Love it! Just what my Liberty stash has been waiting for!:)

[Pattij]

I also love Malka Dubrawsky and this pattern especially!

[jzzy55]

This reminds me of a hooked rug I made using a 1950s Scandinavian textile with a tree pattern for inspiration -- also linear and abstract -- I would love this pattern! Thank you. I've been following Malka for years and enjoy her work and following her artistic journey.

[Margita Ratzlaff]

I would love to win a copy of the pattern. I live in Canada, and the pattern reminds me of the tamarack trees I see in my province. Thanks.

[Karen Jeanne]

Thanks for the giveaway!