Ann Schroeder’s fine art quilts evoke landscapes, weather, and music. She is inspired by the surroundings of her seaside studio in Mabou, where winds blow fiercely, the ocean is bright or dark, hillsides sprout hay bales, and fiddlers play under starry skies.
Ann dyes the fabrics for her quilts, giving a painterly quality to her work. She enjoys the dyeing so much that she now also dyes silk scarves and gives workshops called “Fabric Dyeing by the Sea” to share the fun with others. (See www.annschroederstudio.com/workshops/ for more information.)
Ann grew up in a small town in Illinois and lived in Boston after graduating from college. She first visited Cape Breton in 1972, kept returning, and moved here fulltime in 2007.
In 1978 she saw a spectacular show of southern Illinois quilts at the Chicago Public Library. She wanted her own quilt, but when she couldn’t find just the right one to buy, she decided to make one and then just kept going. Althought mostly self-taught, she took several quilting and dyeing workshops, including one taught by Nancy Crow at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts.
Ann’s quilts have been shown at a variety of venues including Quilt National in Athens, Ohio and at the Anna Leonowens Gallery and the Mary Black Gallery in Halifax. They have been published in Art Quilts: A Celebration and Fiberarts Design Book Six, both by Lark Books.
Her work—including the fine art quilts, silk scarves, fabric for quiltmakers, hand-printed T-shirts, fabric cards, collages, postcards, and bookmarks—is available at her studio and most Sundays from 11-2 at the Mabou Farmers Market. Several galleries (listed on her website) also carry her work.
Ann now does her art full time, grows a large vegetable garden, hikes in the Mabou hills, goes to concerts, and is learning to play the piano.
