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“Art is art, you choose the way you are going to express,’’ said Asmussen, who started making quilts in 2010. “Once you have your ‘architect's eyes’ they will be part of you. They are more than a skill, it's the way you see the world around you. So my architect side is present all the time on my quilts.”
Asmussen is already drawing acclaim for her work. She is a semifinalist for the 2016 AQS QuiltWeek, and will display her piece, “Botanical Garden,” at the 2016 AQS QuiltWeek at Des Moines, Iowa. The show will be Oct. 5 to 8, at the Iowa Events Center. Her work will be displayed along with 213 others in this AQS contest.
Asmussen moved to Wilton earlier this year with her husband, Christian, and two children. She bought her first sewing machine in 2010 and learned quilt making through online videos by Jenny Doan, from Missouri Star Quilt Company.
She makes her quilts alone at her Wilton home -- “Sometimes my kids come to add some shine to my ideas,’’ she said -- and started designing her own creations three years ago. She said each of her quilts has their own theme and personality, and depending on the complexity of the piece, can take six months to finish.
“It's really hard to estimate how long, because they are original ideas,’’ Carolina said. “Sometimes the inspiration for a quilt starts years before I finish them. Sometimes I need to wait for the right moment to start my idea. When I finish my sketches and have my quilting plan it could take between a month six months to finish.”
Like all art, Asmussen’s designs take time to evolve. “I don't have a magical recipe, because is creativity,’’ she said. “It doesn't happen every time the same way. Sometimes the difficulty is to find a way to make the idea work in real life, like in architecture.”
After Carolina started designing her quilt, she became curious about having her work judged. She entered her first competition last year at the International Quilt Festival.
“I was pretty honored to know that my quilt 'Origami Stars' was selected with 14 other quilts from the entire world to be part of the special exhibition Celebrations,’’ she said.
Besides the Des Moines competition, Asmussen’s quilt “Amsterdam View” is a finalist in the The World of Beauty exhibition at the International Quilt Festival in Houston, which runs from Nov. 3-6.
For more information at Carolina’s quilts, click here to visit her website, here to follow her on Facebook and here for Instagram,@carolasmussen.
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