I think they are called portrait quilts. I have made 3 that were dog portraits, one of a musician as well as the eagle that is in my avatar. The method for me is the same in each case: begin with a photo, blow it WAY up, simplify it and put together layer upon layer. I suspect it will be quite a bit harder to portray your mother. Here you can see the quilt I made and my old dog. If you use something like photoshop, you will be able to see the planes and color areas of the face.
I can't draw at all well, but the person who commissioned the "guitarist" portrait liked the results.
Last edited by QM; 01-14-2012 at 01:13 AM.