Welcome Home Jeremy - Wonderful sewing friends surprised me with several completed blocks and quilt pattern (thanks kmouse) for a quilt to be completed to Welcome Home my son after completing his duty in Iraq. My sister, niece & I made additional blocks using many of my mom's fabrics (mom had passed away leaving a wonderful fabric stash)- I then had family and friends sign blocks with their names and sentiments welcoming Jeremy back home. I presented this quilt (along with 2 blocks made into pillows) to Jeremy upon his return to Springfield after 14 months away at a surprise pool party. He was thrilled, surprised and enjoyed reading the sentiments expressed knowing the love of those who contributed to the quilt. And Grandma was surely looking down from above at a new quilt created from part of her stash.

Hot Tennessee Nights - Each of my! friends in my small quilting group made a Tennesee Waltz quilt. We sharted it on a retreat (just us girls) to Branson, MO. Of course, they are all quite different, but equally beautiful! I originally made this for my stepdaughter, but ended up keeping it for now.....a funny story! I quilted it on the long arm during my "flame" period. Thus the name, "Hot Tennesee Nights." Although this is a traditional pattern, I classified it as contemporary due to the fabrics and quilting.

Intuitive Play - Just took a wonderful class with Jean Wells at Quilt Camp in the Desert. I think I found my "Thing", again! Wonderful fun.

PDF Panel for a Cure in Honor of Larry & Karen - Made in honor of my cousins, Larry & Karen, who are living with this heart breaking disease.

My Alaska Glacier - blend of blues and greens in a vertical arrangement to give the appearance of a glacier.

Linda's Medieval Quilt - The basic pattern is Attic Window. These blocks were made on muslin, which was pressed onto freezer paper. Designs were transfered to each of the 80 blocks, using a light-box (homemade) and a Sharpie marker. All but one of the blocks was then colored using Crayola Crayons, then the freezer paper was removed from the back of each block, turned over and used to heat set the crayons into the muslin. I hadn't actually tried to wash a block made this way, so did one after I got about 64 of the blocks back and it worked...the crayons don't wash out after being heatset. The blocks are of dragons, princesses, castles, knights in armor, weapons and a few others. The quilt is queen-sized and is being made for a midwife friend of ours who was recently diagnosed with Acute Myelogenic Leukemia. This has truly been a labor of love.

Tampa Sunset - My first attempt at making a landscape quilt. We lived in Tampa for a few years and at some point I promised my husbond to make him a quilt of the view and sunset as seen from our deck. As I had no clue how to do this, I made a few mistakes and learned along the way. In the end I think it came out OK and I am happy with it.

Row Houses - This is my first quilt ever! I made it the first time we lived in The States. I bought a book with a complete guide to quilting. I resized this pattern to fit in front of our drafty fireplace, and started sewing. In an attempt to make it heavier it has two layers of cotton batting.

Flying Home - Resized from a beadspread to a wall quilt. Unfortunately one of the dark brown fabrics at the bottom part of the quilt have faded quite a bit. In 2005 I made a smaller version of the quilt for my brother in law. It's 37"x49½" and made from all the cut off triangles and left over fabric from the first. Because of the very small pieces and unprecise cut fabric, I foundation pieced it.

Teeny Tiny Star Medallion - 16 inch miniature quilt. I added the red sashing to the pattern - only because my 1/4 inch seams were not accurate!

Geometric 3

Gondola rider - Layering on of fabric using Malinda Bula's method, of using Steam a seam and lots of thread play

Great Grandma's Garden - This quilt was given to me when my grandmother passed away. It was made by her mother. It was hand stitched from start to finish. I remember the quilt laying on the guest bed when I visted my grandmother's house and slept under it many-a-night. I didn't appreciate it as much until I became a quilter myself (after both grandma and great-grandma had passed away). I never knew my great-grandmother but wish I had known her and was able to learn from her quilting experiences. My grandmother never learned to quilt from her and I feel like there is knowlege lost over the generations. This quilt is very worn and loved, but I like it that way! It's imperfect and beautiful!

Lesson Learned - This quilt is pretty embarrassing to post, but I learned from it. This was my first attempt at triangles (which I failed miserably). I didn't read instructions well and didn't line the triangle edges up the way they were supposed to. Hardly any points match and the ones that did were by total accident. I almost didn't finish it, but decided to use it as my first attempt at free-motion-quilting (which that part I'm pretty proud of). I didn't make the full pattern since the blocks turned so aweful. The pattern was "Windy by the Lake" by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr published in American Patchwork and Quilting.

Things that go bump in the night - When I started making quilts, my oldest son asked for one. Since he's 12 he didn't want cute-sy fabric. I asked what he'd like and he said "skulls". Hmm...ok if you say so. It was actually more fun to make that I expected. This is just the top. The backing fabric has already been purchased (I actually like the backing fabric better but we found it after the top was mostly done). I'm hesitant on quilting it because I don't know what quilting design to use yet and I'm still very new to free motion quilting so can't get too complicated. I'll have to give it some thought....

Megan's Window - This quilt was started in a workshop with Susan Cleveland called "Piping Hot Curves". We learned to make perfect piping and how to apply the piping to the edges of curved pieces. These pieces could then be sewn down on the background squares, avoiding any curved piecing!

Party on Duval Street - This quilt was started in a Carol Taylor Workshop called "Sensuous Lins and Curves". Fancy yarns are couched onto the center of the quilt. The outer blocks have skinny strips pieced into the background fabric.

Turtle Bay - I designed this quilt in an abstract landscape workshop with Gloria Loughman called "Layer by Layer".