Wedding Journey - My first original wall hanging for my sister-in-law's friend's wedding. I loved drafting the start points.

Bird on a Branch - This is my version of the Bird on a Branch pattern by Linda Jenkins found on the TQS Project page. Totally out of my comfort zone, the pieced background and appliques proved to be a wonderful way to use up scraps. It turned out better that I expected....It is wonderful!

If vanGogh Were a Quilter: Starry Night over Siste - I made this quilt to enter in the 2010 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show theme contest (Stars over Sisters). I was inspired by van Gogh's painting Starry Night. I included the Three Sisters mountains above a stylized town of Sisters, Oregon and the surrounding agricultural area. The larger building represents Stitchini' Post, a local quilt shop. The tall trees represent Ponderosa Pines, and I made the smaller, 3-D trees with thread painting. To create the swoosh in the sky I used 4 colors of Sulky Holoshimmer threads (hand sewn) and 6 colors of weaving thread (bobbin work) I bought in Guatemala. Some of the mountain details are thread painted.

TQS 2009 BOM - Top is Finished - TQS 2009 BOM pulled me in from the beginning. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire process. Thanks, Sue and TQS.

Carpenter Star - Carpenter Star table topper or wall hanging (not yet quilted) completed during a guild sew day in May.

Portrayal - This quilt is my 'portrayal', in fabric, of a beautiful watercolor painting by an artist named Kathleen Parr-McKenna. When I first saw Kathleen's image on a greeting card at a shop in Estes Park, CO, two years ago, I knew I wanted to use her image in a quilt - not my usual style, since I like to design my own quilts. Kathleen’s painting is copyrighted, but she graciously granted me permission to use her image. My challenge was to not only respect her original vision, but also to infuse my own. Sometimes you can’t find the fabrics you need, so I handpainted the fabrics used for the pink flowers, the hummingbird and some of the background. I added detail using fabric paint pens, oil pastels and thread.

Fish Friends - This quilt was made for my 2 grand nephews as a wallhanging. I loved using all the tropical fish fabric I had collected over several years.

Mystery Quilt - Tis is a mystery quilt that each member of our guild did this past season. Each and every one was so different with the many colors.

From Dawn 'Til Dusk - Inspired by the sky painting technique taught by Gloria Loughman and a challenge at our county fair titled "Rooted In Treedition", this quilt depicts a prospector's tireless search for gold in the California foothills. Done in raw edged applique and thread painting for the scrub brush, with accents using Tsukineko inks and Prismacolor pencils.

Sea Section - Created for a Mountain Art Quilters challenge titled Surf & Turf, this quilt depicts a sliced section of a Nautilus sea shell using a curved piecing technique taught by Sharon Schamber. Lots of seed beads were used to create additional dimension separating each section and in the outer border. Each section is quilted with different undersea creatures, including turtles, starfish, dolphins, seahorses, jellyfish and a mermaid.

A Closer Look - This quilt was started in LaVeta, CO at a Ricky Tims Retreat. My hand-dyed cotton and some commercial batiks. Inspiration was microscopic images of cells, etc.

Johnny's Quilt - In order to make several quilts for all my children (9), I wanted at least some of them to be original designs I've created. After doing this one I'm not so sure, lol! It was designed on graph paper, and I shaded in the 'well' optical illusion blocks. I used wovens and flannel all in masculine colors, some my son picked out. The blocks are about 20" and the sashing was a last minute decision. I thought the four-pointed stars looked like propellers and would be more boy-like. I'll be putting this in our local quild's show, we'll see how it goes!

Trout Quilt - Made this wall hanging for my dad for Father's Day. Need I say how talented McKenna Ryan is?? Her instructions are impeccable, and the free motion quilting really brings out the quilt in the end.

Luna Chelo - Made for co-workers new baby, Luna Chelo, the center, the moon, wishing baby Luna a life of butterflies, flowers and happiness.

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not - THe technique I used was one that I learned from Wendy Butler Berns. This quilt was made for her exhibit in Houston in the IQA shows. I was one of her students and she asked me to participate and make a quilt for her.

Quilt 1 - Ricky Tims Technique - I love doing hand blanket stitch on quilts and loved Ricky Tims technique, so I decided to design and quilt using his technique. The fabrics are hand dyed by a friend who lives in California.

Celtic applique - I did a workshop and found this pattern to be inspirational