Alphabet - I received Yoko Sato's book as a birthday gift a few years ago, and fell in love with the primitive alphabet that was in the book, and I finally made it. It is hand appliqued and quilted. It is mostly made of Japanese taupe woven and printed cotton fabrics.

In Bloom - Spring flowers emerged using a tropical print and the One Block Wonders technique. I used Ricky's narrow border technique to add the quarter inch accent inner border.

Flower Garden - One of a series of quilts I'm making to give my teen-age grandchildren when they get married.

Quiet Celebration - My 2011 Hoffman Challenge quilt. There are really too many flowers for a traditional Ikebana arrangement she is making, but it seems to work. I see her as a little older Geisha on a quiet day celebrating something special as she arranges her beautiful flowers. The Japanese characters say Celebrate beauty and woman or womanhood.

Pain in the Knee - I actually started this quilt late in 2008, following total knee replacement surgery, but didn't finish it until recently. Each of the peach on-point squares was free-motion embroidered with an oriental character prior to piecing, and the characters tell the story of my "journey." Each of the shapes surrounding those squares is quilted with a koi fish and I machine-quilted a sashiko-like design in the dark border. This is definitely the most personal quilt I have ever made.

Taste of Morocco - I discovered this pattern then added points of the design out into the borders

Singin' the Nine Patch Blues - My guild did a nine-patch exchange last year, and I had enough to make this lap-sized quilt. It was truly amazing when we showed our completed projects how the same blocks resulted in so many different designs and projects! I wound up donating the quilt to a fund raiser for a young boy in a neighboring community battling brain cancer.

Dragon Gareden - My first Asian style quilt. Made for the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra's annual spring Gala silent auction. Quilting is golden dragons.

Winter in Wisconsin - This is the first in a series of 4 quilts I am making as a wedding gift for a former AFS student from Australia. She requested one wall hanging depicting each of the four seasons in Wisconsin, so she can be reminded of her year here. We will be attending the wedding and presenting the gifts in person!

Stars for a New Day - Sue Garman pattern from The Quilt Show.com

Holly & Mistletoe

Mother Octopus - The octopus and background are collaged with hundreds of snippets of fabric onto a muslin backing. Some thread painting enhances the design. Quilting is free motion done with a domestic sewing machine.

Star Crossed - I fell in love with the fabric and the 2009 pieced BOM, and started making it. It was really frustrating waiting for the instructions each month, but with 98 sawtooth stars (I added some), 24 different star blocks and 204 flying geese, it was great to do it only a little bit at a time! Getting the 2nd place machine quilted award was totally unexpected. I feel like I only followed directions! Thanks to Sue Garman for a wonderful design!

Drifting - I painted the Steam-a-Seam and the results dictated the quilt.

Blaze: Time for Stick? - This quilt is a portrait of my father's dog with her favorite toy.

Maria's Wallhanging - It is a 42" square wallhanging made in autumn colors. I can't remember the name of the book but as soon as I find it I will post it. It is machine pieced and I free motion quilted it with a stipple design. It was a Xmas gift for my sister-in-law.

My Orion - I called this my "recession quilt", and said I would only use from my stash. In September , I strayed from the pattern and finished the borders with Xmas Cactus in the corners.

Kokeshi Dolls Quilt - Kokeshi are traditional Japanese doll figurines. This quilt shows them with various items of everyday life - bonsai tree, parasols, tatami, kimono, tea set and fan. I fell in love with the design and 9 friends and I decided to exchange blocks to make the quilt. Haven't decided how to quilt it yet - that will come soon.