This small art quilt was very loosely inspired by an asymmetric Dresden plate pattern by Lee Monroe. Her pattern has an extra blade, which results in 2 large blades side by side that are the same color. The look is interesting, but also a little odd. I wanted to do something asymmetric using the traditional even number of blades AND I wanted the result to look like the alternating blades were missing, so that you see through to the background. The flowers are paper pieced individually and then appliqued onto the matching background fabric. The background is densely quilted, flower centers are trapunto'ed and beaded to add dimension. The entire thing was a study in 'dimension' -- that is, controlling seam direction, density of quilted, coloring to give a sense of depth.

This is my donation to the SAQA Benefit Auction this year.

"Canyon of My Mind" is a result of a visit to Page, Arizona. After marveling at the natural wonders within Antelope Canyon I was inspired to create fabric art of my photos from this wonderful journey. This is the first of many more to come. 

This pattern designed by Verna Mosquera just called to me. I used all my own fabrics and took the liberty of exchanging the Pink Poodle for the image of my Black Labradoodle Maximus. I had fun choosing fabrics and enbelishments to complement is very french style.

This is a paper-pieced block I made for my niece Debbie. It is the first quilt I have ever quilted on my little sewing machine.

Made for the 55th reunion of 1961 Decatur High school graduates. My quilt features photos of Decatur, AL taken in the 60's. The quilt will be auctioned with proceeds going to the class Scholarship fund for graduates of the school. 

I made this negative space quilt using the principals of the Fibonacci sequence. I made a long panel of black, white and the focus fabric, leaving room to add the 1 inch inserts of the solid fabrics in two positions on the strips I cut. I arranged the strips on my design wall, flipped every other one, and shifted them to separate the alignment of the sequence. I then added the solid colored strips.

I love Caryl Bryer Fallert's Fibonacci quilts, whose technique inspired my experimenting with using it to make a negative space quilt.  

The map is a whole cloth quilt that was made with a printed stabilizer from Haptic Labs.  I painted the water and park areas to add interest and reference to the map.  The finished quilt is stretched across a customer frame that I made with 1 x 2" lumber.  

I took a few classes with Marilyn Bedford and have enjoyed them very much. I deduced to make this quilt of our friends that have been together for over 45 years now and just tied the knot. This was from a photo I too on a cruise we were on together.

I made this quilt top in 2005.  It was made with blue and yellow scraps from my own scrap bag, as well as scraps from fellow quilters, and a few fat quarters.  I paper-pieced it from a pattern from Anita Grossman Solomon.  I FINALLY got around to quilting it because I recently bought a long arm machine, and started with all my old UFO's.  I named the quilt after a song by The Judds.  

This was done at a class in Sedro Wooley, WA.  It won Best of Class and Best of Show for the Quilting at the NW Washington Fair

This is a confetti pieced art quilt. I lived  in England for a few years. This quilt reminds me of the walks I took in the great gardens and Castles. The wall is hand painted pieces each attached  individually. My quilt is in my living room I love looking at the path it really brings you in. It has many  bags of confetti fabrics I cut for weeks!

I created this small triptych to reflect my boys at the beach -- here's what I wrote on the back label: "Sands of Time" represents each boy, around age 10, and as viewed through past memories -- a look back at each of them at this golden age, and of the scenes played out over & over again on beaches everywhere -- little boys, and big brothers, and sand castles, and moms & dads watching & realizing that time is as fleeting and fragile as the sand castles built & washed away, day to day and year to year. 

The background is improvisational curved piecing, and the scene is raw edge applique. I used a photo printed on cardstock to create my template, cutting out first the full image, tracing around that, then cutting away here and there to be able to trace the detail portions (arms, legs, face, head, clothing, etc.), and then used those cut-aways to cut the additional applique portions (the hair & clothing are appliqued onto the flesh-toned "body", and then the whole person is appliqued onto the pieced background). Small details (eyes, nose, etc) are drawn on with pigma ink pens. The photos appliqued around the edges are printed on printable fabric and appliqued in place & outlined around each photo. 

The first two frames in the triptych are in sepia tone to reflect that they are in the past, while the final frame has the main scene in color to reflect it is my current "present day," viewed through the images of the past (thus the photos around the edge still printed in sepia tone). 

I chose to frame these instead of bind them, as they will be hung like photos in my sewing room. Each frame is 8"x10". 

The first of 2 twin grandbabe quilts. The 2nd quilt will have yellow prints replacing the green. I used Minky on the back - so it will be warm & soft. The animal print was a thrift store FIND! - & it's the actual print used by the quilt designer - I already had the pattern from Fons & Porter Magazine!

This quilt was made using the Dakota pattern from BJ Designs and Patterns.  So much fun to make.  

The "Fly Me to the Moon" contest gave me the opportunity to realize the long-cherished plan of making a "Happy Villages" quilt. Since I saw Karen Eckmeier's instructions in the AQS magazine and later in the QuiltShow, it needed only this challenge to combine the technique with my own photos taken during our trip along the beautiful Amalfi coast. My handdyed fabrics, actually failed and saved for a quilt backing, fit the required size and the moonlight reflections on the first sketch perfectly, lucky me.

2016 started with a mail that this quilt was juried into the FMTTM collection and will travel for at least four years.

Applique and patchwork quilt of red/green and white pieces with a large deer leaping through the snow in the center.

This quilt was made from Moda's "Lost City, Cuzco" by Kate Spain.  Cuzco (also spelled Qusqu) is a city in the Peruvian Andes which was once the capital of the Inca empire. 

I've done a series of art quits inspired by etchings my husband created.  The images are based on the Mexican card game "Loteria."