This quilt has been in the works for over 5 years, off and on.  Finally in 2015 I decided to finish the dang thing.  This quilt definitely told me how to make it, and very loudly.  I did the setting very different from the pattern and am thrilled out it turned out.  It just received Grand Champion at our local county fair and will be entered in the Colorado State Fair in 2 weeks.  It also received an Award of Merit from the judge, who is a national judge.  I am very honored and love this quilt.

This year long journey started as a challenge to myself to create a modern style quilt and has ended in this final piece. Challenging improvisational appliqué, piecing, and many new techniques were practiced.  I have learned plenty, and I'm happy with the final product, but have to acknowledge it is a bit outside the box, especially where traditional quilting is concerned. It is a celebration of my joy in 40 years in church music ministry, playing the organ, singing, and teaching music and band in school.

I love medallion quilts.  I think it is because I find multiple borders make a quilt interesting.  I also enjoy the math and the challenge of getting everything to fit.  This is fairly small, but was great fun to make.  I used some fabric I had in my stash.  I haven't decided whether to use it as a table topper or a wall hanging.

This is my interpretation of the pattern Forever Blooming by Pearl Pereira of P3 Designs.  She first offered this pattern in monthly installments before publishing it.  The pattern calls for a light background, but I thought the deep navy really made the colors come out.  The background is a navy batik with white spots, that reminds me of stars - hence the name Night Blooms.  This quilt won Best of Show at our local quilt guild and the Oklahoma State Fair in 2015.

My Hoffman Challenge 2016 quilt.  This quilt represents a happy summer day in a slightly enchanted forest.  It is entirely made with some form of applique.  I applipieced/pieceliqued the sky, grassy ground, mountains, and path together.  All the trees, flowers and butterflies are stitched raw edge applique, and the birds and animals are embroidered on nylon veil and then appliqued onto the quilt. The flower centers are beaded and the birds and animals have hot fix crystals for their eyes.  Free motion quilted.

Block taught in workshop.

English paper piecing, 1/2-inch hexagons using freezer paper and Crayola template. Papers and hexagons traced and cut out by hand. Started in 2009. Hand appliqued to border;  machine quilted around each flower and each center; faced edging instead of binding.

There are two matching thened blocks throughout, with one being on the back of the quilt with the label (Easter eggs).

Redwork design from The Red Book, Diane Arthurs, one strand floss.

Used leftover blocks from Gelato table runner. Small blocks--technique demonstrated by Alex Anderson on The Quilt Show, Episode 910.

Original table runner using my own hand-dyeds. See companion quilt, Waiting for Spring. Technique for blocks demonstrated by Alex Anderson on The Quilt Show, Episode 910.

Improv piecing, using Fibonacci numbers for spacing. Spider web quilting with Superior Silver Metallic Thread.

This quilt was started by my cousin's mother in law but she passed away before she could finish.  My cousin gave it to me to complete.   She hand pieced it and I hand quilted it.    I've had it for several years as hexagon's are so difficult for me.  But it's done and I'll be giving it back to her in July!

The tablecloth I used for this project was an eBay purchase.  It had a hole near the center and looked pretty sorry for itself.  It did have some pretty butterfly motifs on it, and as I was trying to teach myself to FMQ, so thought that if it was a disaster, it would not be the end of the world.  There was a lot of white space to fill, so I used some Cindy Needham quilting stencils and drew the flowers and vines freehand on the top.  I used some purchased lace butterflies to hide the hole in the middle of the quilt.  It was great fun to do.

My resolution last year was to learn to FMQ.  This was a practice piece.  I have some lovely ferns in my garden and particularly love them when the fronds are unfurling.  I used Kaffe Fassett Shot Cotton and Hobbs Tuscany wool batting.

From a photo by Rita Haramy, used with permission.  It is 20 x 24, all thread painted.  The sky uses more than 660 yards of thread.  The piece took about two months to make.

Ringo is an English Springer Spaniel born with a cleft palate.  With 24 hour care, he not only survived, but thrived.  He is a beloved member of his family.  His owner gave me permission to design this quilt from her photograph.  The portrait Is appliquéd using fusible thread and satin stitching.

A late frost killed all the blossoms on our pear tree – except for one.   One lone pear survived the frost. Every day after work, my husband walked down to the garden to see that pear grow and ripen.  One day he announced, “I think that pear will be ready to pick tomorrow.”

The next day he walked out to the pear tree to pick the pear, but it was gone! ...  And there were deer tracks under the tree!   I said, "I expect you are mad at the deer for eating that pear you have been waiting for all summer."      He replied, "No, they have to eat too.”  

However, the next year he put up a fence!

I adapted McKenna Ryan's pattern "Beneath the Boughs" to illustrate our little story.