Quilt Gallery

May Day Kiss

 Juried into AQS Paducah – Charlotte – Lancaster 2014 – 1st NQA 2013

This quilt was inspired by a May Day theme. I chose to depict a French legend. On May 1, 1561 Charles IX received a Lily of the Valley as a lucky charm. This custom became a yearly tradition. When a lady was given this May Day flower a kiss was expected. Dye and ink work were used for the sky, trees and for shadowing. Most of the applique pieces are turned on Mylar and applied by hand. The rocks in the foreground are machine appliquéd with a decorative stitch. The oil can, flowers, rocks under the trees and clover leaves in the background are digitized from my drawings. Beads add color to the clover. The quilting uses several colors of thread and reflects the natural landscape.

Shadows Of My Mind

 Juried into AQS Paducah – Chattanooga – Des Moines HM 2015 – Daytona Beach 2016 – 3rd NQA 2015 – 3rd Overall QSC Exhibit Columbia, SC 2019

This quilt was inspired by memories of farm life. The old pump, hollyhocks and the ghost quilted antique tractor are a part of my childhood. The background is machine pieced and manipulated with ink to create the barn. The window is discharged. The original digitized thread pieces are appliquéd on by hand using the same thread. All appliqué is turned on Mylar batted and applied by hand. Ink is used extensively to shadow and accents the design. Many different thread colors in the quilting represent the natural landscape. The plows are printed and inked. Flower centers are felted then applied by hand.

Bittersweet

Juried into AQS Paducah 2015 – Phoenix 2016 – 3rd NQA 2014 – Des Moines 2016 – LMQG 1st 2016

This Native American landscape began as a challenge for my art quilt group Thread Heads. I spent many hours researching the Cherokee Indians of the Blue Ridge Mountains where I live. In American Indian Heritage the Cherokee rose represents the loss of their native land. According to legend this rose had seven leaflets. Seven are quilted in the foreground. I first discharged some of the leaves and the trees in the foreground and inked them, then machine pieced the background. All of the flowers and some leaves are turned on Mylar batted and appliqued by hand. The mud blocks are drawn on batik fabric with ink and are applied in sections then the blocks are quilted with Silk 100. The ladder, flower centers and some leaves are digitized thread pieces. Beads cover the flower centers. The ghost quilted mask were line drawings from authentic mask. Many colors are used to reflect the natural landscape.

Abandoned Cotton Field

Juried into AQS Grand Rapids 2017 – Fall Paducah 2017 – Des Moines 2017

The beautiful cotton flower grows at the end of plowed furrows in an abandoned field. The challenge for this quilt was seeds of hope. Cotton is used throughout the world. It is the fabric of our lives especially if you are a quilter. The plowed rows and some of the leaves are discharged. Those leaves are then inked. Flower, buds and other leaves and the house are turned on Mylar batted and appliqued by hand. Sharecropper’s house is printed on fabric and inked then batted. Some details are stitched after the batting is applied. Line quilting accents the furrows. Border is double piped and quilting follows the lines of the fabric.