Quilt Gallery

This quilt shows a discharged solar eclipse in front of a swirling sky. Morning glories on the fence are open in the light and closed in the dark. The sky is over inked and discharge areas are ink shadowed. Flower centers are discharged. Leaves and flowers are hand appliqued using my Mylar turned and batted method. Ultra suede is used on closed flowers and beads accent the centers of the ones that are open. I used Machine digitizing on thread stem pieces with Magnifico thread. Silk cord is dyed and couched with Superior Microquilter thread on the fence. I used gold Lumiere paint to highlight the area around moon and the piping. Free motion swirl quilting is used for motion.

This quilt is a tribute to my Dyslexic Advantage. Lady slippers grow on my property in the mountains of South Carolina. Many photographs were taken of them over the years before I began work on this quilt. The foreground pieces are Stonehenge raw edge leaf shapes which were a challenge because of raveling. A somewhat irregular matchstick stitch solved that problem. Flowers and leafs are ink dyed, turned on Mylar, batted and hand appliqued. Prominent petals are manual thread work on organza and solve. Swarovski Crystals are added for sparkle. The log is discharged and inked then quilted with a free motion bark design. Felted moss is added to trees and log. Background at top is first inked then thread sketched over the ink using Superior Magnifico thread.

This quilt is the best example so far of my discharge and ink painting technique. The background is a hand dyed fabric on which all stems and buds under the water, the back lily pads and the back petals of the flowers are discharged and painted with thickened ink. Front five lily pads and front flower petals are Mylar turned hand applique. Center of the flower is digitized from my drawings and appliqued with matching thread by hand.  Details on leaves and flowers are machine stitched with silk 100 thread. Background is stitched with embroidery thread in irregular curved lines to replicate the water on my stationary machine.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This quilt was inspired by the dogwoods blooming in the spring – a start of new life. The hand dyed fabric in the center made a wonderful background. Flowers, tree limbs and trunk are Mylar turned, batted then appliqued by hand. On the lattice border I used bias bars to give the strips more depth and appliqued them by hand. The smaller limbs and buds are digitized from my drawings and stitched down by hand. Flower centers are hand beaded after it was quilted. Ink was used to shadow and blend the colors. Trees are quilted in the background to divide the space. The quilted stipple design is overlapped so that the flowers and leaves float. I used narrow piping next to the binding.

In 1992 I designed this gingerbread porch when my husband and I built our Victorian farm house. I wanted to continue this whimsical feeling in this quilt. The background is pieced. Gingerbread, Clematis, and leaves are turned on Mylar, batted and hand Appliqued. Vines are couched with invisible thread. Buds are digitized from my drawings. Some details in the background are thread painted on the longarm. Clematis center is waxed floss covered with a disk of floss. The Quilt design is random vines. The narrow red piping repeats the flower color.

This Texas landscape was designed from some old photos I took near San Antonio TX in 1976. The background is pieced with batik fabrics to replicate nature. The house, out buildings, windmill blades and the bluebonnets in the foreground are Mylar turned, batted and hand appliqued. Windmill and background bluebonnets are digitized and embroidered directly on the fabric while the rocks, stems, leaves and flower centers and embroidered on organza and solve, then hand appliqued. Ink is used to shadow. A stipple design is used to quilt in the background and the sky is random curved lines for movement. The border is an echo of the unusual bluebonnet leaf. Two narrow bright blue piping strips were used to accent the quilt.

Inspired by the fabric, this quilt became a jungle fantasy. Thetrees, birds, leaves and flowers are hand appliqued. The organza moon is satin stitched by machine. The bird’s beaks, feet, eyes and top feathers are digitized from my drawingsfor accuracy. Flowers are machine embroidered on ultra suede and appliqued by hand. The viewer’s surprises in the upper corners are bobbin work. An insert and narrow piping bring the colors together. A whimsical vine design is free motion stitched over the whole quilt.

In 1990 I started a pen and ink series of the Twelve Days of Christmas, as a gift for friends. This quilt is obviously the first day. The background is machine pieced. Some of the back pieces are machine appliqued but, most are turned on Mylar, batted and appliqued by hand. The smaller limbs, bird beak, feet and top feathers are digitized from my drawings and appliqued by hand. Some embroidery is hand done. The beading is done by hand as well. The border design was first quilted then beaded on top of the stitching. Two narrow red piping strips frame the quilt.

I was chosen to make the 2007 Quilters of South Carolina Scholarship Award Quilt. The curved shapes are pieced by machine. Applique is done both by hand and machine. All of the embroidery is machine stitched from my own drawings and digitized with my computer software. Ink, ultra suede and beads are used for enhancement. This quilt is quilted by machine with rayon and invisible thread. A narrow piping strip is used to frame the quilt.

Flowers, leaves and vines are hand appliqued using my Mylar method. The vines are stitched using bias bars for dimension. The lower and center part of the quilt is hand dyed silk organza layered over the background. Machine embroidery is digitized from my drawings. The centers of the flowers are hand dyed silk enhanced with beads. Fence in the background is couched yarn. Machine quilting is done with invisible thread Two narrow purple piping strips enhance the color.

This quilt is fourth in my series of Carolina Butterflies. The markings and the body are digitized from my drawings. The under part of the butterfly is machine satin stitched while the top of the wings are turned on Mylar, batted and hand appliqued. The background is pieced in sections. The centers top and bottom are a tree print batik quilted with the design of the fabric. The next triangles down are silk organza over batik and Angelina fibers quilted in a grid with copper metallic thread. Next is a section that is silk organza over the fabric which has been randomly quilted with flower shaped beads. I call this bead quilting. The organic batik stripe which comes next is quilted with copper metallic thread. On the batik border I couched variegated yarn to give the look of random vines. Then I placed the leaves to balance the border. The leaves are batik fabric backed with wonder under and matte silk fabric fastened down only in the center with beads. To tie the border design together I designed flower petals with the colors of the overall quilt. The border is quilted with traditional straight lines and diagonal lines on the corners. Narrow purple piping is used to accent the colors of the quilt.

This quilt was a group challenge from my art quilt group Thread Heads. The theme was a book or a movie. Citizen Kane was made before I was born but, every time I saw it I could not help thinking of a wasted childhood. I took a photo of San Simeon while visiting in 1981. The background of this quilt is that photo without the castle. The background is pieced. Some of the poppies in the foreground are machine appliqued but, most are hand appliqued using my Mylar method. Buds, stems, flower centers and leaves are digitized from my drawings and hand stitched. Hand dyed silk and waxed novelty yarn surround the centers. The border has an inset and is quilted with invisible thread following the design of the fabric as is the center of the quilt.

I grew the flowers from seed, then using my photos I made an imaginary garden with an old window as my architectural feature. I discharged some of the fabrics in the center for light. My hand applique is turned on Mylar. All ther machine applique including the Caladium stems are satin stitched before quilting using heavy tear away on the back for stability. Flower centers were digitized.

(My first quilt) – When I lived in San Antonio TX I planted a beautiful burgundy leaf Canna in the pool area. I loved the way it looked in front of the wrought iron fence. Many years later I designed this quilt from my old photo. The background including the leaves is pieced in the method that Ruth McDowell uses. My stash was small at first so I hand dyed the fabric for the flowers. It was on this quilt that I first tried my no melt Mylar method of applique. Finally I could create those accurate shapes and perfect points. Hand embroidery was used in the flower centers and to enhance the background since I had not yet acquired my digitizing software. I quilted in the ditch in the center and did a traditional cable for the border.

Rambling Vine Jacket Front

Rambling Vine Jacket Back

The beautiful blue green fabric came first. An abstract batik print with splashes of the same color and several other shades looked great for the leaves, lining and binding. My garments reflect my landscape quilts but more like a sculpture. The design continues over the entire garment. The large Clematis flowers, buds and leaves are turned on Mylar batted and hand appliqued. Vines are couched using hand dyed variegated satin cord (rattail). They are stitched with the same metallic thread that decorates the sleeves and around the binding. Centers of the flowers are variegated embroidery floss made like pompoms with a thread covered ceramic ring in the center. Quilting follows the line of the vine only. Sides and sleeves are joined and sleeves are inserted after they are quilted. I always cover my seams with bias matching the lining.

Self Portrait Front

Self Portrait Back

Jacket second at LMQG Seneca SC 2008

My third quilt that was not square. One of my best lessons learned came when I tried to make a border of one inch strips. The fish were great as was the background. What exactly was I going to do with this neat looking quilt. Almost three years passed before I designed a jacket to fit the square in the middle of the quilt. Never give up on a good design save it for a rainy day. I found the perfect batik to make a yoke in the back of the jacket. I had plenty of the ultra suede so I used it to continue the sea weed into the yoke. I think of garments as sculptures that are made to be seen from every angle. On the front I continued the sea weed and added a dragon fly, one of the few times I have used a design that came with my machine, RIDLEY RIGGED of course. The whole jacket was quilted in a wave design. Because the dragon fly was metallic I added a little metallic stitch in the ditch next to the binding. The batting is silk and the lining is a batik.

Mouring Cloak Front

Mouring Cloak Back

Honorable Mention at LMQG Seneca SC 2006

This vest is the third Carolina Butterfly. The background is a beautiful multi colored batik. The wings and lower body are turned on Mylar, batted and appliqued by hand then the wings stitched with a decorative stitch on my machine. The body is randomly beaded and the yellow markings are satin stitched. The black on the wing and the top of the body are digitized to my embroidery unit and stitched on organza and solve. The edges are burned with a stencil burner to eliminate the raw edges. The purple was placed under the holes and stitched in place by hand. The design on the front is a traditional one using bias around the shapes and beading in the center. The purple bias is done using bias bars which makes a continuous line from front to back Yarn is couched on either side of the bias and narrow purple piping accents the binding.

Viceroy Front

Viceroy Back

First at LMQG Seneca 2006

This Jacket if the second Carolina Butterfly. The white and orange markings are digitized from my drawings on to the black fabric then they are turned on Mylar making sure to match the markings. The wings are batted and hand appliqued. The larger orange shapes and the body are also turned on Mylar, batted and hand appliqued. The head of the body is digitized and the antennas are satin stitched. The back of the jacket is the same as the lining. Ruching and turned Mylar methods are used to create the flowers and leaves on the front. Batik fabrics bring out the colors of the lining. The stems are bias and the centers of the flowers are large French knots. A large jade pendant with satin cord is used for the closing. Stitching in the ditch and vertical lines are used to quilt.

Buckeye Front

Buckeye Back

Never entered

This vest is the first of the Carolina Butterflies. The wings are layered and satin stitched using Wonder-Under. A line of metallic thread is stitched next to the satin stitch. The hour glass markings and the body are digitized from my drawings and appliqued by hand. Most of the details on the butterfly are satin stitched using heavy tear away on the back before quilting. The inside circles and ovals are turned on Mylar using my special circle method, batted and appliqued by hand. An organza insert was used around the butterfly to continue the design on the front. The reverse machine applique leaves on the font are digitized to my embroidery machine before the satin stitch is applied around the edge and to the stems. Heavy tear away is always used for stability. A unique raku button with a braided copy and loop on the other side is used for closure. Metallic thread is stitched around the leaves. Silk batting and lining are used with free motion quilting.