About the Quilts

I wondered often during her creation.  Resignation is not in my vocabulary but I did contemplate it more than once!  I Wonder was created from a duvet cover I stumbled upon. It had a variety of colors and not-so-coordinating designs that bled from one to another, almost overlapping.  Each piece was hand cut one-by-one to create this Storm at Sea design.  “I Wonder” got its name because I Wondered if I could make that quilt design with that fabric!  Glad I hung in there!

Oh my, this one is special!  Zeus was made as a surprise for a special person.  A day after he got Zeus they took a trip to the pet store to gather up “new puppy owner” things, starting with a dog bed which he put in the bottom of the shopping basket as they went about the shopping.  My friend snapped a picture of the experience and texted me; that was about a year before “Zeus” was created.  Searching for a photo to create my first portrait quilt…..I remembered that photo.  It was perfect, intimidating for sure with the shopping cart and all, but it was so fun to do.

There’s always a first and this was it, courtesy of Rudy’s shirts.  “Learning Begins” was my first finished quilt where I threw caution to the wind and embraced the quilters’ mantra:  “A finished quilt is better than a perfect pieced top”!  It was fascinating to watch the fabric transform and the quilting efforts get engulfed with a quick wash.  The texture is sublime and cozy!  

Wrapped in Rudy was created from a bundle of shirts that he was no longer wearing; this was the third in the series and where I ventured out to do a feathered border.  It is fun to look at the quilt and reflect on memories of him wearing each one, especially the one he wore giving me away at my wedding!  Pass the tissue, please.

My first wall hanging quilt in honor of Rudy, a pianist.  A star in my eyes always.

Precious was my first gifted quilt outside of family.  I was so excited to deliver it and the reception did not disapoint!  Made from a combination of layer cake fabric using the wrong side (on purpose) and recycled sheets, I smiled the whole putting this gem together.  I love the color elements and the whimsy of the titled boxes. 

Created from fabric in my sister-in-law’s favorite colors, the design was fun and I added some self-designed borders to “round” it out!

Sister-in-laws have same favorite colors so a tweak of “Bev” resulted in “Dianne”  with enough difference to capture their unique personalities.

As the name implies, this was made from the first Jelly Roll bundle I’d purchased.  Didn’t know what I was going to make with it when I bought it but I had to see what they were all about….and the price was right!  Throw in a layer cake bundle for the solids that happened to match…..and viola, a quilt.  Improvised border was fun to design. Not my favorite but made for good quilt practice in my early stages!

My first quilt entry into a competition.  MQG Make-a-Difference 2022 challenge in support  of Oceana.org.  
”Slow Down” was inspired by an article in The Seattle Times; underwater noise (depicted by the sonar imagery in the quilting) caused by commercial vessel traffic is interfering with the orcas’ ability to forage for salmon, communicate with their pod, reproduce or even rest. Vessel noise increases with speed; slowing down mitigates the interference. The scannable QR code on the orca links to the article.

Researching QR codes and how I could incorporate into my quilting resulted in this quilted QR code to my website. Half-inch squares were as small as I could go!

My friend Diane stumbled on some quilt blocks she had sewn decades ago and handed them to me to do with what I wanted.  I was honored to turn them into a quilt for her to cherish for years.