A Traveler’s Memory Quilts
Quilt designs and fabric choices tell a quilter’s story in a memory quilt Journal Entry: August 6, 2021 The American Quilter magazine began the story… Traveling isn’t just about getting away from daily life, seeing the most advertised sites and gift shops. Acknowledging I do enjoy these things. Going off the beaten path leads to much more: learning about the influence of history, interests of local people, and exploring the surrounding landscape in a different way. Often, all these tend to inspire to a memory quilt design. I had so many different preconceptions about South Africa. When I found out…
Dog Quilt Designs: A Dog’s Imaginary Life
Turning photos of a favorite little canine into a whimsical dog quilt design.
Batik and Wool Appliqué Quilt: Bandana Blossoms for QUILTmania
QUILTmania #141, featuring batik and wool appliqué Bandana Blossoms
Flower Basket Quilts Inspired by Nature
Journal Entry: August 9, 2020. Gardens & Trails is first of the Pretty Pot flower basket quilts in a series I’m designing for *Organically GrammaTM. Embellished appliqué, wool blended with quilted cotton. My renewed interest in flower basket quilts is largely inspired by two things. The first is a project my youngest grandson Evan and I undertook to practice our photography skills. The second influencer is the incredible artistic viewpoint expressed in the nature studies my friend Heidi Egerman creates. I am inspired to create a fiber translation of almost every nature photograph she posts. Finding Inspiration from the Natural Beauty of…
Make a Quilted Vintage Knitting Bag
Journal Entry: April 29, 2020. So many quilters are also knitters. Knitting is another favorite sit-and-do pastime of mine, too. What is one thing quilting and knitting can have in common? Why, a quilted vintage knitting bag. Of course! During our time living in London I ramped up my interest in knitting. I suppose just being there with all the rain, fog and cooler temperatures seemed to bring about lots of pleasant couch time watching old movies, drinking a cuppa tea and working with wool. So why make a vintage knitting bag? One day I picked up this wild hair to…
Quilting with Kids: Home Projects
Journal Entry: March 23, 2020. I’m thinking about these kids today. As one thought has led to another I’m thinking about the crazy times we are living in right now, watching the impact of the threat of a spreading virus and how it is changing my kids’ daily routines. I’m thinking about my grandkids and what they are doing to fill time away from friends and extracurricular activities, and these thoughts are leading me to think about the last project the girls and I shared. And then… those thoughts sent me down the path of thinking about last summer and…
Quilt Designs Inspired by Monet’s Garden: Monet’s Lilies #1 and #2
Journal Entry: March 15, 2020. The inspiration for my Monet wall hanging and bed-size quilts came from an interesting series of events related to Claude Monet’s garden. It started from a long phone conversation with my youngest granddaughter Lily, who had visited Monet’s home in Giverny, Normandy, France with her mom during a summer vacation. Claude Monet is my absolute favorite of the famous Impressionist painters. Lily provided a wonderfully detailed description of her experience: the gentle beauty of the gardens, colorful flowers and lily ponds, and Monet’s personal collection of paintings. During our chat I mentioned how much I admired…