A Flower Basket Quilt: Batik & Wool
A flower basket quilt design filled with colorful flower dot shapes made from embellished appliqué batik and hand-dyed wool. Journal Entry: September 18, 2020. Well, I missed a goal of finishing my second flower basket quilt by the International Dot Day, September 15. A day of celebrating creativity, courage and collaboration seemed like the perfect target for introducing my latest Pretty Pots flower basket design Panier de Points (translation: Basket of Dots). Instead of rushing the project, I let my energies concentrate on enjoying the process. I love finishing with hand appliqué, embroidery and adding embellishment the most. Handwork feeds my spirit, calms my soul and…
Batik Quilt Fabric with Wool to Dye For
It’s all about the quilt’s fabric chosen for this flower basket: batiks and wool in a quilt design inspired by Banyan Batiks’ Dot Necessities. Journal Entry: August 30, 2020. The fabric I used in my latest Pretty Pots flower basket design for Organically GrammaTM, Panier de Points (translation: Basket of Dots) is the focus of this quilt. I had a Make-Me-Now moment when Karen Gibbs, Design Director for Northcott’s Banyan Batiks, showed me Color Me Banyan Dot Necessities, a Banyan Batiks Studio collection. The wheels started turning as my imagination conjured up the image of a project—batiks…and wool…in a Pretty Pot, of course! Why Batik and Wool?…
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…
Quilting With Kids: Gramma’s Retreat 2020
Lots more fun designing fabric and quilting at the 4th Annual Quilting with Kids at Gramma’s Quilt Retreat. Fabric dyeing, printing and marbling, a quilted jacket and throw quilt were main events.
Kids Designing Fabric: Sun Printing and Marbling
Kids designing fabric with sun print and marbling. The experiences of a young quilter at the 4th Annual Quilting With Kids at Gramma’s Quilt Retreat
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…
Hand-dyed Fabric Gift: Tarot Cards and the Magic Bag
Journal Entry: December 13, 2013 I was searching for a gift for my daughter-in-law Jillian’s birthday. I wanted to find something unique because she has been so helpful to us while we’ve lived in London, particularly overlooking the love and care of our dog Abby. She is an aspiring author so I ran a search through the Internet to find ideas of gifts for authors. To my surprise, I discovered that a lot of authors use Tarot Cards to identify characters and even themes for their books. The cards sounded like a fun gift… and they begged for a vintage…