Quilting

Quilt 9 March 2004	I wanted to try my hand at paper piecing. With a new nephew on the way I had a great opportunity to try a new process. It went together fairly easily, but I am not in love with paper piecing yet. I continued to practice my free motion quiliting. You can see a detail image here. Click on the picture to see a larger version.	Quilt 8 March 2004 60 x 85	Here's a quilt I made for Bill's manager to celebrate the team boat trips. It incorporates photo printed cotton fabric photos and hand-dyed flannels in a raw edge quilt design. I really love how quickly these raw edge quilts come together. There are 27 photos and 21 different colors of blue and green fabric. Click on the picture to see a larger version.
Quilt 7  February 2004 50 x 70	Kristen and I wanted to surprise a friend for her birthday. We decided to make a neutral toned raw edge quilt with a couple splashes of color. This quilt is made up of 36 different colors. Click on the picture to see a larger version.	Quilt 6 December 2003 50 x 70	My sisters family needed a quilt that could stand up to a lot of use and minimal fuss. I created a fun raw edge quilt using hand-dyed flannels for the front and back. Bill created the pattern designs. Click on each of the pictures to see a larger version. This quilt is made up of 21 different colors.
Quilts 4 & 5 December 2003  44 x 64	Since both of our families live in cold climates we decided they needed lap quilts to remind them of spring and to keep them warm through the winter. We decided to take pictures of the beautiful flowers in Northern California, print them on fabric and incorporate them into a quilt. We combined the photo squares with hand-dyed cotton fabric for the front and flannel for the back. This is what we came up with. I was inspired by a quilt in Batik Beauties by Laurie Shifrin. Click on the picture to see a larger version.	My First Quilt May 2003 38 x 38	I have been wanting to start quilting for several years now. A good friend decided that she also wanted to learn to quilt. We decided to give each other a quilting class for Christmas 2002. I decided that I wanted to capture the feelings of the water and foliage of California in my quilt. Never one to follow conventions, I decided that I needed to dye my fabric to get the look I wanted. Click here to see how the quilt was made and more photos. Since I wasn't sure if I would make many mistakes in my first quilt I dyed extra fabric. With all this extra fabric l decided to reduce the size of the quilt pattern and make two 20 inch pillows for us. They became quilts 2 & 3. With 3 quilts under my belt I decided to make some quilts for Christmas 2003 gifts.

Sewing

Package Pillows March 2004	After seeing similar pillows in a product catalog I decided I could make them myself. A little bit of velvet, some rubber stamps and some ribbon combine together to make a fun pillow for the sofa or under the tree. Click on the picture to see a larger version.	Sewing Helper January 2004	I saw something like this at a quilt show and decided that I should use this project to practice sewing and quilting on my new machine. I practiced my free motion quilting to create the quilted fabric.
Ottoman June 2003	A friend needed some extra storage and some foot space. This Ottoman was the result. Click on the picture to see a larger version	Sweatshirt January 2004	"I Can't Believe It's a Sweatshirt" - When I saw this pattern I knew it was for me. I have been converting sweatshirts to jackets for years to use when I am teaching. This one was fun and something else to do with my extra swatch pieces. Click on the picture to see a larger version
Backpack August 2003	I needed a backpack and I also needed something to do with all of the fat eigths that I was dyeing for my swatch catalog. It took more time than I wanted it to, but I love the results. Click on the picture to see a larger version

Fabric Embellishment

Fabric Painting

I love to paint fabric. This is just a few of my current projects. Click on the picture to see a larger version

Floor Cloths

Floor Cloths are a great way to add some color to the floor. Just a little bit of canvas and some white gesso gets it started and then some color adds the interest.