Friday, December 23, 2016

Saturday, April 9, 2016

Gradient Burst Quilt


Gradient Burst 53” x 59”
Quilt Now Magazine issue 20 (February 2016)

The desire to make this quilt started as more of a desire for the process. The intention was to create a unified work using a bundle of strips - I wanted a project where I could mindlessly sew strips, and use just a bit of concentration while trimming and cutting the pieces. I wanted something that would draw the viewer in, contain their senses for a moment. Following the continuity of line, and contrast of color I worked to create a striking quilt. Sometimes the simplest strips can do unexpected things.



Gradient Burst pillow. Made using the scraps from the quilt. Featured in the Craftsy Month blog hop.

Runaway Flowers

This quilt was featured in issue 16 of Quilt Now magazine (October 2015). I'm excited to see it all professionally photographed! Once it came home from the magazine it went on another trip - to be exhibited at International Quilt Festival Chicago! 



Runaway Flowers (Longarmed by T & F Quilting, Lemont, IL) 57” x 71”

Inspired by the stark, colors and shapes of graphic art, this piece was made as a challenge of my color choosing ability. I stretched my comfort zone to choose fabrics that reminded me of summertime. Like summertime, these colors remind me of popsicles, pure blue skies, and rich vibrant flowers. A play off the daisy-chains I wove as a child, the drunkard’s path blocks connect into flowers and create the basis of this light and airy summer quilt.

IQF used my quilt in the online promos! Way cool!

This quilt was shown at the International Quilt Festival 2016, 
Special Exhibits: Modern Quilt Guild, Drunkards Path.




Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Singing Squares - Quilt Now issue 15!


This month's issue of Quilt Now magazine includes my Singing Squares quilt and pillow. This is probably one of my very favorite quilts I've made in a long time. It's no surprise that I adore Anna Maria Horner's fabrics, and her Folk Song line is one of the best fabric lines in a long time. It speaks to me. Much more than just that, the line of fabric splits so easily into warm / cool stacks. That was my inspiration for this quilt - playing with scale and negative space, warm and cool. I also wanted to make this quilt very charm square friendly. I have already used my stack of AMH charms (so sweetly gifted to me by a friend who participated in the AMH Charm Swap a few years back), but I know so many people still have those charms and are waiting for the perfect project to use them! This project is the one! 


This quilt comes together quickly, it uses about half a FQ bundle (or a bunch of charms / scraps), and paired with linen the colors really pop!


The pillow was a bit of an extra - and I backed it with some scraps of Anna Maria Horner's velveteen. It's so cozy! 


If you make a quilt using this pattern I would love to see it.

Friday, September 11, 2015

Color Gradient Pouch - Quilt Now Magazine!



When you submit items to magazines a lot of the time you don't really have a solid date as to when they'll hit the newsstands... so imagine my excitement when I realized that two of my projects are in magazines this month! 

My Color Gradient Pouch is in this month's Quilt Now Magazine! I love this pouch! Here's the story - last spring I was really geeking out over this teal / coral combo. I just NEEDED it in my life. (I'm still in love with it - what's not to love?) Anyway, I just wanted to go buy all the coral fabrics. My husband and I had a morning off, and we decided to go to the fabric store together. It was totally sweet. Wally and I were stacking bolts of solids, and playing with color options. He was impressed that that sort of thing is a regular happening at a quilt shop! He helped me pick out these colors - and as the shop ladies cut it from the bolts I dashed around to the Art Gallery shelf to find a coordinating print. Wally was adorable, talking me up to the shop owner. It was pretty sweet. I'm glad that he's interested enough in my projects to join in a little bit!


Ok. So the details about the pouch - it measures at about 10" x 10" It's flat on the bottom, and a layer of Fusible Fleece inside there keeps it sturdy enough to stand on it's own. And yes, those are 1/2" finished stripes. :)  I hope you'll go grab a copy of Quilt Now issue 14 and make one for yourself!