FROM STUDIO TO SHOW

CRAYONS in process

Liberated methods drive my quiltmaking process. I choose a little fabric and color I want to work with, just enough to get started because I am free to add and subtract as I go along. I begin to piece parts. Here you see a few parts and initial ideas for an arrangement on the design wall. I think about this as an audition. 

I first met Gwen Marston after looking into quilters from Michigan, and Gwen is the mastermind behind Liberated Quiltmaking. Another student of Gwen's, Fern Royce fernroycequilting.com once said that a Liberated Quiltmaker is someone who has an idea for a quilt and she figures out how to sew it together. For this quilt, I had a general intention to make "marks", lines, squares and triangles marching around and about.  

I like a mix of free cut and straight seams, or lines. Frequently asking "what if" is sometimes followed by "what was I thinking"?!! A balance of spontaneous sewing and more deliberate moments is a nice routine. Patches of wide open space offers a stage for the quilting.

Looking back on a few notes I made during this process, I can share that I had a jolly good time from start to finish. 

CRAYONS 45" x 44"

The award was icing on the cake. Crayons, First Place Small Wall Quilts-Hand Quilted at AQS QuiltWEEK Spring Paducah, April 2018

photo taken in the studio at MADELINE ISLAND SCHOOL OF THE ARTS

QUILTWEEK---SPRING PADUCAH 2018

Thank You AQS for the honor of First Place, Small Wall Quilts-Hand Quilted. Congratulations to the other Semi-finalists and Award Winners. You keep me inspired!

Crayons 45" x 44"

The sponsor of the category: Martelli Enterprises

The judges: Hollis Chatelain, Ricky Tims, Donna Wilder

34th Annual QuiltWEEK Paducah with 405 quilts representing 44 states and 14 countries

MADELINE ISLAND SCHOOL OF THE ARTS--October 2018

Your invitation has arrived! Join me for a 5 day workshop at Madeline Island School of the Arts. 

STUDIO HAND QUILTING---Discover, experiment and develop your individual stitching style.
class information and registration 

All are welcome, including machine quilters who would like to embellish with hand quilting and stitching. 

random stitching with linen thread

A short ferry ride across Lake Superior carries you to Madeline Island, the largest of the Apostle Islands, and it is lovely in October!

MISA offers 24 hour deluxe studio space, fine accommodations and excellent meals. Our needs are well tended! Did I say that the meals are excellent? And there are cookies and beverages in the studio for those needed breaks.  There are walking trails through the campus prairie for active breaks.  

Everyone looks so studious and busy---staged! This was a lively group.

I hope to see you in October!  ps....Sue Spargo is holding a workshop in the next room, so the campus will be filled with stitchers! 

WORKSHOP-WOODLAND RIDGE JUNE 2018

sometimes there is serendipity

Just like making a quilt, I enjoy all steps of the workshop process. The prep for class finds me gathering thoughts and quilts to illustrate the theme and inspire you. I make new work to share. From my library, I'll share some of the books of quilt collections and history that keep me coming back for more. 

I was a camp counselor and it's still how I see things. My task is to mark the path to adventure, then support your discovery. Let's go campers! See you at Woodland Ridge. Maybe we will even have S'Mores, or something comparable. 

* in the small study 8" x 11" in the photo, I wanted to work with larger pieces of color in an uncluttered manner

Workshop info. Woodland Ridge   Minimalist Design, Maximum Impact  June 5-9, 2018