Click the image again to see a larger view, with additional detail

This quilt is the result of a class I taught in the use of the overhead projector as a tool in design. The pots were just samples that I drew for the class, but I liked them enough to go ahead and finish them as a quilt. The pots are raw-edge applique'd to a pieced background, colored with oil pastels, and heavily thread painted to give dimension. The rays of light coming down from the upper right (Heaven) are made of gold organza heavily encrusted with multiple sizes of gold seed beads and bugle beads, filling the pots. Each of the thousands of beads was hand sewn after quilting, keeping the beading thread in between the quilt layers. Fibers are commercially produced 100% cotton, nylon tulle, and organza. The label on the back is the full size of the pots and contains the following scripture which was the inspiration for the design:

"For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed..."
II Corinthians 4:6-9

Treasure In Earthen Vessels won the award for Best Use of Color in The Shaker Challenge in 2006 before all of the beading was completed. It was juried into the Pacific International Quilt Festival in Santa Clara, California in 2008.

Click the image again to see a larger view, with additional detail

This quilt was made specifically for the Obsidian Opera Company to use as a fund raiser. I wanted the quilt to convey an opera theme, so I started out by deciding on a name for it and then designed it to fit the name. Tutti Fior ("all flowers") is the name of the flower duet in Madame Butterfly written by Giacomo Puccini. The color wash piecing method was used for flower bouquets adorning the corners. The vivid blue center medallion, with a hint of an Asian look, uses the initials "O.O.C." (Obsidian Opera Company) extending outward from the center, cut as one would cut a snowflake; then hand applique'd to the black background (known as the Hawaiian applique' technique). The center is embellished with embroidered flower buds, beads, and handmade silk ribbon roses. Hand embroidered silver floss outlines the medallion. The flower bouquets are bedewed with Swarovski crystals and Czech fire polish beads. Borders were inspired by "The Curved Two-Patch System" by Joyce M. Schlotzhauer. All fabrics including more than 50 flower fabrics with black backgrounds are commercially produced 100% cotton.

Tutti Fior was juried into shows in the Deschutes Country Library and the American Quilters Society Show in Paducah, Kentucky, 2006.

Click the image again to see a larger view, with additional detail

The theme for my guild's 2008 Shaker Challenge was "Wordplay" and I took it quite literally after finding a fabric with printed letters. I love international cuisine and chose to use cooking terms that weren't necessarily used every day in American kitchens. This was my second venture into fabric collage after Double Vision. There are 40 food-themed novelty fabrics on the quilt that were "fussy cut" and placed with one another to form the borders and enhance the puzzle (plus a few butterflies for fun). Fabric used is 100% commercially produced cotton with rayon, polyester, cotton and metallic threads. Thanks to Kathy Shaker, the coordinator of the challenge named for her, for sharing her chili pepper fabric collection with me.

All of the 2008 Shaker Challenge quilts were shown as a special exhibit at the 2008 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show.

Gastronomique was juried into the Pacific International Quilt Festival in Santa Clara, California in 2008.

This quilt was made to use as a fundraiser for the Linda L. Vladyka Breast Wellness foundation in Salem, Oregon. I felt that a quilt for such a cause should be pink and incorporate the symbolic pink ribbon. The center medallion is a stylized pink breast cancer ribbon done in folded cutwork (cut as a paper snowflake): then hand applique'd to the background in the Hawaiian applique' method and outlined with hand embroidery. The background of the quilt is made up of two-inch "color wash" squares and surrounded by borders of pink ribbon inspired by "The Curved Two-Patch System" by Joyce M. Schlotzhauer. All fabrics are commercially produced 100% cotton.

Dianne was sold at silent auction in 2003. The winning bid was submitted by a friend and survivor, Dianne Luiz, for whom the quilt was named.

Click the image again to see a larger view, with additional detail

The newly formed Sewjourners art quilt group in Sunriver, Oregon challenged ourselves to work in pairs. Each pair would decide on a theme for just the two of them, work separately from one another and complete an art quilt that measured 2'x2'. So "two people, two quilts, two feet by two feet" caused us to name the challenge "Two By Two". I was paired with Wendy Hill and we chose to continue the "two" theme by calling our pair "Double Vision".

After going through some self-evaluation and long talks with my sister, my mind was full of how each of us gets through childhood and becomes the person we are. At the same time I received one of those emails with famous quotes and the gist of one quote was "no matter how good or bad you may perceive your childhood to be, it is over...work with what you have and move on". Using two mirrors to get a side view, I drew my profile, reproduced it facing both directions and hand applique'd it to a solid background. I then used seven different "curly-Q" stamps to show my hair around the face and did "broderie perse"-style (or "fussy cutting") applique' of floral and leaf fabrics in the hair and around the edges, throwing in a few butterflies here and there. This collage style was explored in workshops I took with Rosemary Eichorn in 2006 and Joyce R. Becker in 2007. Their techniques are different from one another, but I combined aspects of both for this piece. Quilted right above the profiles in gold are the words "learn from the past, hope for the future". The flowers in the hair are memories and experiences that one face uses to look at the past and the other face uses those experiences to encourage hope for the future. All fabrics are 100% commercially produced cotton with heavy machine thread painting in silk, rayon, cotton, and metallic threads.

The "Two by Two" quilts, 14 in all, were accepted for special exhibit at the 2008 Pacific International Quilt Festival in Santa Clara, California. The exhibit was coordinated by Wendy Hill.