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A Year Under the Aspens |
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I love my aspen tree series. They were created as one piece, using my variation of Noriko Endo's confetti technique for the leaves. The four panels depict the four seasons, the aging of an aspen tree, and the times of day. I took reference photos each season here in different areas around Steamboat Springs. The entire quilt took more than one year to complete, as I worked on each quilt after each season passed. The quilt won a First Place ribbon for Naturescapes at IQA Houston in 2008.
96x40, 2008
Hand appliqué, hand embroidery, machine quilted
Private Collection
Click here to see detail. |
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Elk River, Summer |
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I spent more than 2 years working on this quilt, using hundreds of fabrics and threads. I hand-embroidered summer wildflowers over every ground surface, and used ribbon embroidery for the tree leaves. The piece is still a show-stopper and I'm thrilled it lives in Steamboat Springs. There are many of our local animals hidden throughout the quilt. You'll notice it is similar to the first quilt I ever had a hand in helping to create, "Rhythm of the Yampa Valley."
40x40, 2004
Machine appliqué, hand embroidered, machine quilted
Private Collection
Click here to see detail. |
Hummingbird |
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I had wanted to create a hummingbird quilt for a long time. I spent the winter of 2006 working on this piece and entered it in IQA's 2007 Celebrate Spring! quilt competition in Chicago and won Best of Show. Surprise! I am still thrilled with this piece every time I get a chance to see it. The wing was created from a single piece of one of Mickie Lawler's hand-painted Skydyes. Who says you have to use them only for skies?
45x35, 2007
Hand appliqué, machine quilted
Private Collection, $8000
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Promises of Spring in the Bleak Midwinter |
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On April 1, 2005, I awoke from a dream about this quilt. I could see it hanging on the wall of a gallery. I got up and sketched it out, not knowing how I was going to create the transparent leaves. The answer was bridal tulle, which added the color, yet remained transparent. We had a long, cold winter that year, and I couldn't wait for spring. This is my depiction of that feeling. This quilt won a Second Place ribbon for Naturescapes in Houston that year.
60x28, 2005
Machine appliqué, machine pieced, machine quilted
Private Collection
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Sally at the Window |
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When my friends Debbie and Kenny returned from a family vacation in Mexico, I was invited over to look at Ken's black and white photography he took during the trip. This image of our friend Sally Claassen captured my eye, and I asked if I could adapt it into a quilt. Kenny agreed and I started work on it almost a year later. I wasn't sure how I was going to tackle the subject matter, but I drafted a pattern and then pieced the entire building together. Each of the windows has mitered corners surrounding the 'glass' panes (which were all cut from the same batik). Sally was appliquéd on top of the finished building. This quilt won me the Fairfield Master Award for Contemporary Quilting at IQA Houston (2006) and the Brother Wall Machine Workmanship Award from AQS Paducah in 2007.
40x51, 2006
Machine appliqué, machine pieced, machine quilted
Private Collection
Click here to see detail. |
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