2000s

Infestation (June, 2000)

I dearly love finding fabrics to fit the theme. All the vegetables are appliquéd onto some sort of bug fabric. Most patterns were from a Piece of Cake design, but a few, like the corn block, I designed myself. This is one of my favorite quilts.

Chickens in a Stew (2001)

I combined all the chicken patterns I could find into this piece, that is made with bright contemporary fabrics.

Redplay (2001)

I like to embroider and needed a carry along project for a cruise.  Although traditional redwork appeals to me, the topics are a little too sweet.  These chickens have an attitude.  The lettering was reworked from the original pattern by Mary Larson.

Charlie Brown and the Pumpkin Patch (2001)

Friends convinced me to make a Stack and Whack quilt which turned out to be great fun.  The pieced hexagons are made entirely from one fabric featuring Charlie Brown and his friends. The border fabric that best coordinated with the blocks featured palm trees.  Thus the title.  The pieced part of the quilt was made on 9-13-01 and provided a diversion from the events in NYC but I will always associate the making of this quilt with that tragedy. Machine quilted by Kathy Gray.

Burgoyne Surrounded (2001)

I have always loved this pattern, which is usually made with just two colors.  We needed a new quilt for our bed, so I made this version, that includes five colors. Machine quilted by Kathy Gray.

Fire (2003) & Ice (2003)

This is a charm quilt made with 2 ½” (cut size) fabrics from my stash and that of my friend, the late Pat Gallagher.  Fabrics were collected between 1998 and 1999 and one lovely summer at Black Butte Ranch in Sisters, Oregon, they were sewn together into nine patches.  They were later assembled into this quilt and a companion piece, Ice.  They were machine quilted by Kathy Gray and completed in 2003.

Sailor Jerry and the Rose Tattoo (2003)

Most of the tattoo patterns (flashes) were designed by “Sailor Jerry” Collins, a famous tattoo artist in Hawaii during WWII.  They were later published in a book by his apprentice, Kate Hillenbrand.  The block that says “In Memory of my Buddies” originally had a gun and a helmet. I replaced those with a pair of scissors and a thimble. The finished size is 37” by 55.”

Fruit Appliqué (2004)

My vegetable quilt was such fun to make that I felt inspired to tackle these patterns, most of which were by Piece O’ Cake Designs, Inc.  While making this quilt I came up with a new method of appliqué using Glad Press n’ Seal.  It is by far my favorite way to appliqué now and I use it all the time.  The biggest drawback to making this was finding background fabric I liked. My friend, Jill Halbert, came to my rescue here and I am so grateful to her.

Stash Stars (2005)

This was a pattern in the book, Variable Star Quilts, by McLCloskey & Nancy Martin, that I have always liked.  Making it was an ideal way to thin out my stash of fabrics.  It was machine quilted by Kathy Gray.

Australia Remembered (2005)

I have such fond memories of trips to Australia, one of which was with a quilt group.  Over the years I have kept small pieces of fabric from there.  There have been several members of McLean QU from Australia, most of whom were from Embassy families.  They have been such good people.  Early in 2005 I saw quilts made by cutting four, four inch squares of one fabric and sashing it with strips cut 1”.  This was a good opportunity to combine the fabric with the pattern.

Frank Lloyd Wright Window (2008) 

This pattern came from the book, Quilts in the Tradition of Frank Lloyd Wright, by Jackie Robinson, 1995. It was made as a gift to my son-in-law, Ian Gale. The original window is in the Charles Ennis house in Los Angeles.

Triple Four Patch Quilt (2008)

The triple four patch pattern is one I have always liked.  It combined well with reproduction era fabrics made with designs from quilts at the Virginia Quilt Museum. The quilt top was donated to the McLean Quilter’s Unlimited annual auction and purchased and quilted by Jen Emry.

Zorro (2009)

We were challenged in my Old Dominion Applique Society group to make a 36” square piece using a letter from the alphabet. I was lucky to draw a Z.  It had to include ten items that began with your letter.  Can you identify all ten?

Sewing Bubbles (2009)

This layering technique for making the bubbles (as shown to me by my friend, Barbara Elwell)  gave me a wonderful excuse to use my assortment of greens.  The templates for the circles were all from household items.  No fusibles were used. The top was made entirely by machine and was machine quilted by Marlyn Leebove.

Donated Quilts

Much of the satisfaction of quilting is making quilts for others.  Over the years I have had the pleasure of making many of these on my own and as part of group service projects.  Some of the recipients include Evergreen School in Seattle, WA (the school my grandchildren attended), Walter Reed Army hospital (making quilts for wounded returning soldiers, baby quilts to motivate young mothers to continue their schooling (through McLean QU), QU fundraisers (fundraising quilts are sold at each annual show), a fund raiser for a local breast cancer support group, and baby quilts for special people.  Samples of these are shown below.