About Me
I have been quilting since 2003 but did
my first experiments in patchwork, hexagons cut out of newspaper, at about
the age of 8. I started making art quilts after my first trip to
Kauai and came back inspired with colorful images and photos I wished to recreate in fabric.
I have been involved with fabric all my
life. My grandmother taught me to sew at a young age and I would design
and make my own clothes. At 18 I went to college in Carlisle,
England and studied Textile Design majoring in weaving. My first real
job was working for Laura Ashley in one of their factories that produced clothing,
I was trained, becoming proficient using the sewing machine.
I have exhibited my quilts in various quilt shows, juried shows and international
competitions. My first ever entry won first place for novice quilter,
at the Nevada County Fair and I won a sewing machine. In 2005 my 'Ocean
Life at Bali Hai' quilt was accepted into the International Quilt Show at
Paducah and more recently was displayed at the Pacific International Quilt
Fair. ‘Tribute to Charley Harper’ has been shown at Sister’s, Oregon 2009
and the IQA Fall Show 2009, in Houston. It will be featured in Quilter's Newsletter, June/July 2010.
As well as quilting I enjoy painting, cooking, gardening and traveling. I spend time writing about the family friendly travel and have had articles published in various
magazines including Sierra Heritage.
My biggest love in quilting is color and
fabric. Kaffe Fassett has been a big influence on me. I heard him
speak at college and spent years knitting his sweater
patterns. Blending and selecting all those colors in yarn or
fabric is the best. The technique used on my quilts is mostly
raw-edge college appliqué. This allows me to cut, layer, then glue the
fabrics before machine quilting them. Influences for my quilts come from
many places. I use photos of landscapes, sea-life, birds and more recently the
work of illustrator Charley Harper.
I am currently making family tree quilts
incorporating photographs printed onto fabric. This school year I have set
myself the task of making a Quilt Journal. This means making a small 8 ½’’ X 11’’ quilt each week. This allows me
to experiment with a new technique on a small scale or to produce a quilt related to
current events.With 3 quilts to go I have almost completed this 'Journey Quilt'. I will get a photo up as soon as all the blocks are complete and arranged together.
I am just started my second year of teaching the Junior Quilters for Foothill Quilters Guild and during our monthly meetings we shall be making a quilt blocks for a sampler quilt. I hope to inspire the girls to not feel intimidated by quilting but to go ahead experiment and just to make quilts.
