Quilts from 2008 - 2009




Geraniums in the Window  24" x 25"This geranium window box and the ornate window were at a cafe in the Stubai Valley in Austria. We found the cafe at the end of a long, steep climb up the side of the valley - a most welcome break. The flowers are three dimensional, cut from batiks and attached by hand just at their centers.

Doors at Filoli.  24" x 30" I photographed all the doors and gates I could find at Filoli in Woodside, CA, and came up with these four. Lots of different techniques used, including painting the flower pots, and cutting some flowers from pre-printed fabric - the three dimensional gate was the biggest challenge.



A Christmas stocking for Natalie. I cut this down in Photoshop and used the image for a Christmas card (electronic version only) in 2008.



Camelias. 20" x 20" Inspired by the camilias at Filoli and the many photos I took there, but in the end mostly taken from pictures I found on the internet, with a lot of liberties taken. This is not a botanical guide!

Hydrangeas. 26" x 26" This is a "convergence" quilt, copied from some I saw at the quilt shows, with some hints and "how-to's" given by the lady who specializes in them. Pre-printed fabric.



Wood Block.  25" x 25"  I like the effect of grading fabrics from light to dark, and got the inspiration for the center from someone at my quilt group. I added the snail trail blocks because it needed something else and I have always wanted to try them; the border was added to match the center.


Journal Quilts

In 2008 we ran a monthly "challenge" at Wedgewood Quilters (my small quilt group) We picked a theme each month and had to produce journal quilts - 8" x 11". These five were my best efforts:




Theme: use a photograph in a quilt.  12" x 10"  This is Torr House in Carmel, built by poet Robertson Jeffers in the early 1900's from rocks he hauled up from the beach himself. I loved this cosy room with the view, but had to do it from memory, as no photos were allowed inside the house. The sea view was a photo I took more or less in front of the house, printed on fabric and machine quilted. The picture on the wall is of the tower that he built next to house. We visited just before Christmas, hence the poinsetta.

 



Theme: critters. 9" x 11"  A break from my realistic pictures. Wish I could do more like this. I used cheese cloth soaked in onion skins to color it, and bleach to "discharge" the twigs on the black panel. Some hand-spun wool too.

Theme:  using a photo  9" x 11" with the hibiscus printed on foundation paper, plus ribbon and beads.



Theme: vegetables. 8" x 11"  From a photo in a cookbook - where else?

 

Theme:  leaves.  8" x 11" I collected some leaves, painted them and stamped them on fabric that was pre-colored with tea. The border is three dimensional - leaves cut from painted fabric



Roundabout.  10" x 10"  The small blocks were pieced by hand, the rest by machine.

 

Fans and Doilies.   28" x 42" This was originally going to contain the yellow fans too, but at the last minute I decided to make it only the cooler colors. Not sure why now, I think it would have been better with more of a multi-color look. Too late now..... 

 

The yellows - 14" x 14"  rejected from the main quilt, and all out on their own.

Bowl and plate.  (7" diameter plate) The fabric is fused to Temtex (both sides) and the shapes are stitched together with a wide machined satin stitch. The picture on the plate was copied from a Delft plate.



Irises  8" x 6" Painted on muslin with Dynaflow paint, and machine quilted





Historic Houses in Santa Clara County.  22"  x 18" Prusch Farm House, San Jose; Rengstorff House, Mountain View; Harris Lass House, San Jose; Ainsley House, Campbell.  These were drawn in pen on a close weave muslin, a wash of sepia paint was added, and then flowers were embroidered for the gardens in front of each house. 18" x 24"

 





Sampler 60" x 60" I started out with a few experimental 12" blocks in 2004 - one of my first projects. They were one day going to be part of a quilt to hang on the very tall wall in the family room at our Saratoga house. Over the following years I tried various different technques in the same color theme - the celtic blocks, an Hawaiian applique, paper pieced houses, and a bird, a Drunkard's Path block, Snail Trails, and various stars and other blocks.  We were getting ready to sell the house in Saratoga when I decided it was time to put them together.  None of the blocks matched in size, so there was a lot of filling pieces, strips, etc., and getting it all to fit and hang straight was a nightmare. It eventually worked, but it never went on the wall at Bellwood Drive.





Lone Palm  10" x 10" I used hand spun wool (from a friend whose brother kept sheep on a farm in England - years ago) for the breaking waves. This was to be decoration for a bag, but somehow it never got there.







OTHER QUILTS




Garden Project with Wedgewood Quilters. 33" x 40"  We each made 11 blocks, 8" square on a garden theme, using green.   On the "due date" 11 brown paper bags were assembled and each bag received a block from each person.  The bags were then randomly distributed.  We then took them home and made our own quilts with 11 different blocks.  My own block is second one down on the right. 

 

Quilts from 2006 - 2007

Noddy 27" x 18" For Natalie on her fourth birthday - all raw edge applique copied from the Edin Blyton books. She's already outgrown Noddy.



Art-Nouveau Stained Glass, 17" x 32"  March 2006. Inspired by the Art Nouveau stained-glass windows of Stanislaw Wyspianski in the Franciscan Church, Krakow, Poland, from 2005 visit.




Brighton Pavilion.  28" x 24" For the sky I painted some of the fabrics using a resist for the stars. Blocks were then randomly pieced log-cabin style and patched together, with difficulty. The final swirls of the quilting was to convey a "Starry Night" feel. The building was mostly seamed together, and the domes and minarets are raw-edge applique. Strips of decorative ribbon with the edges cut off were used for the glitter effect on the dome.



Veggies for the Heart. 20" x16" This was a challenge quilt for the SCQVA Quilt Show in 2007. We were given fat quarters of the orange, purple and turquoise and could add five other fabrics. A heart had to appear in the picture, hence the "Certified Organic" notice on the eggplant.

Waterlillies and Koi. 18" x 18" Used pastel pencils on the 3D petals, beads in the center. Orange fabric for the fish with painted detail. The background has netting over the fish to create an underwater effect.

Diamonds and Squares  35" x 35" This one took a lot of working out to get the diamond and squares to fit together all with 2.5" blocks and half-square triangles

Tea Time at Mary's.  22" x 22" For Mary's xxth birthday. I like views through windows, and this was a very modified view from her back porch painted on fabric with Tsukeniko inks

Sue's Office at Meadow View. 24" x 20" This was a more accurate view of Sue's garden for her xxth birthday, with her antique desk and ornaments in front. The first desk picture (below) was my original version, which I kept. All three have photos of the girls from 2001.

Sue's antique desk  24" x 19"

Autmn Forest.  14" x 11" Raw edge applique, a painted background and Solvy trees.

Tulips.  20" x 22"  Started in a class given by Marjan Kluepfel, mostly using her hand-died fabric; one piece colored from dark green/blue to red/yellow. Raw edge applique



An actual bed quilt (about 60" x 60")  - the first of not very many. Started at Scrapbusters, and now keeping Louise warm in England.

Bridalveil Falls, Yosemite. 16" x 14" The background is painted on fabric, and the trees and rocks are glued in placed and then machine appliqued. The foliage is made from small scrap pieces of green batiks, randomly machined stitched between layers of Solvy (which when disolved and dried magically become trees). The stream/falls are pieces of unspun wool felted into an interfacing background with the addition of ribbon and thread.

Stream in a Forest.   19" x 16" A made up view; maybe a misplaced Ashness Bridge? Done with the same techniques as Bridalveil Falls.

First quilts from around 2004 - 2005



East West 18" x 20" Made originally with an East-West theme for the 2005 SCVQA show, with my first painting on fabric, a painted Chinese picture and a crochet doily. The flowers were cut from printed fabric.

Sea Vessels  18" x 22" One of my first wall hangings, designed to match the sea theme at Brighton Marina, and the curtains in the spare bedroom, where it now resides. Paper piecing method used.

Sailing 12" x 10" A very small sea theme for the spare bedroom -  this one has a painted sea with appliqued boats and machine quilting.  This is first of several wall hangings where I have a pieced border using the fabrics/colors that are in the main picture.  I like this effect.

Hamilton Ct  14" x 11" A very simplified impression of the block of flats across the water from St. Vincents Ct, mostly pieced with some machine applique.

In the Woods. 16" x 13"  Painted background and painted appliqued trees, plus some printed fabric.   

Fremont Older Open Space, Cupertino, from Hunter's Point.  14" x 18" A favorite place to hike, with quite a steep climb at the end.  This view is from the top looking back down the path.  Raw edge applique and machine embroidery.

Violets  12" x 10" The background is painted and the petals and leaves placed to match the background colors.   



My Favorite Things 21" x 19" I had two attempts at producing the stained glass effect on the lamp.  This version has a solid black background with the pieces fused in place leaving gaps for the "lead".  The rose is three dimensional.  Another matching pieced border.