Here’s a selection of some of my quilts. I hope you enjoy them.
My Millie
(80×100″) February 2021
A year-long block of the month led by Katja Marek (Kamloops, BC). The top was completed by the end of 2015 and then sat, unquilted until 2021. It is hand-pieced and machine quilted and, despite the picture, is rectangular! Very happy that it’s finally finished!
Kendyl on Horseback
(31×29″) March 2020
A commission quilt from a photograph. I used Katie PM’s Fractured Landscape technique to make the background more interesting and to draw attention to the rider. Appli-pieced background, fused horse and rider. Private collection.
The Pinnacles
(42×32″) December 2019
Based on a picture I took in the amazingly beautiful Nambung National Park in Western Australia, started in a Fractured Landscape class with Katie Pasquini Masopust. Machine appli-pieced and quilted.
Island Connection
(32×23″) September 2019
A view from Gabriola Island towards Vancouver Island. The “connection” here is the distant ferry, which connects all of us Island dwellers to the rest of the world. Improvisational piecing, appli-piecing, strip piecing.
Kilchurn Castle
(22×30″) August 2019
This is “my” castle in Scotland! I drew it as part of an exercise in drawing in Calgary (1990s), then found it unexpectedly on our first trip to Scotland. Improvisational piecing, fused applique, foundation paper piecing. Private collection.
Iona Nunnery
(28×33″) September 2019
Based on a photograph I took on the Isle of Iona (Scotland) in 2008. Appli-piecing, couching, hand embroidery, cotton and tulle.
Earth, Air, Fire, Water
(27×43) July 2019
I experimented with “slab” (improvisational) piecing combined with appli-piecing. Very simply quilted with echo lines.
Rain Tree
(33×26″) June 2019
Confetti leaves, appli-pieced horizon, fused tree, machine lace ferns. Based on a picture I took in Maui of a Monkey Pod/Rain tree.
Celtic Connection
(39×39″) January 2019
Made for the show “Connections: Canvas and Cloth” with Eileen McGann. Eileen loves purple and Celtic knots. Mock Mola technique (reverse applique by machine) made with a yummy piece of Ricky Tims’ hand-dyed fabric.
From Space
(40×21″) June 2018
Based on a photograph taken by Commander Chris Hadfield from the International Space Station in 2013 of the Rio Beni in Bolivia. Used with permission.
Cotton, hand dyes, Dupioni silk and white satin. Improvisational piecing and appli-piecing.
Philately No 2: Fordyce Bathhouse
Queen sized quilt (80×100″) 2018
After a visit to Hot Springs Arkansas, I came home with pictures of a 1910 tile floor from the Fordyce Bathhouse Museum. The 1″ tiles screamed at me to make a postage stamp quilt! 9 months of piecing 8,181 one inch squares later …
Portrait of Burr Lodge
(31×24″) September 2017
My cousin used to live in this house and she and her husband put a lot of work into it to restore it to its former glory.
Fused applique, confetti applique, thread work. Private collection.
Surfer
(31×22″) September 2016
Based on a “blind painting” exercise in a design class by Katie Pasquini Masopust, this quilt came from what remained on my palette at the end – adding one element extra. Instead of appliqué, I decided to PAINT the quilt. Quilted it first, then I painted both the quilt and the fabric for the binding.
Whole cloth, machine quilted, painted using Jacquard Lumiere paints appliquéd figure.
Knoxvilla
(August 2016) wall hanging
This quilt is a portrait of my brother’s old house, just north of Port Hope, Ontario. It is made with fusible appliqué, and confetti appliqué (from the work of Ruth Bloomfield in Queensland, Australia), with lots of stitching on top.
Private collection.
Machine pieced, appliquéd and quilted.
Snowflake
June 2016
I started piecing this in August 2011. Original design, using approximately 1500 1/2′ hexagons. My design was based on a photograph taken by Wilson A. Bentley, who is the first to take microscopic pictures of snowflakes and discovered that no two are alike.
The top was completed by November 2012.
Michael Miller “Fairy Frost” fabric and Cherrywood hand dyes. Swarovski crystals. Hand pieced and machine quilted.
Embrace
(35″x28 1/2″) July 2015
What I’ve been working on during the summer of 2015. This is a wedding present for my nephew and his wife – and they got it BEFORE their first anniversary!
I pieced the background water and hills using Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry’s applipiecingtechnique. Everything above and behind the tree was quilted before I added the tree. The arbutus tree was fused onto another piece of fabric then zig-zagged onto the background. Then I added the bottom swirly green foreground and fused on the leaves.
Machine pieced and quilted.
A Tree Grows in Gainesville
(approx 25″x70″) March 2015
A commission quilt for friends in Florida. The quilt lives in a mostly-white room with only splashes of colour and teak furniture. The background was made using Marci Baker’s technique described in her book ABC-3D, with a fused appliquéd tree.
Machine pieced and quilted.
REFRACTIONS: Mud, Brush and Needle
I recently completed a series of quilted wall hangings which were part of a challenge with two friends, Eileen McGann (painter) and Louise Parsons (potter). The show was called “Refractions: Mud, Brush and Needle“, and I took a year and a half to make my ten pieces. They were all shown at the Cedar Hill Arts Centre in Victoria BC from February 19 to March 5th, 2014.
The first three pieces: “Prisms” (29″x22″),
“Drawing Straws” (35 1/2″x 41 1/2″) and
“Lenny’s Dahlias” (26″x24″) (Private collection)
“Wave Theory” tryptich (three 25 1/2″ x 16″ pieces) done with Mock Mola™ reverse appliqué (private collection)
“Fractured” (35″x29″) also made using Mock Mola™ appliqué
“Lake Cowichan Sunset” (32 1/2″x23″) (private collection) and
“Ice Diamond” (41 1/2″ x 41 1/2″)
“Port Angeles Harbor” (42 1/2″ x 21 1/2″) and
Eucalyptus deglupta: Rainbow Gum (30″ x 22 1/2″) (private collection)
Wild Horses
(75″x95″) October 2012
I made this quilt for our former next door neighbour, Fern, who also took care of our office/mail/phone for the last 10 years. She has finally retired from helping us out, but I am so happy that I was able to make this quilt for her granddaughter as a birthday/Christmas present. Horse fabric that I have collected in my travels, and a pattern based on one showed to me in Florida earlier this year.
Machine pieced, machine quilted.
Private collection.
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The Quilt Show Quilt Small Wall Hanging 2012I gave this quilt to Ricky Tims and Alex Anderson during my taping of the Quilt Show in Colorado in August 2012 (Episode 1204). It is made using their logo for the show, and my “Mock Mola Appliqué” technique, which I was demonstrating on the show. Machine quilted using “Mock Mola appliqué”. Private collection. |
Labyrinth
Wall Hanging May 2012
I made this Mock Mola quilt to solve some problems involved in the raw edge technique when the design is on grain. My solution was to do a satin stitch on the top fabric BEFORE I cut the overlay away, then cut very close to the stitching to reveal the colour. It is a combination of two labyrinths: Caerdroia on the top and a Roman labyrinth on the bottom. It is a closed labyrinth, with no entry point.
Machine quilted in my “Mock Mola appliqué” technique.
Heron Croft
(70″x70″) March 2011
This is a quilt I made for my brother, Doug’s office. He lives on a property near Georgian Bay and this is the view after you walk for about 20 minutes along a woodlands path. The distant hills are the end of the Niagara Escarpment. I chose to do a wintry scene because it will be hung on a medium-green wall. Doug gave me one word to help me design this quilt: Zen. I hope that it will evoke peace and tranquility to everyone who looks at it.
Machine pieced using Caryl Bryer Fallert’s “appli-piecing” technique, machine quilted (with inspiration from Leah Day’s “365 Days of Free Motion Quilting“. Every seam is couched with sparkly yarns. (Private collection)
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Insanity It’s called “Insanity” because everyone I’ve shown this quilt to as I’ve been working on it I am VERY happy that this quilt was juried into the Hand Pieced, hand tied using Colonial knots.
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Kassius (fat quarter size) February 2010I made this quilt for a friend in England, using my “Mock Mola™” appliqué technique. She named him, and gave me permission to take him along on our four-month spring tour around North America. We took pictures of him in many locations and he kept everyone up to date on our travels by writing the tour blog. Kass made the journey to his new home in July 2010. Machine quilted. Private collection. |
Requiem
(41 x 35″) January 2010
In the summer of 2009 I attended the Ricky Tims Super Seminar in Lynnwood WA,
where I purchased a piece of Ricky’s hand-dyed fabric.
It’s been sitting there, ever since, awaiting inspiration.
Using my Mock Mola technique (raw edge reverse appliqué),
my thoughts were drawn to the tragedy of our pine trees here in British Columbia,
decimated by the mountain pine beetle. This piece is the result.
Judy Morningstar has reviewed this piece:
“The piece is very yummy and strong. Great utilization of a spectacular fabric.
I like the contrast between the squares and circles,
and the diagonal line the red makes connecting both sides”.
Machine quilted.
Australian Shadows
(65″ x 52″) March 2009
I’ve been collecting Australian Aboriginal prints for some time, and decided at a January quilting retreat to finally do something with them. This quilt is based on Colleen Wise’s “Casting Shadows” technique.
I have had so many people ask for a pattern for this quilt, that I’ve finally released it. Order it here.
Machine pieced and quilted.
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Through a Lens I fell in love with the background fabric Machine pieced and quilted, hand embellished. |
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Constant Hill This is my first commissioned quilt, made for Rob Young’s CD, called “Constant Hill”. Machine “appli-pieced”, some hand appliqué, machine quilted. Private collection.
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Black and White and Bright All Over I’ve been collecting black and white fabrics for a long time. I gave this quilt to my granddaughter in January 2012. Machine pieced and quilted. |
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Shattered Green (45 1/2″ x 57″) July 2008I took a class at the Satin Moon with my friend Susan Purney-Mark, and this was the result. I really enjoyed working with these complimentary colours, and working entirely from my stash. Susan’s technique is called Shattered Angles. It is one of the quilts in her new book on this technique called “Accent on Angles“. |
This quilt was included in my first gallery show “Refractions: Mud, Brush and Needle”, February 19-March 5, 2014 at Cedar Hill Art Gallery, Victoria BC.
Machine pieced and quilted.
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Philately No. 1 5,120 1-inch squares machine sewn together from my scrap bag. I didn’t buy any fabric for this, except for the back. So, why is it my scrap bag is STILL overflowing??? Therefore, there are more scrap quilts in my future, perhaps even made in this very old traditional style: the postage stamp quilt. Thanks to Rosemary Stieg in Pennsylvania for showing me her technique, and to Gord Stengel from the Satin Moon Quilt shop in Victoria, for his donation of scraps to the cause. This quilt is featured on the cover of The Singing Quilter Songbook. Machine pieced and quilted. |
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Machine pieced and quilted.
Seven Garden Maze
Wall Quilt 43″ x 38″, April 2006
1519 silk hexagons, hand-pieced while we were driving on various tours between 2004 and 2006. I wanted to try the QuiltPatis technique of plastic re-usable templates, but didn’t want to do a traditional Grandmother’s Flower Garden quilt. Instead, I thought of Carol Shields’ book “Larry’s Party” and the hero’s interest in garden mazes, and designed a maze of hexagons!
Thai Dupioni silk. Hand pieced, hand and machine quilted.
If you would like the pattern for this quilt, and PROMISE that you’ll send me a picture of it when it’s finished, I’ll email it to you for free!
I’m Still Alive
Queen sized – 80″ x 100″, summer 2006
The last in the “5-Star” niece/nephew quilts.
This one is for my youngest nephew, Dan, who is the only other musician in my family (a guitar player too, as you can see by the upper right-hand block). The quilt is inspired by a trip Dan made to Australia and New Zealand. Three of the centre blocks are reproductions of photographs he took. The bottom right-hand block represents the tree-ferns in New Zealand. The outside border features Australian Aboriginal fabric that I have collected in our travels. And the song is the music and lyrics to his favourite Pearl Jam song:
“I’m Still Alive”. I LOVED making this quilt!
Devon’s Volleyball Quilt
Queen sized, summer, 2005
My nephew, Devon, received his quilt at the Queen’s University Homecoming in September of 2005. He was the Setter of the Queen’s volleyball team, something like the quarterback in a football game. He provided a few of his championship volleyball t-shirts,
which I’ve incorporated with portraits of his dog Bruce (see Robin’s quilt, below, for the same block), his cat Zoë, his favourite vacation spot: Cedar Lake, and as much volleyball fabric as I could find.
The quilt is machine pieced and machine quilted and appliquéd in a variety of styles, as usual. Number 4 in the series of 5-Star quilts.
Machine pieced, appliquéd and quilted.
The Star and Plume Quilt
68″ x 90″, 2005
I made this quilt after I wrote the song (of the same name)on my third quilting CD “A Quilter’s World“. It tells a happy-ending story about our favourite quilt gal, Sunbonnet Sue, who finds true love after some dicey moments with an intruder, using 46 quilt block names to tell the story. Thanks to Barbara Brackman for her wonderful “Encyclopedia of Quilt Block Patterns”, where I not only got the names of the blocks, but also what they look like. If you have “A Quilter’s World”, you can “follow the bouncing ball”
and read along with the quilt as the song is playing!
In August 2013 I brought this quilt along to tape my episode of The Quilt Show with Ricky Tims and Alex Anderson. In their weekly blog they have turned this quilt into a JIGSAW PUZZLE!!
Machine and hand pieced and appliquéd, machine quilted. Each block is 9″.
Finished in the car on our way to Texas, January 2005.
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Robin’s Quilt This is the 3rd in the niece/nephew’s quilts series, and it That’s Rob on the right!
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Postcard from the Other Victoria – Ogden Point toward the Olympic Mountains 15″ x 12″, 2004Made for the SCQuilters New Zealand Retreat in April 2004 (I finished the quilt in January). Each of us was asked to produce a “postcard” from where we live. We live in a beautiful part of the world, and I’m proud to show it off. |
15″x12″ machine pieced and machine appliquéd, machine quilted. At the retreat, I traded this for one from Mary-anne Rooney (of “One Stitch at a Time” fame). It now lives in Dead Dog Gully, Victoria, Australia!
Machine pieced, appliquéd, and quilted.
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Geese in the Garbage This is a little quilt. This quilt won a second prize in the Victoria Quilters Guild Also featured in the 2007 “Through a Musician’s Eyes” calendar Machine (paper) pieced and quilted. |
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Bears in the Mountains Queen sized, 2003Machine pieced, machine quilted in our RV during the spring 2003 tour, this one is the most traditional quilt I’ve made so far. It’s a queen sized quilt for John’s sister and brother-in-law in Cranbrook, who live at the foot of a glorious mountain range. The quilting is an intricate design of huckleberries, with a few hearts thrown in for luck. Bears’ paw pattern in the middle, with Delectable Mountains on either end. Machine pieced and quilted. |
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Buddy and Strider Around Australia (queen) 2002This large queen quilt was made for John’s daughter Sara and her partner Joe and completed in 2002. Machine pieced and quilted, hand appliquéd, it has a decidedly Australian theme, with Aussie colours and animals (kangaroo, turtle, echidna, geckos, frogs, camels). Around the outside border are dog prints. Sara and Joe’s dogs, Buddy and Strider, never saw Australia before they went to doggie heaven, so here they are, having a “walkabout” around the outside! |
This quilt was featured on Alex Anderson’s “Simply Quilts”
(I demonstrated the making of the turtle) on Episode #833.
It was also chosen for Quilt Canada’s National Juried Show in Fredericton New Brunswick in 2003.
Included in Victoria Quilters’ Guild 25 Year Commemorative Journal, 2007.
Machine pieced, hand appliquéd, machine quilted.
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So Long, and Thanks for all the Fish! Made for Pamela and Richard Hoblak-Bunge in 2001, Hand appliquéd, machine pieced and quilted. |
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Anna’s Quilt Queen sized, 2000The second of the “coming of age” quilts. I made this based on my niece Anna’s wishes: coniferous trees, stars, a northern Ontario scene at night, her cat, camping (including a campfire with marshmallows and a tent that opens), and a rowing scull. She also wanted the strippy border with her high school, camp and university logos. The tessellated maple leaves are my idea. She’s going to be travelling internationally in her chosen career, and I wanted her to remember where she was from. |
This quilt was made using a variety of techniques: machine piecing, paper piecing, hand appliqué, machine quilting. It was made in Darwin, Australia, when I was writing the “One Stitch at a Time” quilting CD. I finished it in September of 2000.
Machine pieced, hand appliquéd, machine quilted.
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Bali Stars I made this quilt while we were living in Darwin Australia, This quilt won Best of Show at the Fred’s Pass Rural Show Machine pieced and machine quilted.
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Andrew’s Quilt Completed in March 1999 for my nephew, Andrew, I had no idea what I was doing, and it still turned out okay! Pieced and quilted by machine. Some hand appliqué.
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