baby ezra's quilt

Little Men, 2008, 38" x 42"
GIFTED TO EZRA COX

I finished Ezra’s quilt in the wee hours this morning. It is a design-as-you-go production which I started a few months ago with some scraps of Kaffe Fassett fabric.

Just before noon today I visited the new baby with his mom, Naomi Cox. Although Ezra slept through our sweet tea party, it was obvious he is a contented new being.

lap quilt series: no. 2

Italian Rainbow, 2008, 45" x 53"
COLLECTION OF CHRISTINE CARLSON

The luscious multi-colored sateen fabric from Italy shouted to be noticed. "Use me, use me."

This quilt is loosely styled after a Gee’s Bend one, with scissor-cut top pieces and uneven sides.

my quilting rules

Marbled Mania, in progress

I have only been quilting for 15 months but I have some rules I like to follow:

1. asymmetry I don't like making quilts with a repeated pattern, especially a symmetric one—as the eye only looks at one part of the design and then mentally finishes it.

2. express the fabric Instead of using published patterns, I like to have the fabric inspire the design of a quilt.

3. an unexpected element The addition of a non-matching fabric or an unusual detail adds delight to a quilt. Sometimes a fabric that would be considered “ugly” is the perfect touch.

for hannah mae

Little Dutch Girl, 2008, 25" square
COLLECTION OF HANNAH MAE COX

For Naomi Cox’s daughter Hannah Mae, I whipped up this doll quilt. The self-imposed exercise was to make a quilted piece with only two fabrics. The pieces were all cut with scissors—purposely a little uneven in shape.

I wanted to create a completely naive feel—with the simplicity of the fabrics and the messy quality of the piecing design. I even trimmed the outside edge with scissors so the quilt is not quite square.

The final touch is a 1" wide binding. The fabric for this was cut 6" wide, on the bias. What a lot of fabric it takes to make a wide binding!

lap quilt series: no. 1

Dreaming in Russet, 2008, 60" x 42"
COLLECTION OF CINDY ANDERSON

I have just finished no. 1 of 10 in a series of lap quilts. My intent is to try different piecing and color combinations, essentially to sketch with fabric.

This quilt has wedge-shaped blocks in long strips with machine quilting in-the-ditch along each seam line. The printed fabrics are global, from Maurine Noble’s stash and scraps.

In the spring I plan to have an Open House to sell the collection, with the proceeds going to a worthy cause. If you read this blog and would like an invitation to the event, just let me know.