I made my first traditional quilt in about 1996. I was trying to write short stories, was getting nowhere, and then read Margaret Atwood’s fantastic novel “Amazing Grace”, in which quilt-making is a dominant theme. I decided to try and make a quilt; it was really an excuse to not write. I am probably the only quilt-maker who can say Margaret Atwood got me started!
My design process is simple. I imagine the colors I’d like to use, and get my “palette” in order. This often takes a few months. I use very few, if any, commercial fabrics; I prefer to buy bolts of white fabric–cotton sateen is my favorite– and either dye or screen-print it with my own designs. I don’t have a wet studio and dye everything in my backyard. I also dye any yarn or silk cord I use for couching.
I make patterns for appliques and screen printing motifs by drawing on transparency film and then using an overhead projector. I learned this very useful trick from Velda Newman.
I also aim to make pieces that are very sturdy, and that will last for a long, long time.
Please click on the following pages to see some of my work.
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