Red Maple (aka Free Fallin')
20" x 26"

I hadn't done any sewing for a long, long time. Taking the leap to leave a 26 year abusive marriage has made me feel like like I'm free-falling in life. I needed to get quilting again and when I read about Quiltswap 2 on QA it seemed like just the motivation I needed. The swap was a blast - a great way to collect other artists' work.

I've recently been burning and melting fabrics - who knew I was a closet pyro? The three dimensional leaves are Kunin felt, heavily stitched and then zapped with a heat gun. Totally addictive.

Feelin' Blue
20" x 23"

I hadn't been able to sew for a long while and after a particularly rough time I had the burning need to play with fabric. (It was that or commit murder, LOL) I started out dyeing a yard of fabric from two ends - blue on one and yellow on the other. Where they met in the middle was a great green. I then stamped florals on the fabric and then sliced it into random width strips. I wove the strips together (ala Girl Scout sit upons) and then stitched the edges together. I placed additional fabric blocks to develop the pattern and then appliqued the droopy flower over the background. I felt better.

Traffic
15" x 21"

I wanted to play with stripes - I have been collecting striped fabrics for a long time and thought it might be interesting to combine them. I really like the interplay of color and black/white. This was a fast little quilt, more like therapy than anything else!

Bows and Ties
16" x 27"

I found the piecing pattern used in this quilt in an older book "Quilts of Illusion" by Laura Fisher. I wanted to challenge myself to piece these fans and blocks using men's old silk ties. Each fan is 1 1/2" square. The border is cotton velveteen. I love the texture of machine quilted velvet! Sometimes it's just plain fun to "see if I can do it". Sorta like the "Burgoyne Surrounded" quiltlet I'm currently working on, where each square is 1/4". Nuts but fun.