Machine Quilting Unlimited - Special Edition - Winter 2011

Previous Page:
Birdland
Below:
Seed Pods with
detail
Who knew that a
little girl in a 4-H
sewing club could
grow into a quilt artist
who travels the world?
Through serendipity and good friends, these early
sewing skills led this lucky little girl to a career
of teaching, lecturing and exhibiting art work
internationally.
As a teenager, my sewing skills gained my
entrance to a work/study program in a college
costume shop. There I learned another valuable
skill: fabric dyeing. Combining sewing and dyeing,
I began my first business as a young mother
making one-of-a-kind clothing. A friendly neighbor,
Janet Dye, introduced me to a new passion,
the wonderful world of quilt making. Together
we attended quilt shows, listened to lectures, and
toured exhibits like the extraordinary showing of
Amish quilts at the Terra Museum in Chicago.
My quilting career had a rocky start. In high
school I constructed my first quilt, a curved
pieced bed quilt made from old wool skirts.
It was like sleeping under a lead blanket! But
encouraged by Janet’s enthusiasm, I tried making
another pieced quilt, lighter in weight and lighter
in color. As my quilting skills grew, so did my circle
of quilt friends. This is when I met my future
Artfabrik business partner, Melody Johnson.
As Artfabrik (vendors of hand-dyed fabric and
threads), we sold our wares at local and national
quilt shows. The exposure to a vast variety of
quilt styles captured my imagination. Why not
take the fabric I was dyeing and make this thing
called an ‘art quilt’? With Melody’s encouragement,
I tried the technique of quilt construction
I use to this day, fusing.
Fusible web is dry glue which is applied to fabric
with the heat of an iron. After a fused fabric is cut
to shape, it is ironed or fused onto other fabrics.
Fusers work directly with color and shape, much
like a painter works with paint. Without sewing
fabrics together, organic shapes are joined and
detail pieces are stacked on top of other fabrics.
Artists train by producing lots of work. With
fusing, you learn design skills quickly by easily
making lots of quilts. You by-pass traditional
quilt construction techniques and go directly to
the making of the art. And although it is a simple
technique, you soon discover that the skill in
fusing comes in the designing of compositions.
Fusing gives you endless possibilities for designs.
The growth of my artwork is directly related to
the technique of fusing. It allows me to practice
and create enough art to develop a personal
style. In the 15 years I’ve been making art quilts,
my style has been described as bright, pictorial,
narrative and, my favorite, whimsical. It is this
whimsical set of mind that so invigorates me
when creating art. When I make art, inner critics
are banished from my head. I feel free and playful.
6 Machine Quilting Unlimited | Special Edition Winter 2011