Horse Crazy...

selecting the fabrics

As a child, I was as horse crazy as many other girls.  Our neighbors had horses, and I spent many hours hanging over their fence, sketching and watching them.   Some of us never outgrow that phase, and although I never got to own a horse myself, I always try to have at least one or two horse quilts on hand.  Currently, I am working on a small commission based on a little quilt called Morning Ramble.  Here’s a sneak peak at its development.

The 13th Must Be My Lucky Day!

Lost Moon #3

Toward the end of 2011, I designed a quilt for Joann Fabric’s latest Quilt Your Colors challenge.  Last year, I entered for the first time and placed 6^th!   click here for last year's winners    The main requirement is simply that you use materials from/available from their stores.  Here’s last year’s entry.  (See pic at right.)  If you look closely, you can see that the branches form a circle in the sky where the moon has fallen down.  It is lost and lying at the base of a birch tree.  This piece included cotton, brocade, lame, sheers, ribbon and lace.

So, this year I wanted to do something a little different.  Having an 8-year-old dinosaur-crazy boy at home provided the perfect inspiration.  He even came up with the idea for the fiddle head ferns, which are rolled up strips of velvet.  I submitted photos of the quilt at the beginning of this year and this past Tuesday (the 13^th) I just got the call – I’ve made the list of top 20 finalists!  Now I get to send in the actual quilt for judging in April. 

Cretaceous Sunrise

Fish & Wildlife Gallery Show

Recycled Garden:  Carolina Wren

 This week, in and around the snow which blew through and closed schools for a day, I took down my two-month exhibit at the Fish & Wildlife Regional Office in nearby Hadley, MA.  I am truly overwhelmed by the response which my quilts received.  The folks working there, and those who visited the gallery on their way to meetings/conferences in the building, were absolutely marvelous.  I received several calls a week, for eight weeks, from folks who wanted to purchase pieces.  All were warm, appreciative, and enthusiastic.  What a boost for my self-esteem!  Of the 33 quilts which hung in the Fish & Wildlife Gallery, I sold half!  Some were recycled pieces featuring birds or wildflowers.  Others were landscapes.  Some were small, some were larger.  But, the experience of taking down the show, handing quilts off to folks who had purchased them, and getting to meet everyone in person was just wonderful.  I felt showered with appreciation.  

Recycled Garden:  Yellow Violets

 Best of all, I am looking forward to starting two new commissions based on some of the pieces in the show!  I love creating individualized works which incorporate imagery that is meaningful for the buyer – using that special flower, photo, or color palate to capture a landscape or vision.   

I am so excited to begin new works:  commissions, entries for contests, and pieces for my upcoming summer show.  

A few comments from the show:

“I am so drawn to the Wind Tree.  It gives me such a feeling of being out at night with the moon and nature…I would love to have it in my bedroom, luring me outside instead of sleeping just yet.  Thanks so much for sharing.”       - Anonymous

Blueberry Moon #7

“Elizabeth – this is the most exquisite quilt exhibit I have ever seen.  Each of them brings nature to life and close to the heart.  I wish I could buy them all!  In love with your work.”            -W.

“How fabulous to see so many of your quilts all at once!  And in a space big enough to step back and appreciate them from a distance.  I particularly like your Blueberry Moon series and big oak leaves in brocade with silver “frost” around the edges.  And the huge rose!”                       -Elisa

“I am a sky watcher; I like your skies very much.  You have made them stand still.  Thank you.”                   -Jeanette

“This show is spectacular.”           -Gigi

“I like the Bluebird with notes and background.  We so love the birds and you have done its most prominent feature – song.”                   -Michael