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I have been quilting for the last thirty-nine years, writing books, and operating The Stitchin’ Post in Sisters, Oregon. During that time I have experimented with many different piecing and quilting techniques and worked in series that became books and lectures sharing my ideas with thousands of people. The latest “series” to become a book the summer of '09 is Intuitive Color and Design --adventures in art quilting. My quilts have been juried into many of the International Quilt Festivals in Houston, the Pacific Northwest Quilt Fest, and the Mancuso shows in San Francisco.
Three years ago I started exploring quilt design more abstractly. I signed up for workshops with Nancy Crow and Gabrielle Swain. Both instructors are innovative designers in there own right. From these workshops I have started experimenting with some new techniques, mostly working with strips of fabric and cutting free hand--no rulers-- and detail piecing. I find this very freeing, like I am stepping out of the box. Recurring themes in my quilts have to do with natural configurations --rocks, trees, grasses, flowers, and the landscape. They are the common thread running through my mind as I work intuitively designing quilts letting the design take on a shape of it’s own. Nature and the world around me is my main source of inspiration. I am fascinated with line, pattern, color, and texture and how to design with these elements. In this ongoing process exploration is my theme.
You can see my commissioned quilts at the Five Pine Conference Center, Sisters City Hall, Shibui Spa, and Black Butte Ranch.
In July 2010, I became the 40th inductee into the Quilter's Hall of Fame in Marion, Indiana.
My favorite quote is "Nature always wears the colors of the spirit"
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
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