Fibre Art & Quilts
I have been quilting since 1973!
That spring, as a Home Economics teacher of grade 7 and 8 students, I was aghast at amount of fabric ‘scraps’ the students wanted to throw out and started a ‘recycling’ bin to which they happily contributed. Later in the year, we dipped into the bin for fun extra projects and some of the students decided they would like to piece a quilt. I introduced the basic rail fence pattern (four strips) and those who finished their main sewing projects, enthusiastically added to the pile of blocks as more were created.
However the end of the school year arrived and their attention wandered to other things. I was on maternity leave the next school year and joined a local quilting class led by Veva Neilson from Carleton Place, Ontario, Canada. She was truly one of the quilting greats! Not only did she give me the confidence to follow my dream of completing a Lone Star quilt – my first full-sized quilt, but she suggested that the quilt-top I had sewn together that summer from the student blocks be used as our group hand quilting project. By the end of the winter I had a finished quilt that still brings back memories of those students every time it is used.
More recently my love of quilting has transitioned to fibre art and garments incorporating quilting that can be found in the wearable art portfolio. I make journal quilts (filed under Books & Art Journals) and when the opportunity arises or the mood strikes, I make quilts.