A Horse With No Name by America
Size: 31” w x 37” h
Quilt made for: The Storytellers theme - Name that Tune
I love horses, the song and the photography of Christa Merk who was kind enough to give me permission to use one of her photos for inspiration.
Lyrics: “I’ve been through the desert on a horse with no name, It felt good to be out of the rain……After nine days I let the horse run free”
Techniques: the horse was hand painted on white cotton and then the sky and horse were thread painted on a domestic sewing machine. Quilt made to be viewed from both sides.
Awards: First Place - International Quilt Festival, Houston 2023
Texas Quilt Museum - January 5, 2024 - April 29, 2024
Pacific International Quilt Festival, Santa Clara, California - Janome Best Sewing Machine Workmanship Award Wall Quilt - 2024
Close-up photo of the thread painting.
Outracing the Storm -Bryan’s Song
Size: 34” w x 34” h
Quilt Made for: Storyteller’s challenge - Monochromatic - Blue
This quilt was named for a friend going through a difficult time in the hope that it would lift their spirit.
Thank you to photographer Ida Kehoe for allowing me to use her wonderful photo for inspiration.
Techniques: the horse was hand painted on white cotton and then the sky and horse were thread painted on a domestic sewing machine. Quilt made to be viewed from both sides.
Close up
Back of quilt
Leopard!
Size: 34” w x 50” h
Quilt made for: Art Group challenge - reversible tree, SAQA challenge - Camouflage (but didn’t the get the quilt finished in time)
A special thank you to David Whelan for allowing me to use his wonderful photograph for inspiration.
Techniques: The design was hand drawn on white fabric, hand painted and then hand-guided thread painted on a domestic machine.
Awards: First Place, Machine Embroidered & Thread Painted, The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show, Madison Wisconsin
Reverse side of the quilt.
Close-up photos of the thread painting.
The Value of Gears
Size: 51” w x 51” h
Quilt made for: Cover to Cover Book Club Quilters book -The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, Art Quilt Group challenge - Series of Three
Techniques: The original designs were based on the book. The thread painting in this quilt is on a ‘value scale’ from black to white. The quilt was made to be viewed from both sides. The gears in the mechanical man are metal. Hundred percent hand-guided thread painting on a domestic machine.
Awards: First Place - Northwest Quilt Expo 2013, First Place Emerging Artist, Best Use of Thread, Photographer’s Choice -MQX Quilt Festival NW 2013, Second Place - HMQS Salt Lake City 2014, Moda Best Wall Quilt - AQS QuiltWeek 2014
Photograph in AQS magazine 2014
Featured with three other quilts from The Storytellers on Sewing with Nancy.
*This quilt now resides in the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky.
This quilt was featured in Patchwork Professional - Germany 01/2024 Photo of square on cover of magazine and on page 17
Reverse side of the quilt.
Close-up photos of the thread painting.
Remembrance
Size: 45” w x 50” h
Quilt made for: The Storytellers theme - Seeing Red, Thread Tales book - The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
The story takes place in France during World War Two. A young woman ties three red ribbons to an apple tree in her front yard for: Antoine - her husband taken as a prisoner of war, Rachel - a Jewish best friend forced into a cattle car and Sarah - a young Jewish girl shot and killed. The stone wall around the apple tree had been torn down by the Germans. The ribbons represent a promise to never forget!
Techniques: Original design, hand painted and then thread painted on a domestic machine. The snow and red apples are thread painted in rayon threads, clouds and trees in cotton threads.
Awards: First Place, NW Quilt Expo 2021
Best of Show Wall Quilt, Quiltfest Northwest 2021
Best of Show, Viewer’s Choice - Quiltfest Northwest 2021
Second Place, International Quilt Festival, Houston 2022
Texas Quilt Museum exhibited Spring 2023
Second Place, Pacific International Quilt Festival 2023
Honorable Mention, Road to Californa 2024
This quilt was featured in Patchwork Professional - Germany, January 2024, pages 12 and 13
Best of Show Wall Quilt, Oregon Quilt Festival 2024
Third Place, AQS Quilt Week, Paducah, Kentucky 2024
AQ American Quilter Magazine, July 2024, page 60
Best Wall Quilt Award, AQS Quilt Week, Grand Rapids, MI -2024
Juried in, AQS Quilt Week, Lancaster, PA - 2024
AQ American Quilter Magazine, Best Wall Quilt Grand Rapids, MI, page 57
Reverse side of the quilt
Close-up photo of the thread painting.
Solitude
Size: 39” w x 47” h
Quilt made for: The Storytellers theme - Waterworks
A photograph taken in Belgium, by Jimmy Debacker was the inspiration for this quilt (used with permission). I love the way he captured the sky, water and boat. Solitude instantly came to my mind when I saw the photo.
Techniques: Hand painted and then thread painted.
Awards: Quiltfest Northwest 2024 - Best of Show Wall Quilt
NACQJ (National Association of Certified Quilt Judges) Award of Merit
Minnesota Quilt Show 2024 - Best of Show Wall Quilt & First Place
International Quilt Festival, Houston, Texas 2024 - Master Award for Thread Artistry
Reverse side of the quilt.
Close-up photo of the thread painting.
Zentangle Horse
Size: 32” w x 32” h
Quilt made for: Art Quilt Group challenge - Zentangles
I love horses and drew this horse with the idea of his mane being thread painted zentangles.
Techniques: Hand guided thread painted, some color pencil.
Awards: Best Domestic Machine Quilting - Clark County Quilting Guild 2013, President’s Choice - Clark County Quilting Guild 2013, Third Place, Viewer’s Choice - Clark County Quilting Guild 2013, NW Quilt Expo - Judge’s Choice 2014
Shown at NW Quilters Guild - The Storytellers trunk show 2023
Quilt featured in Patchwork Professional - Germany, January 1, 2024, page 16
The Villa
Size: 22” w x 25” h
Quilt made for: Thread Tales book - The Tenth Island by Diana Marcum, The Storytellers theme - Architecture
Jonathan Schwarz captured the beauty of the old stone work in Italy in this photograph (used with permission). The sign on the right was changed to Tenth Island for the book challenge.
Techniques: Hand painted and then thread painted on a domestic sewing machine, the quilt is made to be viewed from both sides.
Awards: Second Place - Quiltfest Northwest 2021, First Place - Oregon Quilt Festival 2023
The Word ‘Horse’
Size: 39” w x 35” h
Quilt made for: Cover to Cover Book Club Quilters book - Longbourn by Jo Baker, Clark County Quilters Quilt Show challenge - Word in a Quilt, Art Quilt Group challenge - Element and Animal
Words that represent ‘horse’ if different languages from around the world are thread painted on the inner borders of this quilt.
Techniques: This quilt is made to be viewed from both sides. The original design was painted on the fabric and then thread painted. The words were hand guided thread painted on separate borders twice, so the words are readable on both sides of the quilt.
Awards: Founder’s Choice - NW Quilt Expo 2015, Best Domestic Machine Quilting - Clark County Quilters 2016, Second Place, Viewer’s Choice - Clark County Quilters 2016
Kaleidoscope Trees
Size: 39” w x 41” h
Quilt made for: Cover to Cover Book Club Quilters book - All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Original design based on a sentence in the book, “I see shimmering kaleidoscope trees.”. Marie-Laure lost her eyesight at the age of six but in her imagination and dreams everything has color. Trees in her imagination are shimmering kaleidoscopes full of light. As I was designing this quilt I was thinking this would make a great coloring book page but instead of using crayons I used thread to color it.
Techniques: the quilt was made to be viewed from both sides, has three layers and is completely thread painted except for the outer border, domestic sewing machine.
Awards: First Place - Quiltfest NW 2017
Second Place - AQS QuiltWeek Des Moines 2017
Juried into AQS QuiltWeek Paducah 2018
First Place - Road to California 2019
Juried into International Quilt & Fiber Arts Festival 2023
Close-up photo of the thread painting.
Rainforest in Color
Photo of the FRONT of the quilt
Size: 35” w x 46” h
Quilt made for: Cover to Cover Book Club Quilters book: Dreaming in Color by Kaffe Fassett
Kaffe Fassett painted several wall murals surrounded by large flowers in the beginning of his career. This is my interpretation of a rain forest surrounded by orchids and other flowers that would grow there.
Techniques: The quilt is an original design made to be viewed from both sides. It was painted on white cotton and then hand guided thread painted. The middle panel is thread painted with cotton thread and the flower border is thread painted with rayon threads.
Awards: Third Place - NW Quilt Expo 2014
Second Place - Clark County Quilters 2015
First Place, Viewer’s Choice - Clark County Quilters 2015
Second Story Gallery, Camas - Exhibited with The Storytellers 2018
Juried in - International Quilt & Fiber Arts Festival, Everett, Washington 2024
Close-up photos of the thread painting.
Photo of the BACK of the quilt
Images in the
Mirror
Images in the Mirror One
Images in the Mirror Two
Size: 35” w x 48” h
Quilts made for: Cover to Cover Book Club Quilters book - Not a Girl Detective by Susan Kandel
The book was about two paintings by Salvador Dali and the Nancy Drew Mysteries model who posed for the paintings. The first painting is of a beautiful innocent girl. In the second painting the girl is not beautiful and she is trying to hide from the world that she is not innocent. Salvador painted a zipper in her leg so she could slither in and out of her skin (change what image she portrayed to people). Salvador Dali often used religious images or symbols in his paintings.
Images in the Mirror One is Eve in the Garden - innocent, with the apple tree in the background.
Images in the Mirror Two represents the fall when time began and the apple tree in the background no longer bears fruit. The snake represents the evil that came into the world. The girl now has a zipper in her leg and she is not who she pretends to be.
Techniques: Original designs, appliqué, some paint, thread painted women, apple tree, and snake, 3D application, beading.
Awards: Best of Show - Clark County Quilters 2015
Close-up of Images in the Mirror One
Close-up of Images in the Mirror Two
