NORTH WOODS

This nice lady worked in registration. She and her husband loved to spend weekends in their cabin up north. When I made these blocks, it reminded me of her. Now that she's retired, I hope she's enjoying her cabin! Thanks to my daughter for rotating the image.

A FISH STORY

He taught tech ed, she worked in registration. They loved to go fishing and that was the perfect theme for this couple's quilt. I found a batik that captured his gray hair very well, and put him in his standard plaid shirt. The marbled fabric really matched her blonde hair and she loved her polka-dot t-shirt. After this photo was taken, I added fishing rods made from twigs from the yard, and each had a string line with a tiny cloth fish attached. He vowed he would not shed a tear when leaving his job, and he didn't - until he saw this quilt. And that is the reason I create these quilts: to let friends know how much they mean! Isn't there someone you know that needs a quilt?

THE EASIEST QUILT IN THE WORLD

This quilt was made for a friend who's a very talented photographer. It is made of clear vinyl, stitched down in standard photo sizes so that she can design her own quilt, over and over again. She can choose what photos she wants, whenever she wants. The border is a clock fabric that symbolizes the time she'll have in retirement to take photos whenever she wants.

HALLOWEEN DOORS

Every year back in the good old days, we'd hold a door decorating contest. There were prizes, but the most fun was actually doing the decorating. The recipient of this quilt organized the decorating in her area for many years. When she retired, this was the only concept I would consider. I made fifteen blocks and gave them to her friends. They each created their own door. The last door at the bottom right opened up with a message for her. This was the quilt that taught me a valuable lesson - when others do the work for you, your job is easier. Her dearest friend actually hooked up a small battery pack so her door lit up! This was one of my favorites ever, even though it was horrific sewing the vinyl windows. A lot of angry words were hollered at the sewing machine when this one was constructed.

GOLF, GOLF AND MORE GOLF

This quilt was made for one of the most avid golfers I know. I picked the eighteen offices he had the most contact with, created a golf hole for each office, and they signed below the flag. Knowing next to nothing about golf, I consulted another golf fiend to find out how to do the flags and the holes. I think it turned out pretty well! He wrote the nicest thank you note, saying he never knew how much work went into a quilt until he got one.

LUCK O' THE IRISH

This all started because I needed a pin to wear on my jacket on St. Patrick's Day. I started making little green hearts and ended up making this quilt for the most Irish friend I know! I think she liked it...

FOR A SAILOR

This quilt pattern came from a quilting magazine. It was a lot of fun creating the sailboats with different fabrics, using different shades of sky for night and day. In fact, it was difficult to stop creating the boats and skies! I ended up making three of these - two to give away and one to keep.

KIMONO QUILT

This art instructor was an expert on the kimono - I felt this was the only theme for her quilt. I went through my huge stash of ties and chose these. This quilt was a lot of fun and not too difficult to complete. The morning of her reception, I still didn't know how the quilt was going to be displayed. There wasn't enough time the night before to go to the hardware store and buy a dowel rod, so out came the pruners and no bush in the yard was safe. I came up with the perfect long branch that had flowers blooming on it. Proud moment - I actually took an art instructor's breath away. What a great compliment! The white silk circle on the back was for her to paint a Japanese character.

TWO GUYS, TWO QUILTS

Here are two long-time instructors holding up their retirement quilts. One taught Art, one taught English. The art quilt was a collaborative effort. I created small framed blocks and asked his colleagues to create little masterpieces. Two of his long-time students were senior citizen sisters that I hadn't seen in a while. One day I ran into one of the sisters by accident, asked if she and her sister were interested in creating artworks for the quilt. She was, but didn't know if she could return them by the deadline. I said that if they didn't get them back, I would just create a smaller quilt to accompany this one. The two blocks came back in plenty of time and the masterpiece quilt was the result. The English teacher wore very interesting ties; he was also a very interesting person and one of the college's first students. I thought of a shirt, a crazy tie, and glasses for his quilt. I tried to draft a pattern for a shirt, but found it MUCH easier to press a shirt, fold it, and applique it on to the quilt. At the reception, there was a stack of notes that friends could write and stuff into the shirt pocket. Do you think these two liked their quilts? Pictures don't lie.

WINDOWS 2007

This quilt was made for a very cool and interesting guy. He worked as a custodian, and you never saw him without his bottle of Windex and a cloth. He traveled from office to office, dispensing his particular brand of wisdom. I decided to make actual windows. They're pieces of clear vinyl, sewed to each block. Those who worked in his favorite offices signed their own blocks. At the block intersections are glued tiny tools of his trade - a sponge, a bucket, a cleaning cloth. Take a look! The back of the quilt features a small pair of purple pajama pants: he was known to wear them to work on occasion. As one friend said at his retirement reception, there was something about him, and it wasn't the pajama pants. We still miss him and when he visits word travels fast.

FLOWERS AT THE WINDOW

When the greenhouse manager retired, it took about 1 minute to decide that the quilt had to be flowers. Nothing but flowers would be a lot of work, and this was the result. It's one of my all-time favorites, and I think it's her favorite, too. Every time I look at this picture, it reminds me of my friend, who created beautiful floral arrangements for many occasions, and how I sat in a sunny window, sewing the quilt. I had about a yard of the stone fabric when this quilt was made and wished I had more, but couldn't remember where I bought it. Google searches turned up nothing. Our local fabric shop has a sidewalk sale every July. Guess what was on the clearance table for $3 a yard? Nine yards left on the last bolt came home with me.

GIVE HER A HAND

This quilt was made for a psychology instructor, who had the greatest manicures ever! I always wanted to see what the latest artwork was on her nails. It was a big hit!

Kate's Doll

In the fall of 2009, I made a doll for Kate. Because she wasn't born yet, I had no idea what color hair or eyes she would have, so this doll has no face. It was a lot of fun creating the tiny outfits by hand. It may be a while before she plays with her, though!