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!