my journey to becoming an artist began here..

1988 / Machine pieced; hand and machined Quilted / 45 1/2" X 45 1/2

This piece was done after my first quilt class with nationally known quilt instructor, Lois Smith. They were going to have a group show. As a new member of the group, I had no idea how to design. So I used a traditional 49er quilt pattern, and explored ways to add a new dimension to the quilt by varying color usage within the pattern. Many quilters don't use this pattern because it has so many pieces so takes more time to make. What I liked about this project was the use of color and the exploration of pattern within pattern.

This was the first quilt that I created with my own design and it was shown at a group show at a gallery called the Art Barn on Connecticut Avenue.

I took a class from Jeannie Benson on needle-turn appliqué. Each piece was from the class and decided to piece them together into a single quilt. I made a few pieces for her book. And I've been using this technique ever since and am grateful for my time learning and collaborating with her.

She's been teaching at the Smithsonian for a long time.