Better 2 B Me: Leave Me in Stitches

Part of my fulfillment is being able to create. To be surrounded with beauty, self created, is rewarding,exhilarating and calming - all at the same time. It fills my cup. Whether it is music, cross stitch, a pot of flowers or herbs, a flavorful dinner, a crocheted headband, a freshly painted wall or window covering, a digital slideshow, or a quilt; each makes me feel complete in that moment. I grow with each creation, learn something from each experience. These are a few creations where the palette is fabric and the mortar is thread.

Full Size Quilts

1996-Purple & Blue Weave

1997-Log Cabin Stars

1998-Bear Chain

1999-Family Light

This is a watercolor quilt. There is a luminary for each member of our family. It symbolizes us living in a dark, confusing world but as we draw upon the Greater Light, we can be a light to those around us adding not only enlightenment but color.

2000-Sunflower

2000-Jeans Stars and Hearts

This quilt is made out of lots of old jeans and flannels.

2002-We made this for Mom & Dad's 50 wedding anniversary.
I sent each sibling (or their wife) the fabric and they did something that was unique to Mom & Dad. I sewed it all together and quilted.

2002-Nicol & Dustin's Quilt.
This is the design and colors that Nicol chose.

2002-Pink Wave
I was trying my own kind of Bargello technique - hoping for more of a patriotic feel. The resultant quilt is much pinker than I had anticipanted

2002-September 11 Gold Medal
This was made during the time of the Olympics in Salt Lake City and also when the Twin Towers were taken down by some terrorist. I spent alot of time working on this quilt while listening to the coverage and both those life changing occurences.

2003-Benjamin's Quilt
Benjamin needed a project so we began working on this quilt together. I did most of the cutting and figuring out. He did most of the sewing. At the end we put decorative buttons on it that were very cute but ended up bothering Benjamin but they rubbed on this legs in bed.

2003-Blue Burst
This is a quilt that I'm not too happy about. If I were to re-do it I would not do the gradient color thing. I'll stay very dark or very light. It is my first paper foundation quilt.

2004-Linking Chain
This is another watercolor. It is so large that it was too large to photograph from ceiling to floor without some of it hanging on the floor

2005-Ying and Yang
This is during a time that I have become curious about bright colors.

2007-Brayan's Bargello
This is my first attempt at trying bargello. I learn a lot doing it but wasn't completely satisfied with the results. I ended up giving it to Brayan Melgar at his High School graduation, just a few weeks before his death. I spoke at the graduation of how important it is to have many colors in the "quilts" of our lives and how vibrant our lives are because of Brayan. I also said, "there are more colors to go in your quilt, more music to be made." The quilt was displayed at Brayan's funeral. He was one of the great people in this world. I continue to have a very tender place in my heart for Brayan.

2008-Blue Point
I loved the gradient of colors in this queen/king quilt

Baby Quilts

2001-I made two of these one for Amber's baby and one for Ann's baby.
There was a little music box sewn in the corners of each that you could squeeze and it would play music. I think my sisters helped me quilt them.

2004-Baby Chenille
I make one Baby Chenille quilt for each family. This is a technique where you sew layers of flannel together then cut some of those layers, run them through the washer and dryer so the cut edges will fray and-WaLa - You have a chenille quilt. This is a example of the different chenilles I've made

2004-Bear Square
I make a quilt for each grandchild. This was my first one - made for Boo.

2004-Apple of Our Eye
My second baby quilt made for Button

2005-Baby Blue
My third grandchild-Buddy

2006-Blossom Time
for my fourth grandchild-Lady Bug

2006-Blakes Blocks
This is for my fifth grandchild - Bubba. Bubba's mom asked for this type of design

2008-Lincoln's Star
This is for my sixth grandchild - Billy Bob

2008-A Star is Born
This is for my seventh grandchild - Baloo. His mother drew on a 3x5 card what she wanted. The sun in the upper left hand corner represents Baloo's dad, the moon represents his mom and the two other stars represent Baloo's brother and sister. The large star in the center is the one and only Baloooooooo!

2008-Each Life that Touches ours for Good
This is for my eigth grandchild - Bear. You'll notice that the three little one's born in 2008 all got "star" quilts!


2011-Color Your World With Love - This is for grandchild number 9-Belle. She is the first of the next batch of three. It was made from a strata. The border fabric is where I got my palette. I had some strata left over after finishing the body of the quilt and decided to use it in the border.

2011-Coming Together - This is for grandchild number 10. It is a convergence quilt. I dyed the fabric as well as pieced and quilted it. I didn't have enough fabric for the backing so I converged two pieces of fabric for the back. The bottom picture is the back of the quilt.

Other Quilt Projects

2004-St. Patricks and Valentines Table Runners
I found that doing table runners allowed me to try a new technique without having to invest the time and money that a full size quilt requires.