FINDING MY VOICE, FINAL

AQS QuiltWeek Chattanooga, Finding My Voice Exhibit   

War Eagle

76" square

Design by Julie Herman

Quilted by Lauren Byrne

Every college freshman must have a "going-off'-to-college" quilt in school colors.  My grandson, Preston, asked me to make his a modern quilt.  I used Kona solids and the no border design from Jaybird Quilts, Julie Herman.

Crosses for Nick

55.5" x 62.5"

Design by Faith Jones

Quilted by Rhonda Fulghum

Using alternate gridwork to lay out the scrappy cross blocks with a white background made this quilt very modern.  This is a special quilt for a special grandson, Nick!

LilBit's Log Cabin

36" square

Original Design

This is an improv pieced wonky log cabin design with a fractured strata block in the center.  The alternate blocks are more strata blocks in neutral Batiks.  This little quilt belongs to my four pound Yorkie, named LilBit!

French Countryside

83" x 93"

Original Design

This quilt is a free piecing, improv piece that was assembled using Quilt As You Go method.  Extensive straight-line organic quilting was practiced in each block unit.

Carnival

Design by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr

AQS Mystery Quilt

This is a fun piece using asymmetry and pieced half circles with Courthouse Step blocks in improv style.  Using the grey background makes this quilt pop!!

Thanks for stopping by!!

-sandi

FINDING MY VOICE, FOUR

And we continue with Finding My Voice quilts. . .

Is It Modern?

68" x 89"

Original Design

Quilted by Jo McCluney

The new technique was the Dresden plate blocks started for a traditional quilt.  Two years later, I decided to try a modern traditionalism layout with asymmetry and expansive negative space.  Does it work???

And One Fell Off

52" x 58.5"

Original Design

Quilted by Sandi Suggs

Finally, a jump into modern quilt design.  A few de-structured blocks, some bold color, and expansive negative space created a design I love!  Yes, my quilts are talking!!  And, of course, you must have a sense of humor!

Opening the Door

36.5" x 36.5"

Design by Jacquie Gering and Katie Pedersen

Quilted by Sandi Suggs

Slice and Insert with improv piecing was leading me more into letting go of the rigidity of look-alike blocks.  Using a printed fabric for background made the batik units shine.  This wall hanging makes me smile!  Opening a door to many possibilities!

Lawn Chair Quilt

63.5" x 71"

Pattern by Moda Bake Shop

Quilted by Sandi Suggs

Welcome grey to my quilting palette.  I love how it sets off the print fabrics.

Roy G. Biv

24" x 35"

Original Design

This quilt was a "sketch" piece using the rainbow colors in an asymmetric setting with expansive negative space.  The organic straight line quilting adds another design element.

Just a Streak of Blue

25" x 20"

Original Design

Using quarter-square triangles and some improv design created this fun little "sketch" piece.  Love the organic straight-line quilting.

Springtime Gardens

44.5" x 39.5"

Inspired by Bonnie Hunter

My Grandmother's Flower Garden of hexagons turned into Springtime Gardens using bright colors.  It took three years to hand piece the table topper.  Another traditional pattern singing my tune!

My Texas Two Step

32 inches square

Design by Jean Ann Wright

This is a modern version of Courthouse Steps block using narrow and wide opposing strips.  The experiment in this quilt was using Kona solids in bright colors.

Still a few more quilts to come . . .

-sandi

FINDING MY VOICE, TWO

As promised, I will show you the quilts from my exhibit, Finding My Voice, that was on display at QuiltWeek Chattanooga 2015.

Toile and 9-Patch

Original design

56" x 56"

Hand quilted with an original corner treatment

Dreaming of Home

Original Design

36" x 43"

A paper-pieced quilt that is a tribute to the memory of my childhood home and my hometown in Tennessee. It is hand quilted.

Easy Pinwheels

Original Design

45.5" x 45.5"

Machine Quilted by June Atkins

This was my first effort at making half-square triangles; pieced sashing with cornerstones; and piano-key borders.

Just a Bunch of Scraps

Original Design

62.5" x 62.5"

Machine Quilted by Jo McCluney

An experiment in design using leftover scraps from other projects produced this pinwheel/flying geese medallion quilt.  First time using black as a

background color.

Yule Time in the Cabin

Original Design

54.5" x 64"

Machine Quilted by Martha Steele

This quilt was a lesson in value and color.  Another technique learned was the insertion of a flange against the outer border.

Nifty Nine-Patch

Pattern by Glad Creations

87.5" x 99"

Machine Quilted by Jo McCluney

The blocks for creating this quilt are on-point 9-Patch and tessellating Courthouse Steps.  The use of the 4-Patch cornerstones kept the piano key border from being monotonous.

More to come . . . .

-sandi

FINDING MY VOICE

I started quilting a long time ago.  My first little pieces were quilt-as-you-go place mats in a log cabin style that I found in a Woman's Day magazine.  The next ones were some pillow covers in another women's magazine in the early 1980s.  I did not think I could attempt a really big quilt then.  It wasn't until the late 80's that I made a bed size quilt for my daughter and son-in-law from Eleanor Burns pattern called "Love Knot".  This quilt was queen size and I quilted it in straight line quilting on my home sewing machine.

I am a self-taught quilter and it wasn't until sometime in the 1990's that I finally took a class or two to learn what it was I had incorrectly taught myself. (smile)  I have continued quilting since then.  I was a hobby quilter for about 5 years and then decided to expand this into making a little money and I began teaching classes.

Recently, I was invited to do a special exhibit for AQS QuiltWeek Chattanooga and share about 30 of my quilts in "Finding My Voice".  It was a wonderful experience and I was thrilled to meet so many great quilters who came by to see my work.

In the next posts I will show the quilts from my exhibit.

-sandi