Saturday, October 17, 2015

The Giants - Part 3


The Black Box has been exhibited at five AQS shows. This is an especially good photograph of this quilt. You can click it, then double click again and scroll around to see all the lovely details I put in it. This quilt took several months for me to make, and I made every element at least twice, but I am very proud of it.


I always thought of the box like a Magician's Hat, and the box was on stage, so I knew I wanted something to look like a theater curtain, or a tapestry, for the back of it. I was very pleased when I found this print.

The labels on the bottom of the quilt are my address label and the show labels from each of the AQS shows where it has been exhibited.

The bright Crayons quilt is made from bright, intense hues.

 I thought this Art Nouveau style fabric was just the ticket for the back.


This is the most whimsical quilt I have ever made - it's called "Too Much Chicken" and has over 275 free pieced letters in it. We start at the top with a pristine Roast Chicken, and then the quilt is full of meals that make use of leftover chicken. As you move to the bottom of the quilt, the word "chicken" gets more and more broken up, signifying the universal dread of leftovers that just won't quit.

As Brenda, the waitress that inspired the quilt said, "LET the Chicken Go!"

When Gerald Roy appraised the Black Box and a few other of my quilts, he asked if I signed them.

"I sure do," I said, and pointed out my signatures on the backs.

His reply?

"Not big enough."

I can't wait to hear what he thinks of the signature panels I make now when he sees"Too Much Chicken" in December.


The Black & White Crayons has been exhibited in two AQS shows so far, and is entered in several more for 2016. It's currently my favorite quilt.  Julie says it summarizes everything about my work: the choice of fabrics that work together, their precise placement, letters, birds, and the fact that my quilts draw you in so you see more and more upon closer inspection.

I've said it before, I want more than the five second glance. I want my quilts to reach out and grab you by the proverbial lapels and say "LOOKATME, LOOKATME, LOOKATME!"



This fabric just screamed out to be the backing of this quilt. It's perfect in so many ways.  In this photo you can clearly see the two different fabrics I used to bind the quilt.

Yes, I planned it that way.

5 comments:

Jackie said...

I hate to admit this but have never really given any thought to the back of the quilt but after looking at this post I'm going to have to rethink that. I love the backs you've shown today, they are like another quilt top and so appropriate to complement the front. I love the black and white "box" one.....I think I may have to go fabric shopping.

Quiltdivajulie said...

Oh - I LOVE the comment above - that we have another convert to the "back is important" gang!!

Really enjoying these posts (well worth the effort to take all those photos).

Pat said...

I love all these quilts. Thanks for the great photos. I have a FQ of the black and white that is on the back of the Black & White Crayons quilt; I love it even though it makes my eyes cross. :-)

Anonymous said...

What is the largest print you've ever seen? I know some home dec fabrics can be 27" repeats, but anything bigger than that?

Sharon said...

I'm really enjoying your series of posts about your quilts' backs. I agree that the back of the quilt needs to be as good as the front. I don't always accomplish that, but I'm trying. Love your signature blocks! No one is not going to know who made that quilt!

I especially love your "Crayons" quilts series. I think that, as a group, they really say who you are as a quilter and an artist. And they're so fun too! I love that your quilts are a whole conversation, not just one sentence. I want to quilt like you do when I grow up! hee hee!