I just finished a week of sewing table runners and baby quilts.

After a few weeks of quilting art quilts it is nice to do work which doesn't require a lot of thought.

I wish I could say sewing bindings was meditative and calming.

How is it possible to capture someone's life in a quilt? It isn't, but in the process of trying, it forces both the artist and the loved one to consider the colors and textures of the clothes the person wore and the objects and landscapes the person loved. What do the colors signify?

The answer is of course better known by those who loved the person, but as an artist I can say that in the process of sewing these wall hangings I appreciated this person's sense of individual style, her vivaciousness and her boldness. They lent themselves to the birds and flowers I was asked to represent.

This was not an easy commission. I knew one of the daughters of this woman and I cared very much what she was going to think about my representations of her mother. It also was a challenge because the material was of several varieties including silk, polar fleece, t-shirts and velvet. But after some hemming and hawing I decided that the only way to finish them was to start. I am happy to say that the family was very happy with my work.

Wedding Commissions

One of the most satisfying kinds of commissions are those intended for wedding presents. In the past two months I have done two and I thought I would share them.

For September Wedding Memories the client asked me to focus on the bride's bouquet flying through the water. I also tried to incorporate the Minister's impromptu cairn alter and the rubber boots the bride wore into the water. I was lucky because I had just the right color green for the brilliant trees in my stash. As I did for the VT water in the next quilt, I used my wrinkle technique to depict ripples and reflections. I quilted the groom's words, "Stepping into this ole river we call life together" into the river bank. It was a fun quilt and I hope the happy couple hangs it for years to come.

The second is a quilt depicting one of the wedding couple's favorite places, Lake Willoughby, VT. I have visited the family cabin throughout my childhood so I had a good idea of what it looks like, but photos from one of the grooms helped me capture the shape of the mountains. I hope this quilt remains in their family and serves as a wonderful reminder of a quiet peaceful place. My only regret is that I forgot to hide their dog in the stitching!

This past week has been about cards. Cup cakes, onions, peas, corn on the cob, cairns and chicks. There is a certain satisfaction in making paper cards: watching the pile grow, penning my logo on the back, inserting a finished card in a biodegradable plastic sleeve. And I know people love them. But eighteen cupcakes in one day is just too much for the "artist" in me so I will have to get better with my production calendar!