Quilt Gallery

I created this quilt for a group challenge, which was to make a quilt based on the Log Cabin block. My design includes one large improvised Log Cabin block in the center, surrounded by five partial blocks. I like to use both new and recycled silk fabrics because I find the vivid colors enhance the design, while the sheen of the fabrics accentuates the quilting.

Bit Flip is a homage to my past as an engineer, where I hunted through system crashes to find bit flips, the singular instance of binary code where a 1 is changed to a 0 or vice versa. The quilted hexadecimal number is a computer code for panic, what the system does when it finds a flipped bit. Analog versus digital plays throughout. Improv piecing is set within a precise circle with eyeballed matchstick quilting and digital quilted text.

Concentric Blue Squares was made after making quilts for the Houston Sapphire exhibition. I had a lot of blue left over, and one was this striped batik. I was inspired by an antique quilt and enjoyed sitting by the TV while doing big-stitch hand quilting down the stripes.

Named after the story of how Taylor and her long-time partner, Alex, fell in love. Taylor’s first quilt design was made as an expression of her personal style and as a way to add color to the house she and Alex share. Once created, Taylor realized it goes beyond the walls of their house and should be replicated by, and shared with, others.

At the beginning of this process, I bought yardage of the Windham solids and began an improv quilt, which I’m more drawn to, but it never spoke to me. At that time, I moved a stack of books I use to prop my IPad for Zoom meetings, and the book by Josef Albers, Interaction of Color, was on top of the pile. I looked through it, was inspired, and sketched a very simple block. I wanted a subdued feel, a calmness from the design and the color.

From the edges inward: We muddled through early gray pandemic days of unknowing and misinformation, to the darkness of death that surrounded our globe, to voluntary—but advised—isolation to stay safe. The center shows my hope for our return to vibrant lives through perseverance and attention to science.

This quilt was inspired by childhood memories and my family’s Cuban heritage. The Salsa Rueda dance originated in Havana, Cuba in the 1950s. The Hourglass blocks represent the dancing couples; the overlap of the blocks represents the couples switching partners. The colors selected were inspired by Cuban coffee and the Caribbean Sea.

Looking at life through the lens of how my five-year-old experiences it is joy, happiness, and silliness. We visited an outdoor garden where they had a moveable kaleidoscope to view a bowl of succulents. We were mesmerized by it, so I made that moment into a quilt. I also noticed the quilt top looked like a spider web. Spiders are a constant topic as we had an influx of tiny spiders, much to her chagrin. That’s how I arrived at the name Spidoscope.

Olive was nine years old when she made this quilt; she is now eleven. “I made this quilt for fun, and as I sewed it, I thought that the design looked a lot like a staircase from the top looking down. I used colorful fabrics because I thought it would make people feel happy. Bright and joyful colors make me feel that way. When people feel happy, they feel more hopeful. When you’re hopeful, you feel calm and not as worried.”

Inspired by a photograph of downtown buildings, Urban Cabins is a contemporary exploration of a traditional block. Central Log Cabin motifs grow improvisationally to embrace the hustle and bustle of a downtown community. Print, solid, cotton, and linen fabrics create a diverse range of visual and physical textures.