Welcome to Fiesta Fibers!

The large quilt at the far wall is one of my entries into the Piedmont Arts - The Art of the Quilt 10th anniversary celebration. Click on the image for more info.

West Virginia Public Broadcasting has selected one of my quilts for their big raffle prize this year! This beautifully made queen size quilt and pillow shams is called Autumn Splendor and was made using my Dancing Log Cabin pattern. It's made from hand-dyed batiks that were machine pieced and quilted. And the winner is...... Susan Collins of Morgantown, WV. Susan has already installed it on her bed and sent us the nice photo above. There are more of my heirloom quilts at the Ice House Artists' Co-op, Independence St at N Mercer St, Berkeley Springs, WV 25411. . The Ice House is open from 11am-5pm on Thursdays-Mondays.

Hand dyed fabrics

My new studio is complete and I am feverishly designing fabrics.

Though I'm a weaver and a quilter, my true love is color. With all the facilities of my new studio I can now produce beautiful hand made fabrics in quantities large enough to sell to others. But even if you can't find something you like in my large selection I can help you create a special fabric for your project.

All of my fabrics are 100% pre-washed cotton and are sold in 3 yard folds. Remember, each fold is one of a kind. If you need more than 3 yards be sure to order it all at one time so it will match. Though I can attempt to reproduce more of a certain pattern at a later time, it's best to purchase all you may need from one design at the same time.

Rather do it yourself? Decorating a home with fabric has dramatically increased over the past few years, you “do it yourselfer’s” know what I am talking about. Just imagine creating the fabric for your guest room curtains. Or creating coordinating fabrics for your bed skirt, shams and lamp shades. The possibilities are endless!

You can spend a day, one on one, in my studio creating the perfect pieces for your quilt, curtains, pillows, tablecloth, etc. No experience necessary, just a love of fabric and color. I will walk you through the art of silk screening as well as fabric dying and printing. You will leave with the necessary yardage for your particular needs. I am available during the week and during select weekends throughout the year and will gladly discuss your plans and detail a day around your needs.

This is what my clothesline often looks like.

Wall Hangings

I also make quilted wall hangings from my own custom dyed fabrics. This photo is from the 2012 New Hampshire League of Craftsmen show at Sunapee.

This series is called "Spheres". Every wall hanging is different. You can see more of them on by clicking on Quilts then Sphere Quilts on the menu above.

I dye the cotton fabric, piece the block, then do a vat dye discharge process on it to put the dots and circles on the arcs. I then steam them, rinse and dry. Gorilla ironing works really well about now to get the block to lay flat! I then put the individual pieces up on the design wall and rearrange them til I like the look.

I'm trying to get the eye to travel around the spheres and engage the mind in the detail. The blocks are then put together with wedges put in to space the blocks and make them fit. Then on to the big machine and the detail quilting begins. I use the thread as you would a pencil and draw with the machine to fill in the background and outline the images. Sometimes the quilting is recessive and other times it comes to the forefront of the quilt. Finally, I head out to the studio and start the finishing process by putting a facing on the sides and cutting and turning the corners of the uneven edges hand sewing them down and putting on a hanging pocket for display.

The small one that I'm holding was created by seeing the dark blocks under the lighter ones on the design wall and liking the idea that it looked like something is hiding behind the front piece. I found it interesting.

Here's a little bit about me working in my studio.