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Fabric and
threads have always been an important
part of my life. The hum of my mother’s
sewing machine welcomed me home after
school most days. One grandmother
helped me make my first garment,
a plaid shirt. My other grandmother
had crochet, quilt pieces, or her
Bible in her lap anytime she was
not in the kitchen or the garden.
Embroidery was a favorite pastime
as a child, and I continue to be
enveloped in a feeling of peace and
calm when I am holding a needle and
thread. I don’t even mind mending!
Quilts were on every bed in our
home and I naively assumed everyone
had them. When I made my first quilt
in 1984, I knew I had found my passion
from all the other sewing and handwork
projects I had been involved in.
A book of cross-stitched quilt blocks
was the kick-off point. My daughter
and I began stitching blocks, which
were so beautiful that they deserved
a “real quilter” to assemble
and quilt them. Once I began learning
to quilt, I abandoned the cross-stitching
to her. When the top was assembled,
she helped me quilt it, though did
not catch the quilting fever (just
the quilt). It won blue ribbons in
two shows.
First came very traditional, then
more innovative pieced quilts, then
a Baltimore Album-style quilt. I
attended every class, workshop, and
show that I could and was trying
new techniques too fast to complete
the projects. This led to a passion
for miniatures—they can be
completed!
I like to be productive. Quilting
sometimes represents the quiet, peaceful,
introspective person in me; at other
times it is the lively joy of interacting
with other quilters. Quilting allows
me to enjoy all aspects of sewing—designing,
creating, playing with colors and
fabrics, and using the sewing skills
learned over the years as well as
experimenting with new techniques
and products. Quilting lets me be
artistic in a medium that lavishes
time and energy on the work. If the
item is to be a gift, I find myself
meditating about and expressing thankfulness
for that special person. Sometimes
the designing is enough and I do
not continue to feel the excitement
during the making of a piece, so
it goes on a shelf to be considered
later—sometimes to complete,
sometimes not, with no guilt attached.
My quilting has evolved to art for
the walls as I constantly strive
to create the beauty all around me
in fabric and thread. Leaves and
trees are a favorite subject and
a constant reminder of God’s
care and love.
My husband of 53
years and I live in Hattiesburg,
Mississippi, about 60 miles north
of the Hurricane Katrina-ravaged
Gulf Coast in August 2005. We are
the proud parents of two grown children,
a daughter in Hattiesburg and a son
and wife and six granddaughters in
Texas.
Seeing the new growth
of green leaves on the surviving
majestic, wounded trees helps us
to know that our scars are healing,
too. Life is more than possessions.
Creating beauty by interpreting nature
in fabric and thread is a constant
source of joy. We owe a debt of gratitude
to the women who came before us who
elevated the role of women to one
of respect and appreciation, allowing
us to lead creative, independent
lives.
| Organizations: |
- Pine Belt Quilters, Hattiesburg,
Mississippi, one of the founding
members and first officers
in 1984; served as vice president,
president, secretary, show
chair, currently Children’s
Quilts Chair. www.pinebeltquilters.com
- Mississippi Quilt Association,
charter member and first President,
1991; served as newsletter
editor, currently Historian.
www.mississippiquilt.org
- South Mississippi Art Association,
membership director. www.southmsart.org
- Gulf States Quilting Association,
member since 1984. www.gulfstatesquilting.org
- Studio Art Quilt Associates.
www.saqa.com
- International Quilt Association.
www.quilts.org
- American Quilter's Society.
www.americanquilter.com
- Quiltart Internet List. www.quiltart.com
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| Publications: |
- Color
Play by Joen Wolfrom
- Quilt
Style by Lucy Fazely
- Mississippi
Quilts by
Mary Elizabeth Johnson
- Quilter’s
Resource by Maggie McCormick Gordon
- Miniature
Quilt Magazine; Quilting
Today Magazine
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Presentation at Symposium:
“Care, Conservation, and Preservation
of Quilts” Quilts: A Social & Cultural
History of Rural Mississippi, symposium
sponsored by Consortium for the History
of Agricultural and Rural Mississippi
(CHARM), Mississippi State University,
March 2005.
Exhibitions
and Juried Shows:
Quilts and artwork entered at |
- IQA (Houston)
- AQS (Paducah)
- GSQA (Baton
Rouge)
- Pine Belt
Quilters (Hattiesburg, MS)
- SMAA Juried Exhibit, Lucile
Parker Gallery, William Carey
University (Hattiesburg,
MS)
- JavaWerks Coffee Shop,
artist of the month solo
show Aug. 2003, Dec. 2005,
Dec. 2006 (Hattiesburg, MS)
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