Hearts for Christmas or anytime . . .

 These heart decorations will hang on your Christmas tree or simply say "I love you". Freehand embroidery on wool (some is on upcycled blanket and upcycled blue jeans on the back)

There are a few beads added to the blanket stitched edge on some of them.

If you know the Shuswap you will recognize that. some of them are a view of Shuswap Lake with Copper Island.

These will be heading to the

Shuswap Artisan Market

next week.

Festive Greeting cards

 I love making greeting cards and this year I decided to focus on a variety of Christmas trees. They are all on hand-dyed fabric with trees that are stitched in some funky style to make each unique. Some of them have been created with my eco print papers that have been collaged before cutting. Here are a few photos to show you . . .

Twisting in the Wind

 This is the second art quilt in an ongoing series . . . Executed on hand-dyed cotton by Vicki Welsh, the gradated colours from rich earthy greens in the foreground to vibrant pink-orange in the sky have created a beautiful landscape.  The thread-sketched trees are twisting in the wind and creating energy that could be a fall scene or the aftermath of a fire.

It's small size (approximately 10" x 17")  makes it perfect for any wall in your home or office.

Bending in the Wind

"Bending in the Wind" is a small quilted wall hanging that has been created with freehand machine quilting and hand embroidery on my own hand-dyed cotton fabric. The luscious green fabric ranges from a pale celery to more intense medium green in the chartreuse tints. It has been freehand machine quilted in variegated green thread in soft curving lines depicting wind and hills. The thread-sketched trees lean into the hillside as their branches are blown in the wind. Hand embroidery in hand-dyed threads accentuates some of the spaces in the quilting. The lines and texture will draw you deep into this artwork each time you look at it.

This art quilt is one of a kind and will look beautiful on a narrow wall in your home or office. It will hang invisibly from a small dowel inserted in the sleeve on the back of the wall hanging. Space two small nails or pins 8-1/4" apart and place a 9" dowel on them and it will hang beautifully.

All Shall Be Well

During this time of the Covid29 pandemic the world is not the same place that it was just a few months ago.  

This art quilt was constructed in a black and white colour scheme with the accent of a bright green anchor.  The white fabric is a patchwork of a variety of styles of printing and writing, done by me with India ink, primitive pens and markers using the words "All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well" from Julian of Norwich (1342-1416). The bright green accent colour was chosen for it's visual impact but also because it is the colour of hope, which is also symbolized by the anchor. The white patchwork stripes are quilted in bright green thread with the words that are written on the fabric ... the black stripes are quilted in black thread with water-like stitching.
It is pieced in such a way that some words can be readily read and others are seen as a shape rather than a word. This calming phrase made the construction of this quilt very peaceful.

It seems like a timely sentiment for these challenging times.

 The backing is a coordinating black-white-grey print and the bright green binding is made from the same fabric as the anchor.  This art quilt measures approximately 27.5" x 24.75".

This is available in my Etsy shop. 

Hand-dyeing fabric

During this unprecedented time of self-isolation due to the Covid19 virus, dare I say that I am enjoying the creative time without external demands on my days?

This week I have been dyeing some fabric and threads for an upcoming project and I thought I'd share this photo with you.

I was going for soft blues and greens that speak to me of the world around us. This fabric is destined to be used to create prayer flags that will tie in with that theme and I am now anxious to move onto the next step . . . more creative fun!

Of course, once I had the dyes out I couldn't resist trying out a few other colours and adding a few more bits to the dye packets ... cheesecloth, silk ribbon, and a bit of lace. These will all find their way into something 😃

Published in German magazine

I have been published in  Patchwork Professional, a German magazine that has featured an article on my textile art ... what a privilege it was to work with them, and with photographer Jerre Paquette, who took the beautiful pictures that accompany the article.  It is a six page article with photos of seven of my art quilts. My high school German of many years ago is not quite up to reading the text, but I trust that they say good things :)

Modern Valentine

While I am almost housebound with all the snow outside the windows, I am making good use of my time creating some new little art quilts.

This one is thread sketched in black thread on white cotton with some hand embroidered French knots. The border is a delightful black and white print that also has hearts and flowers on it.

It will stand on a tabletop or hang from the wall and I think it would make the most wonderful contemporary Valentine.

This little quilt is framed in a 10" square shadowbox frame. It is now available in my Etsy shop.

I will be teaching a workshop in Eagle Bay (on Shuswap Lake) in February. I'd love to have you join me to create a needle felted landscape that you can then use as a base for hand or machine stitching and embroidery. No experience necessary!

Wednesday February 19, 2020 
9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Bring a bag lunch. Coffee and tea will be provided
Cost: $90.00 per person (includes all supplies, and the multi-needle felting tool worth $25.00)

Register with Sallyanne Calver 250-675-3884 or with
Carol Newton at 250-675-2125 by February 5th.
Scent free class – Need 10 participants to hold class
Suitable for hand felting or a needle felting machine ...

Heartfelt Wishes

We are well into January and the snow has piled up around our house ... brrrrr, it is cold!  I love to retreat to my studio when the weather is like this, and working on this red heart piece has been a great diversion.

The heart itself is needle felted with hand dyed wool roving in shades of red-orange-purple. It was then hand stitched (with hand dyed and variegated threads) to a background that is scarlet red dupioni silk that was free motion quilted on the diagonal.  The layered threads and beads have embellished the heart that will speak of love to whomever is gifted this little piece.  The heart is mounted in a white frame that can be hung on the wall or can stand on a shelf. Frame size 9" x 11".


This framed heart is now available in my Etsy shop