Can’t make it to the International Quilt Festival in Houston to visit my “Specimens” exhibit? Well, don’t fret. I’m thinking of you. Here are some photos from the show. I know it’s not exactly the same, but I’ve also created a virtual version of the show. I don’t think I’ve shown all eleven quilts (plus one: … More Specimens
A year ago next week I published my first ever blog post. Next week will be number 52. Fifty-two, folks! Whoo-hoo! That was the goal—a post a week, every Saturday, every week. And it’s been a fantastic ride. A couple months ago I realized that this anniversary would fall on the weekend I would be in Houston for the premier of my … More Happy Anniversary: The Best of the First Year
Whew! After an intense few weeks with little sleep and a lot of leaning on my family, the quilt of Chloe the Marabou Stork is finally done. I won’t make you scroll to the end. Here she is. The title “Kaloli Moondance” was given to recognize the Ugandan name for the marabou stork—Kaloli Bird—and the beautiful harvest … More In Progress: Introducing “Kaloli Moondance”
“Golden Temple of the Good Girls” is the last quilt (besides the final installment of Marabou Stork) to receive the Quilt Story treatment before it and ten other “Specimens” quilts are shown at the 2016 International Quilt Festival in Houston in just a few weeks. This quilt of three of our pets—budgie Kiiora, dog Kali, and cat Djinni—has … More Quilt Stories: Golden Temple of the Good Girls
I’ve tried to ensure that “Specimens,” my exhibit of extinct, endangered, and overlooked animals includes creatures of all different kinds. I haven’t neglected the insect world. My quilts “Fire Beetle” and “Exuberance” represent their colorful and many-legged family. … More Quilt Stories: Fire Beetle & Exuberance
Growing up in suburban Maryland, I was somewhat removed from the natural cycle of the world. Getting away from the street lights and into nature meant weekend-long, rain-soaked camping trips with the Girl Scouts. Then I moved to rural Maine. In Maine there are the self-evident markers of the seasons—leaves turning golden and scarlet, the first snowfall, … More Quilt Stories: Million to One
My first post featuring completed student work was so popular I’m certainly going to make it a recurring topic. I never really know which of my posts is going to strike a chord with readers, but I assume that in this case seeing the work of their peers made it obvious that fabric collage is something almost any quilter can do. Some, at … More The Finish Line: Completed Student Work Volume II
Some quilts have complex and rich origin stories. They have a long incubation and are the product of lots of “dream time.” Others not so much. “Fructos” is one of those others. Here’s what I wrote for the International Quilt Festival where the quilt will appear in my “Specimens” special exhibit this November. The 16th Century portraits … More Quilt Stories: Fructos
A couple major changes to the marabou stork to report this week.
First of all, she’s changed her gender. I’ll explain why in a minute. For the time being she will no longer be known as Oscar (as in garbage-loving Oscar the Grouch) but as Chloe. Marabou Storks are common in many parts of Africa, though they’ve been dubbed the unofficial bird of Uganda. There they are called the Kaloli Bird—close enough to Chloe for me. Actually, my husband Tom came up with the nick-name. Anything to stop me from calling her Scrappy (her interim name). I do like Kaloli too and may work it into the official title of the finished quilt. … More In Progress: Marabou Stork 3
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be highlighting each of the ten quilts (plus marabou stork) going into my Specimens exhibit at this year’s International Quilt Festival in Houston. This week I introduce Gombessa, my fabric collage of an ancient fish, a full-sized coelacanth (SEEL-uh-kanth) that I made in 2006. I had heard of coelacanths before, but I didn’t … More Quilt Stories: Gombessa
Susan Carlson Quilts 