I love the feel of fabric running through my hands, the carefully sewn stitches in a antique piece or the once bright colors now faded into a beautiful blend. These are the things that drive me to create new objects with the same sense of style. I design and sew every stitch in each piece. All of my fabrics are made from natural materials that are hand dyed or over dyed. Pearl cotton threads are used for the finish needle work and all added embellishments are vintage. My goal is to create useful, beautiful, sometimes whimsical objects that will be a delight to use and treasure.
The Pincushion
The history of the pincushion is a long one. Early on the pin was such a treasured object that it required a very special home. Older pincushions were stuffed with sawdust, a material used to prevent the needle from rust. It also gives the piece a nice weight. Many would be made into fabric objects inspired by every day things- fruit, birds, animals even insects. The most common today is the red tomato with the attached strawberry filled with emery or fine sand. Emery or the fine sand is used in the smaller objects as a needle cleaner and sharpener. Emery is a finely ground hard material used in polishing metals. All of my designs are made using these same traditional materials and methods.
The Penny Rug
Early in the 19th century penny rugs were created from wool scraps that are appliqued with the blanket stitch to a wool or linen background. Many of the designs featured circles which were cut using a penny coin as a template, hence the name "Penny Rug".
History
Taught Sewing at Singer Sewing Studio 1960's Graduated University of Maryland 1974 for Design Started Heartwells 1983 Exhibited work at past juried art shows across the country- Designer Craftsman Show/ Artful fest in Costa Mesa CA./ Celebration of American Craftsmen in Wilton CT./ Winterthur American Craft Show/ From our Hands, Ohio/ Waterford Home Tour and Crafts Exhibit, Virginia
