In Full Bloom Quilt
I now have a full collection of scenic McKenna Ryan quilts to hang in my stair hall and change with the seasons. In 2016, I finished “Storybook Farm”, which I had been working on since, um, 2007? Then, I finished “When Friends Gather” in 2017. (The deer block in the …
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Kima’s Chicks 2018
Well over a decade ago, I bought the rest of a bolt of fabric that I thought only I would love. It had a bright yellow background and was covered with drawings of chickens in kerchiefs and aprons with flowers and phrases like “Farm Chicks are Cool!” and “Party on, …
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Shoes and Bags
The inspiration for this quilt was a good friend who is far more feminine than I am. She is always beautifully attired in shades of pink and teal and always with a bag to match so when I decided to quickly make her a quilt, the design was pretty obvious. …
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#TBT – Rainbow Strips
Rainbow quilts have become something of a theme for me. I have always been attracted to jewel-tone colors, which may explain my love for rainbow brights and this quilt is no exception. To create this one, I sewed narrow strips of rainbow-hued fabrics together and then floated them in a …
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“Bullet Holes” Quilt, 2018.
I made the decision when I started my “Victims” quilt series to limit the work to mass shooting events in which more than ten people died. To date, that totals 286 victims of major mass shooting events since the Columbine High School shooting on April 20, 1999. However, those 286 …
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Creative Play Newsletter – Open the Door to Inspiration
We have this book that isn’t really meant to be a children’s book but is one that we read to our daughter called “Good Night iPad.” Describing the things in the room is the phrase “and the bings, bongs, and beeps of e-mails and tweets…” and it is a phrase …
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ACA Open Studios – Oct. 13th
I am thrilled to announce that I have been juried into the Arlington Center for the Arts Open Studios day on Saturday, October 13th. You’ll find me at the Central School building at 20 Academy Street in Arlington, MA. I will have thread paintings, quilts, and my books with me …
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Victims Quilt – Parkland, FL 2018
As we move into fall and past the back-to-school rush, it’s hard not to think about the most recent school shooting, the shooting in Parkland, Florida on Valentine’s Day. Here is the finished Victims Quilt, memorializing those who died on that day.
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Creative Play Newsletter – Back to School
It has been a really long time since I went back to school in September, but that doesn’t stop me from feeling like a new year is beginning each time Labor Day rolls around. I no longer go out and buy new notebooks and packs of pencils, but I do …
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Victims Quilt – Las Vegas 2017
I recently decided to change the way that I am doing the Victims Quilts. Rather than continue to create two enormous, unwieldy quilts that include multiple mass shooting events, I am separating out each event into its own banner. Here is the first, the quilt for the Las Vegas shooting …
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