Waltzing Dog

My company is named "Waltzing Dog", in honor of my unbelievable three-legged waltzing dog (get the "Waltzing" bit?) who had survived more contact with a moving car than any dog should. We affectionately used to say, "Well, he's most of a good dog!" Bosco has passed on to Doggie Heaven ~ Gosh I miss that dog…

I live out in the country in North Carolina with my sweet husband, our sons, 3 kitties, and 3 great dogs.

Technique

I create my quilted art pieces from a collage of commercial fabrics, then I free-form machine-quilt them, which is a lot like drawing while moving the paper under a stationary pen. I utilize raw-edge piecing (I'd go *NUTS* turning under all those teeny edges...) and don't use fusible (yet) (never say never...) I find myself developing art quilting techniques that are outside the box.

My quilts usually have a shaped, quilted frame, with tabs at the top for hanging over a dowel or decorative rod. I tend to work within about a 20"-something x 20"-something finished size ~ it's easier to free-motion quilt. Once I've completed the "Art Quilt" part, I add on a border frame.

I just love color ~ My favorite part of quilting is playing with color. I love to push color to its limits by matching multiple fabrics, colors, and visual textures in surprising ways. I prefer to work in 100% cottons using bright jewel-tone colors, but make occasional forays into more subtle color palettes and other fibres.

Of course, the other part I enjoy about quilting is shopping for fabric... what fabric-aholic wouldn't?

Influences

I have long been influenced by images from the Belle Époque. I especially love the art of Mucha, Guimard, the architecture in Belgium... that fabulous whiplash curve... and all the faeries...! I'm looking forward to creating more pieces incorporating an Art Nouveau flair. And those wee faeries that swarm around my studio will sneak into the work...

I've found myself outside of the studio this year, drawing, creating myself a website (www.waltzingdog.com), and creating and marketing greeting cards & prints from images of my quilted pieces.

The biggest challenge I face these days is finding time to create art! I'm starting to spend some time drawing again with ink and colored pencil. It's fun, and it's something I can do in short bites between chasing our very active sons ; ) I can often be found staying up way past my bedtime, quilting... or at the sewing machine with my 5 year old son tucked in behind me...

Current Projects

As this year rolls on, I've been working on a few new projects. The "Hot Pink Flyin' Faerie Goat" project is underway. It's for my doula (she raises goats) is in progress.

After that, I look forward to creating a quilt