Pulling a threaded needle through fabric soothes my soul. I try to find at least a few minutes to do this every day. My husband Jim and I love nature walks and shopping in antique stores. Who knows what vintage fabric will find its way into a quilt?
My station in life is teaching. After a career in public education, I began to explore my creative side. Now I teach classes and give lectures related to quiltmaking. I’ve made more than 200 quilts in the past 18 years. Some of these are elaborate bed-sized quilts, others are small wall hangings, many are somewhere in between.
I began with traditional piecing and appliqué techniques using quilters’ cotton fabrics. Sunprints and photos on fabric came next. Now I include wool, linen, vintage fabrics, and decorator fabrics. Many fabrics are now dipped in my indigo dye pot before they appear in a quilt. I embellish with embroidery, buttons, pins, anything I can find a way to attach to cloth.
Since writing a book about one of my quilts, 52 Tuesdays, I am now more focused on the power of the story a quilt can tell. I hope my art will give the viewer a connection to a memory; maybe to bring him a moment of reflection on simple pleasures life has to offer.
My blog serves to connect me to others who love quiltmaking or storytelling or other forms of folk art, and to the life of a simple Southern girl.
I can be reached at sandy@sandygilreath.com.