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Making woolen quilts appeals to my sense of history, conservation, preservation, and creativity. I record the mills where the fabrics were woven, the source of the salesman samples, or the contributors who have given me the cloth. I'm pleased with the longevity the fabrics' colors, weaves, and designs. They never appear out-dated. The wool fiber's ability to absorb the dye means the colors rarely seem to lose their intensity and depth. The selected fiber's quality and length adds to the weaves' strength and durability.

I love to interact with the fabric, often allowing it to dictate the quilt's overall design. The simplicity of the pattern weave suggests the pattern template. I find the soft textures and rich qualities of the various woolen fabrics sensuous to the touch.

I often make bed-size quilts that can also be displayed on the wall. They are strong visual statements that appeal aesthetically to both men and women, often warming the stark environment of physical space.

More recently, my home work area has had an impact on my design styles. After almost thirty years of living in a house one thousand feet above the city of Portland, I moved to a condominium in my favorite historic building in urban NW Portland.

There, I worked in the spacious thirty-foot living room using the hardwood floor as my design surface. Now, instead of magnificent sunsets and storm watches, I get to view Mt. St. Helens and the roof lines of NW Portland. Here, I'm an urban person, walking, riding my bike, and traveling by Portland's light rail system. My design surface has changed from the thirty-foot living room hardwood floor to the extended dining room tabletop. I needed to change my design style of quilts.

Facing the challenge, I turned to my knowledge of quilt history for direction and inspiration. I'm now making woolen strippy quilts based on those early ones from the British Isles and Scandinavian countries that I discovered in my Mormon quilt research.

I'm also making Hired Man’s Quilts, drawing on my eastern Iowa background and awareness of Amish and Mennonite quilts. I love the connection between the tradition of the hired man, who got a cot size quilt, and the contemporary hired man who may or may not do the chores at home. The long narrow quilt is perfect for some of my smaller pieces of woolen fabrics.

I also continue under the influence of my first mentor, Marie Lyman, a student of Japanese textile construction. I make these quilts to be double-sided, often making the back as interesting as the front. This reflects the Japanese tradition where they hid the treasured fabrics or the most elegant ones so as to not be ostentatious.

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