I first learned about color and pattern as a young child in my father's factory. I would play in the stockroom, looking at bolts of fabric until the sizing made my eyes water. There were laces and ribbons, boxes of buttons and buckles. Then there were the swatchbooks, with exotic names like teal, cranberry and taupe. I learned about the characteristics of fabric by touching the tiny pieces, neatly pinked and glued to the pages.
In the making of watercolor quilts, I start out with something definite in the way of color, and let the patterns take me where they will. The excitement and the challenge are in the juxtaposition of the squares, which take on different values according to their placement. I always work in 2" squares and start each piece with at least 25 patterns. I pick up more as I go along, to fill in. I choose the borders only after the center is complete. And then I decide on the quilting pattern.
Piecing satisfies my desire to play with color and pattern. Quilting lends another dimension, which is textural. For the last ten years, I have been working almost exclusively in the "watercolor" style.