Val has made a wide variety of quilts over the years. Many have won in prestigious shows. Following is a view of some of her quilts. If you click on the photo, it will open in a separate window as a larger view. Measurements are width by height in inches. Please send comments to Val! Enjoy!
American Proud 2003 (38" X 27.5"). This quilt is Val's original design made for a national APQS contest in 2003 where it placed second. The quilt incorporates a combination of pieced and appliqué techniques; ghost shadowing highlights the lettering and the Eagle. Note that the Pledge of Allegiance is sewn in on the red stripes of the flag.
Four Seasons In Abstract 2012 (45" X 43"). This quilt was completed and entered in the 2012 JoAnn Fabrics quilt contest. It is an original design with each color depicting a season. Winter is signified by blue; Spring is yellow; Summer is green; and Autumn is orange. The technique used to make the quilt was upside down appliqué. There is some beading and crystals to add to the total effect of this art quilt.
Midnight Garden 2006 (77" X 77"). I like the contrast of the colors against the black background. The geometrical colored flowers add a striking appearance to this heavily quilted piece. I have over 80 hours of longarm quilting in this wall hanging. The flowers were turn-under appliquéd by machine and the entire quilt was machine quilted. I added a thin piping next to the binding for contrast. Note the fine detail of quilting in the close-up to the right.
Heart's Desire 2010 (54" X 54"). This quilt is my first attempt at using velveteen. It is a whole cloth. Its plush appearance and red color were responsible for its name! The wool batting creates the faux trapunto look because of the heavy quilting. Note the many crystals that accentuate the piece (one of which sparkles in the middle of the quilt- see enlargement at right). It won First Place at in the 2010 Machine Quilters Showcase Contemporary Whole Cloth competition and a First Place for Machine Quilting at the 2010 Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza.
Serenity 2005 (39" x 66"). This quilt consists of a white silk batiste overlay over a colored background of both sky and water. The water has several brightly colored Koi swimming about. The swan on the silk batiste and several other designs stand out due to the use of trapunto. The fact that I hand-sewed (double knots for each!) over 7,000 beads lends credence to our nickname for this quilt "Insanity"! The beads give the impression of morning dew on the scene. The edges had piping and cording added prior to the binding. It was all machine quilted using silk thread. Serenity won a 3rd place ribbon at the 2005 Quilt Odyssey show in Hershey, PA.
If Only 2005 (48" X 50"). This is another of my original pieces. It evolved out of my frustration with the war in Iraq and all of the needless deaths associated with it. On the quilt are numerous words expressing my hope that in the future we might be able to live in peace. If only we could learn that all of us share the same planet and our survival depends on harmony. If only---
The paper doll cutouts are all holding hands (hearts). Note that the dolls are all of different colors, just like people of the world. The dolls holding hands reflect my hope that sometime in the future we can all hold each other and love each other. The quilt incorporates heavy use of both hand-sewn beads and crystals.
Once Upon A Time 2007 (48" X 59"). This whimsical wall hanging was pieced, painted, raw-edge appliquéd, crystals applied, yarn couching applied, piping and quilted by Valeria Hill. The background is a hand painted color-wash of blue melting into green. Couching and piping with nontraditional fabrics add to the appearance of this lovely wall hanging.
The scene depicts a beautiful young lady encountering a gnome on a frog. Has this ever happened to you?
Tropical Waters Wash Me Away 2004 (67" X 70"). This is an actual functional shower curtain! It placed Third in the Miscellaneous Category at MQS® in 2004. It is an original design and has a lot of fun elements to it. It has couching with yarn, hand beading to some areas and crystals applied to some areas as well. The quilting is free hand from the front of the longarm quilting machine. The fish represent real fish that you would find in tropical seas.
Oak Leaf Time 2005 (78" x 79"). This quilt won a first place at the Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza in 2005. The technique used for the design is a turn under appliqué which is applied by sewing machine. Wool batting is used and gives the quilt a light-weight feel and a faux trapunto appearance.
Red Is My Garden 2002 (82.5" X 105.5"). This was a pattern that I found in a quilting magazine that I felt was lovely enough to make. There is trapunto to each of the flowers which gives the quilt a 3-D effect.
Prince Who? 2008 (21.5" X 28.5"). This quilt is painted with Jacquard Fabric Paints and then quilted. It was a fun little quilt to do. The background is a color-wash while the main design is painted with very little thinning of the paint. To the right you can see more of the detail of this quilt. Click on both of these photos to view enlargements.
Spring Harmony 2005 (59.5" X 71"). This quilt was made to celebrate spring flowers. We chose to use the individual flowers as the theme for the pages on my web site. Most of the quilt has trapunto and turn under appliqué techniques to enhance its beauty.
Whirligig Paisley 2011 (64" X 66"). This is my original design. It is a very colorful quilt with freehand feathers that accentuate the open areas. There is piping that puts closure to the quilt and stops the eye from leaving the quilt. All in all, this is a fun and fanciful quilt! At right is a closeup of one of the four whirligigs. The detail of the quilting and pattern is much clearer in this photo.
Prairie Star 2008 (73" X 73"). This quilt won second place in the Overall Design Category at Machine Quilters Showcase in 2008. The pattern is the Carpenter's Star. The quilting is freehand overall design.
Four Blocks Out 2009 (83" X 83"). This quilt was the result of a class taught by Deb Tucker. Size and color were the choice of the student. Deb taught an easy way to make this particular block which looks very complicated but is relatively uncomplicated. We used Deb's special templates and techniques to complete the piecing. Leaving four blocks and finishing the quilt as it is was my design choice. This is a very colorful quilt that is lovely either hanging on a wall or placed on a bed. It is especially interesting as to how the eye moves the blocks around. Look at it intently and you will see that the cubes rapidly change their perspective to the viewer.
Year Of The Floating Star 2008 (72" X 72"). This quilt, made with Hoffman fabric, is my original design. I fell in love with the fabric because of its design and color. Stars are a favorite quilt pattern of mine and I had always wanted to do one of the large star designs that Shirley Stutz made popular years ago. The quilting is continuous from the front of my quilting machine using stencils and background fill. A blue thread was used over the entire quilt so it would show up on the blue background
Wish 2005 (25" X 25"). This small quilt was my first experiment in Upside Down Appliqué technique. It was entered in a JoAnn Fabrics competition and won an Honorable Mention. Wish was eventually donated to the International Machine Quilters Foundation auction which gives machine quilting scholarships to those who wish to increase their educational level in machine quilting. The Wish came true!
Floral Fancy 2003 (28.5" x 45"). The design for this quilt came from a close friend of ours, Pamela Gladding, who is an artist. With her permission I used elements from one of her paintings and used appliqué technique to apply the copied design.
