Flight of Fancy

January 2003, 40" wide by 40" high, © 2003, Maria Elkins, All Rights Reserved.

To children, nothing seems impossible. Their imaginative minds are full of high and lofty dreams and ambitions. Every so often, one brilliant idea that everyone else laughs at bursts forth and takes wing.

I’ve tried to capture the spirit of a little boy who fearlessly leaps, ready to believe the impossible, completely unaware of the strong hands ready to catch him. Likewise, our loving Heavenly Father is ready to catch us when we follow His leading and step out in faith.

This quilt was made in honor of the 100 year celebration of the Wright Brothers invention. The airplanes depicted on the left and along the bottom are:

• 1903, Wright Flyer III
• 1916, Sopwith F.1 Camel
• 1925, Super Sportster Model R-1
• 1934, Curtiss P-36C
• 1940, DeHavilland
• 1944, Fairchild Flying Boxcar
• 1950, Cessna T-37B
• 1951, Hawker Hunter FGA.Mk9
• 1952, Boeing B52 Stratofortress
• 1954, Lockheed F-104G Starfighter
• 1969, Boeing 747
• 1969, Concorde
• 1971, F-16 Fighting Falcon
• 1981, Lockheed F-117
• 1989, Northrop B-2

The little boy’s face and clothing were painted with Tsukineko All-Purpose Inks. Other surface design techniques include Setacolor and Lumiere textile paints, Sakura Pigma Pens, fused applique, and free motion machine quilting.