Ohio Dreaming

July 2003, 31" wide by 36" high, © 2003 Maria Elkins, All Rights Reserved.

This quilt was created for the Ohio Bicentennial Quilt Challenge. The girl is based on a photo I took of my youngest daughter. My husband named the quilt, modifying the title of the song, "California Dreaming." We moved from California in 1991 and have since adopted Ohio as our own. While this quilt was being made, our youngest was in the process of looking for a college who would offer her a volleyball scholarship. We parents were, of course, dreaming of an Ohio college so she won’t be too far from home! Well, the verse, "With God all things are possible," is true! A terrific scholarship was eventually offered by a college not too far away and she accepted. Now it’s her turn to dream.

I decided to make the quilt in the shape of the state of Ohio because I liked how the bottom edge reminded me of a rippling quilt. Naturally the "quilt" wrapped around her had to be made with an Ohio Star block! The girl was painted with Tsukineko All-Purpose Inks on commercially printed tone-on-tone fabrics. She’s resting her elbow on her knee, so I painted the inside seam of her blue jeans so it will look more like her leg and not a river.

The background was dyed with Procion dyes and overpainted with Setacolor. The ferns are "sunpainted" using Setacolor’s heliographic properties. The text and trillium were hand painted with Jacquard textile paints. Other techniques used include fused applique, painted washes, and free motion machine quilting with 100 wt. silk, Brilliance®, Reflections®, and variegated metallic threads, all by YLI. The batting used is my favorite, Hobbs Heirloom Washable Wool.