2014

3 Trees Wall Hanging

(22″ x 41″)Panel quilted and embellished with Swarovski Crystals by Sue Hickman,  Berryville, Va   12/2014

Quilted Neckwarmer

(Approximately 10.5″ x 34″)
Designed, pieced, quilted, and finished by Sue Hickman   Berryville, Va   11/2014
Functional artsuitable for both women and men. As a fashion accessory, neckwarmers keep out the cold weather worn with a coat or vest, or over a shirt, or sweater. They make a statement partnered with jeans, business casual, or even dressier items. This one keeps this artist warm, but others are available for purchase. Click on the link in the side tab to see Quilts and more… these are among the “more”.  Each makes closure with a finished button hole and a coordinating antique button.

Fern Grotto – Wailua River Falls, Hawaii – Kayaking Kauai

(52″ x 44″)
Designed, pieced, embellished, and quilted by Sue Hickman     Berryville, Va 10/2014
I’d been holding on to these fabrics for some time. I found them at different times and places but knew I would work them together in honor of this precious family memory… kayaking in the Fern Grotto near Kauai’s Wailua Falls in Hawaii. This summer a vision for how I would work it together began to take shape. (Sadly, this picture doesn’t do them justice, but…) The sparkle from hundreds of Swarovski crystal elements create movement and bring life to the falls. Ferns are quilted into the fern fabrics all around the center “falls”.
This quilt showed at the 2015 Northern Shenandoah Valley Quilt Show in Berryville, Va and earned the Viewer’s Choice 1st Place award in the Batiks, Batiks, Batiks Show Challenge Category.
This quilt was shown in the 2015 Quilter’s Unlimited 42nd Annual Quilt Show at the Dulles Expo Center.
This quilt was one of the quilts showcased in a Solo-Artist “Art in the Halls” show at The Museum of the Shenandoah Valley in Winchester, VA from October 18th, 2016 through January 22nd, 2017.

Retail Therapy

(56.5″ Sq.)
Pieced by Sue Hickman     Berryville, Va     9/2014
Finished with long-arm quilting.
Using Debbie Maddy’s Calico Carriage Quilt Designs ‘Labyrinth’ pattern.
I’m not really a “shopper”.  I’m not one to enjoy browsing at the “mall”… but when feeling overwhelmed with numerous life challenges over which I had no control I couldn’t resist a spur of the moment stop in one of my favorite local quilt shops where I found these cheerful, fun fabrics perfect for a pattern I’d been meaning to make for years. Ta da… and, yes, completing the process did make me feel much better.  🙂
This quilt was shown in the 2015 Quilter’s Unlimited 42nd Annual Quilt Show at the Dulles Expo Center.

Noah’s Ark – Baby’s First Christmas Quilts

Quilted by Sue Hickman     Berryville, Va     9/2014
I was commissioned to make 2 “Baby’s First Christmas” quilts from Noah’s Ark sheeting for a grandma’s first two grandchildren born this year. She cherished a picture of herself comforted as she held tight to her own Noah’s Ark sheet as a child. Hers is long gone, but she extensively searched ebay and found and bought a number of them. It was my honor to make these for her not only as a “gift” but also as a way to share a memory and leave a legacy.

4 Santas Ornament

(4″ Sq.)
Paper pieced and quilted by Sue Hickman     Berryville, Va     9/2014
Using Carol Doak’s ‘Santa is a Star’ pattern (from The Quilt Life’s December 2011 issue).
In the quilt just below, I paper pieced this block as a “star” for the “December block”, but for this miniature version of the block, I turned the square on point and utilized colorful scraps to create 4 Santas Ornament.

T.O.M. – A Colorful Year

(68.5″ x 55″)
Designed and pieced by Sue Hickman     Berryville, Va     9/2014
Finished with long-arm quilting.
This is my 2014 Quilting with Sue, T.O.M. (Technique of the Month) Class, Sampler/Calendar Quilt. It was great fun to design these blocks and piece them together using a plethora of quilting techniques and fabrics from my “stash”. While my T.O.M. class is ongoing, I worked to stay ahead of the class so they could “envision” what was coming. To see more about this quilt, these blocks and classes, click on the Quilting with Sue – Quilting Classes link in the sidebar under Quilting with Sue.
This “technique teaching” quilt showed at the 2015 Northern Shenandoah Valley Quilt Show in Berryville, Va and earned the Viewer’s Choice 3rd Place award in the “Other” Category.

Shuffling Hexagons

(54.75″ x 52.75″)
Pieced by Sue Hickman     Berryville, Va     8/2014
Finished with long-arm quilting.
This nearly square quilt contains rectangles and pentagons that resulted from the shuffling of hexagons, per Moda’s Shuffling Hexagon pattern. Quilted circles and ovals soften the angularity of the modern piecing.
This quilt showed at the 2015 Northern Shenandoah Valley Quilt Show in Berryville, Va and earned the Viewer’s Choice 2nd Place award in the Modern Quilt Category.
This quilt was one of the quilts showcased in a Solo-Artist “Art in the Halls” show at The Museum of the Shenandoah Valley in Winchester, VA from October 18th, 2016 through January 22nd, 2017.

Blue Ridge – Outback the Shenandoah

(90″ x 68″)
Pieced by Sue Hickman     Berryville, Va    8/2014
Long-arm quilted by Bettie Pharr
Inspired by the fabrics, I adapted this pattern (called Shenandoah, by Deanna Moore of Creative Sewlutions) to include pieces depicting the flow of the river above and below pieces depicting the blue ridges and green valley in an attempt to capture the beauty of our valley with the lush green plants and trees, cool waters of the Shenandoah River, and the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains.
Included in Clarke’s Great Outdoors book, benefiting The Piedmont Environmental Council. Book released in October, 2018.

Row by Row “Summer in the Shenandoah”

(41″ x 10.5″)
Pieced, embellished, and quilted by Sue Hickman     Berryville, Va     8/2014
This quilt depicts meadow wildflowers (embroidery embellished), the Shenandoah River, grasses, trees, and the Blue Ridge Mountains beneath a blue sky.
The “Row by Row” concept apparently began a few years back, but this summer it went nation wide. Quilt shops across the country designed a pattern for their shop and visitors to their shop could pick up these free patterns and purchase a fabric bundle to complete the “row”. Those who completed a quilt containing (I think) 8 of these rows could take it back to one of their included quilt shops and if they were the first to do so in that shop they were the winners of a “prize” and lots of “fat quarters” (favored by quilters!!!). Such fun!
I especially liked this “Row by Row” from the Cloth Peddler quilt shop (Stephens City, Va).
I always have more than one quilt “in the works” in my Studio and with teaching my ongoing “T.O.M.” (Technique of the Month) classes I decided instead of participating more fully, I’d complete this “Row” as a stand alone wall hanging.

I-Spy With My Little Eye

(25″ Diameter, Point to Point)
293 English Paper Pieced blocks
Designed, English paper pieced by hand and machine quilted by Sue Hickman    Berryville, Va     8/2014
See if you can find: Alphabet (A-Z), Numbers 1-5, Colors (red, blue, yellow, green, pink, purple, black, brown, beige, white), 31 flowers, Treble Clef with 6 music symbols, Smiling face, 8 with Snow flakes, Ladybug, 3 with Beach balls, 1 with a Pear and 1 with a Lemon, 1 with a Cat and 2 with Dogs, 3 with Holly leaves, football, Duck, Palm tree, 2 with Suns, 2 with Butterflies, 2 with Seashells, Foot print, Green frog, Cherries, Blue crab, Soccer ball, Sheep, 2 with Sailboats, Gingerbread man, 2 with Apples, Elephant, Ice skates, Pig, Peppermints, Red ant, Carrot, Pair of golf tees, Firefly, Bone, Lightening bug, Owl, Boys playing ‘jacks’, Snowman, Lifesaving ring buoy, Basketball, French horn, Spaceship Flip flop, Candy canes, Home, Artist’s pallet, Dice, Watermelon, Teacup with saucer, Panda, Ice Cream cone, A “onesie” jack, 4 with Pine trees, Pine cone, 7 with Stars, Yellow chick, Four leaf clover, Smiling Jack-O-Lantern, Sand dollar, Dog paw print, Sea turtle, 3 with Autumn leaves, Zebra, Pinwheel, Acorn, Girl with teacup, Spurs and riding crops, 2 with Pineapples, Parrot, 5 with Hearts, Red hot chili pepper, Baseball, Teddy bear, 2 with Fish, green worm, Pyramid, cupcake, Music man.
Completed with 3 antique buttons, this folds up for transport (fun on the run).
This quilt showed at the 2015 Northern Shenandoah Valley Quilt Show in Berryville, Va and earned the Viewer’s Choice 1st Place award in the Baby Quilt Category.
If you’d like to know more of this little quilt’s “story”, you can read about it in my article for American Quilter magazine (Issue 58) published November 2017.  Here is a link to more information.

Chicken Momma

(13″ x 15″)
This quilt honors our first broody hen, Robin (so named for her red-breast). Like my quilt, the real Robin has a BIG heart.
Pieced, appliqued, embroidered,  embellished, and quilted by Sue Hickman Berryville, VA     8/2014
Using ‘Spotty Hen’ pattern by Rachel T. Pellman , Rachel’s of Greenfield.

Emmaus Auf Wiedersehen Quilt

(…Until we meet again!)Containing 24 signature blocks from Emmaus Church members. An Emmaus T-shirt was featured in the center block and was the inspiration for the quilt’s colors.
Designed, pieced and quilted by Sue Hickman     Berryville, Va     7/2014

Party Time

Table Runner  (12″ x 36″)
Designed, pieced and quilted by Sue Hickman     Berryville, Va     6/2014

Treasures in the Sand

Table Topper (20.5″ Square)
Continuous Line designed, appliqued, pieced, and quilted by Sue Hickman   Berryville, Va   5/2014

Spring Garden

(21″ x 24″)
English paper pieced, appliqued, and quilted by Sue Hickman   Berryville, Va   4/2014

Black Tie, White Tie

(15″ x 27″)
Designed, pieced, and quilted by Sue Hickman     Berryville, VA     4/2014

Summer-ties

(42″ x 60″)
Pieced and quilted by Sue Hickman     Berryville, Va     4/2014
Can you see all 12 “bow ties”?

Simply Delicious! 15 Flavors of Dupioni Silk Sherbet

(56″ Sq)
Pieced by Sue Hickman     Berryville, Va     4/2014
Using ‘Pink Power’ pattern by Janine Burke of Blue Underground Studios.
This quilt began with a road trip to G Street fabrics. I hadn’t been there in years and haven’t been since. I was looking for something ‘unique’ but wasn’t finding much to inspire me in the 100% cottons… then I saw a cute tin box that contained these 15 gorgeous pieces of Dupioni Silk. Loved the colors! Had to take them home with me.
Piecing with the silk was challenging since it unravelled easily, but the resulting quilt was worth it!
Note: When this quilt finally found its home with Linda Heater, it became a survivor’s quilt of hope and courage.
This quilt was shown at the 2015 Northern Shenandoah Valley Quilt Show in Berryville, VA in the Lap Quilt Category.

Fractured Floral 8

(29″ x 24″)
Fractured, pieced and quilted by Sue Hickman     Berryville, Va     3/2014
Features Stephanie Brandenburg’s Frond Design Studio Southern Je Ne Sais Quoi Wedding Tree.
This quilt was one of the quilts showcased in a Solo-Artist “Art in the Halls” show at The Museum of the Shenandoah Valley in Winchester, VA from October 18th, 2016 through January 22nd, 2017.

Courage, Freedom, Glory, Liberty, Patriot, Strength, Valor

(24″ Sq.)
Designed, pieced, and quilted by Sue Hickman     Berryville, VA     2/2014

True Blue at Heart

(53″ x 61″)
Designed, pieced, appliqued, and quilted by Sue Hickman   Berryville, Va     2/2014
I was inspired to create this quilt by the Quilter’s Unlimited 2014 quilt show theme, “True Blue”.
By definition, True Blue is: conservative, staunchly loyal, reliable, genuine, constant, and authentic.
No fabric is more “true blue” than South Africa’s Da Gama Textile Company’s “3 Leopards” indigo fabric. It has long been the reliable standard for True Blue textiles.
True Colors International says of “True Blue” that it can soothe the central nervous system and foster psychological contentment and physical tranquility. “True Blue” as a figure of speech takes on the meaning of friendship, helpers, “there when you need them” individuals who will go the extra mile for others.
I found the making of this quilt to be challenging. because authentic indigo fabric comes stiffly starched, it has to be washed before cutting to make it workable. Since sizing in fabric is generally helpful when cutting the 6 exact triangle shapes that make up each hexagon block, ‘kaleidoscoping’ the washed, soft indigo fabric was more difficult than ‘kaleidoscoping’ the white/blue background fabric that was not pre-washed.
A ribbon was added as a design element and red was chosen as its color to bring forth a sense of True Blue patriotism showcasing our Nation’s colors: red, white, and blue.
This quilt appropriately represents this quilt maker and reflects my own big, true blue heart.
This quilt was shown in the 2014 Quilter’s Unlimited 41st Annual Quilt Show at the Dulles Expo center.
This quilt was shown in the 2015 Northern Shenandoah Valley Quilt Show in Berryville, VA in the Wall Quilt Category.

1930s Swing

(39″ Sq)
Designed, pieced and quilted by Sue Hickman     Berryville, Va     2/2014

Celebrating the Patriotic Heart

(38″ x 48″)
Designed, pieced and quilted by Sue Hickman     Berryville, Va     1/2014
I am grateful for opportunities to “give back” through my quilting and usually make at least one quilt annually to be donated to a good cause.
This “Twisted Treasure” is a “Giving Quilt”. It was accepted into the American Quilter Society’s Quilted in Honor Giving Quilt Challenge. Following this year’s AQS Quilt Week in Paducah, KY, it will be donated to Operation Homefront.
Having been a military wife born on Flag Day, every red, white, and blue quilt touches a special place in my heart! This one is no exception.