2023 Gallery
These quilts are all openly described for accessibility and to acknowledge (as much as possible) the creative pattern authors, teachers, fabric designers, and fellow quilters whose efforts have made my quilts possible!
Scroll down to see quilts from 2023, or select one of the buttons below to visit a gallery of images from other years. Return to the home page to see the most current quilts. In any gallery, click on a quilt photo for an expanded image.
“I found I could say things with colors and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for.” – Georgia O’Keeffe
Home Sweet Home
Fall 2023 A quilt my second mom (mom in law @britsrfun ). This is the Agatha pattern and quilt kit from @connectingthreads ). Image descriptions: front and back of quilt which is hanging over a wooden railing. The fabrics are mostly small, tone-on-tone prints in primary colors – red, yellow, blue, and green. Large, 8-pointed stars with multiple fabric colors are arranged in diagonal rows, separated by diagonalchains of smaller squares. The background is solid white. The binding is red, and the backing is a blue, denim-like print.
In Touch with a Sunset
Fall 2023 Unfortunately I couldn’t make it to the Getting In Touch With Literacy gathering in St. Pete this week, but my quilt is there at the silent auction! If you’re at the conference, please stop by and check it out! Images: square quilt comprised of 16 square blocks separated by white sashing and surrounded by a white border (first photo). Each block is a modified log cabin design with orange rectangles in one corner transitioning to gold and yellow-green rectangles and purple triangles in the opposite corner . The blocks are oriented with the orange corners towards the center and the purple triangles pointing outwards. All the fabrics are tropical batiks, including the backing (second photo), which features a variety of whales against deep purple, gold, and violet swirls. The block pattern is #BeachSunsetQuilt from @AlexaQuilts. Quilting by @quiltersstudiova
Forensics for Mom
Fall 2023 This quilt was a birthday gift for my mom, who (when I was little) worked in forensics. The fabric includes finger prints, polygraph charts, and other crime-solving themes (Sleuth fabric collection by @giucy_giuce ) The pattern is Metro Scope by @sewkindofwonderful image description: my mom stands in front of a large lap quilt, holding up a lower corner. The pattern is a 3×4 arrangement of 12 large square blocks. Each block is comprised of a large circle with four smaller, same-color squares to fill out the corners. A contrasting colored square is inset in each of the squares. Inside each circle is a four-sided shape with concave curved edges, like a square with a scoop take out of each side. These shapes are made of four different fabrics. 12 different fabrics are in alternating placements around the quilt, so each block has different patterns and colors (red, gold, turquoise, light blue, blue-grey, purple, and cream). Everything is set against a light cream colored background fabric with subtle gold circles. The second photo shows my mom pulling back the quilt to show the backing fabric (from the same collection), which is printed to replicate a Winding Ways (aka Kaleidescope) quilt pattern, featuring many circular arrangements of small triangles on an off-white background), with similar colors from the front of the quilt.
Veteran’s Valor
Summer-Fall 2023 Happy Veterans Day! This is a Quilt of Valor, recently completed and soon to be awarded to a veteran. The pattern is Heroes Comfort by Sharon Lake. Learn more about Quilts of Valor at https://www.qovf.org/. Image description: twin-size red, white, and blue quilt. A mix of fabrics were used so there are subtle variations, especially in the reds and blues. Vertical red and white stripes are crossed, diagonally, by a wide section of blue (running from lower left to upper right). 8-pointed stars are evenly spaced across the quilt- blue stars on the red and white stripes, white stars on the blue. Quilted with red, white, and blue variegated thread. Second photo shows background fabric (US flags) and Quilt of Valor label, “Quilt of Valor, made by Rebecca Sheffield, Virginia, USA” #VeteransDay #QuiltOfValor
Indian
Summer 2023 I’m excited this quilt made it to its new home today so I can share my photos! See it in person soon at @WoodsIndianMotorcycleNB This quilt features a 27″ x 20″ paper-pieced Indian motorcycle made from 28 different fabrics following a pattern commissioned from Pitchers Boutique (@QuiltNSew) The motorcycle pattern is comprised of 89 separate units, each of which has 2 to 35 small pieces of fabric in shades of red, grey, white, black, brown, and blue, forming the details of the motorcycle – from the red fenders and tank to the silver and white feather dangling from the handlebars. Following a modified version of the “Courtyard Throw” pattern in Better Homes & Garden’s Quilt-Lover’s Favorites Volume 11, the motorcycle is centered on the landscape-oriented quilt, surrounded by 64 framed rectangles in rows, each rectangle containing two 5″ squares of Indian motorcycle branded fabric (fabric collection by Riley Blake Designs). Fabrics feature tire treads, motorcycles, Indian logos, and ThunderStroke engines. The background fabric simulates quilted red leather featured on some Indian motorcycles. The second photo is of the quilt label (red, white, and blue with stars and text “Made by Rebecca Sheffield, 2023”). The third photo shows a portion of the quilt back, which features long strips of various widths of Indian motorcycle themed fabrics. @QuiltersStudioVA completed the quilting in a “Fancy Feathers” edge-to-edge motif.
Feel the Forest
Summer 2023 For this quilt, many different green corduroy rectangles of varying wales were positioned alternately vertically and horizontally (and along the border, in squares) to provide tactile, non-visual access to the design of the quilt. Brown corduroy was used in the background between the rectangles and squares. The pattern is Forest Bricks by Mary Johnson. The backing of the quilt is made from soft, green flannel, creating additional contrast. Quilt draped on a porch railing in front of a grassy yard.
Nashville
Summer 2023 It has been 20 years since I graduated from college and moved to Nashville,TN. Although I’ve since moved away, I’ll always consider my move to Nashville an especially lucky move since that’s where I met @markjsheffield. This 52″x60″ quilt (ready for hanging on the wall in our home) was made with a Nashville-themed panel by @rileyblakedesigns, adding borders following the Panel Pals 1 pattern by Sam Hunter for Hunters Design Studio, using city-map patterned fabrics (red, blue, black, and white) from Riley Blake’s Destinations line. The center panel features red logos, stars, sayings, and images related to Nashville on an off white background, reminiscent of old concert advertising. The rectangular panel is framed in a series of short angular bars, diamonds, and cornerstones (grey, black, and off white), surrounded by a red border and a scrappy black, off-white, and blue binding. The back is light grey (same city map print as the other fabrics). Quilted with evenly-spaced wavy lines (about 1/2 inch apart)
Where is the love?
I spent December 21 to February 17th in El Paso, TX, as part of the Department of Homeland Security’s Volunteer Taskforce. Along with volunteers from numerous federal agencies, I supported the work of the Border Patrol officers, primarily at the Central Processing Center and at a smaller station underneath the International Bridge. We worked 6 days/week, 12 hrs/day, providing food, organizing a warehouse, and delivering supplies. For many reasons, I haven’t written about this work on social media, but today I’m pleased to share a quilt I completed as a reflection on my experience (yes, I did buy a sewing machine around my 3rd week in Texas!) These photos show a large quilt of on-point squares with off-set, narrow grey sashing (meant to resemble chain-link fencing). Each on-point square is comprised of four smaller squares. The smaller squares are either solid pieces, half-square triangles (a square made of two triangles), or quarter square triangles (a square made of four triangles). The larger and smaller squares and triangles are arranged so that the colors slowly shift (semi-randomly and unevenly) from red at the top, to orange and yellow, to yellow and green, to green and blue, to blue and purple and brown at the bottom. More than 50 different fabrics were used – mostly solids, but also a few prints, including some southwestern fabrics and the colorful backing fabric I bought at the Thread Bear quilt shop in Las Cruces (the rest of the fabric is from the WalMart next to my hotel!) This quilt reminds me a little bit of an “eye spy” image, where you can look through all the shapes in search of a particular design or pattern. There is a pink heart to be “spied” in my quilt, which I’m calling “Where is the love?” after the Black Eyed Peas song which kept playing on the radio in El Paso. In addition to the chain link, the quilt includes contrast and harmony, groups and separations, hour glasses and pinwheels, a blue river and yellow sunshine… all of which remind me of the migrant families from many nations — women, men, and children and the many possible futures caught up in a system which often seems to have little time or space for empathy.