Prepare to be wowed by this sparkling selection of finished fabric collage quilts in the newest Finish Line post! What a pleasure to see these artworks and their stories arrive in our in-box—thanks to all who have submitted their quilts for this very special Finish Line category!
The stories that accompany these quilts warm my heart. They are often stories about finding fabric collage after searching for a way to express themselves using fabric. The excitement they share is infectious.
Liz Chronister (who shared her flying pig, “Pigasus,” detail above) says “I’ve tried several other methods of collage but Susan’s is the method I love and continue to use.” Thanks, Liz. I’m happy we found each other.
If you have a finished fabric collage and story that you too would like to share, please consider sending in photos and descriptions for future Finish Line posts—and thank you!
Submit Quilt for "Finish Line"
Learning resources referred to in this post include: blog (in general), my website, my patterns, Fantastical Fish eWorkshop, Serendipity Quilts, 5-Day Live Online Classes, and the Fabric Collage Online Master Class.
Click on any of the smaller gallery photos in this post to view them larger and to scroll through the photo gallery.
Rachael Logsdon
From Rachael Logsdon of Indian Trail, NC:
This was my first completed collage quilt. Susan’s pattern really struck me, with the flow going on inside of the yin yang. I was going to make green and gold fish, but my great-nephew begged me for “one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish.” I really enjoyed the learning process. The red fish is the first fish I completed, and I can really tell the difference between the red and blue in how I worked with the fabrics. I learned so much during the [Fantastical] Fish class! I love the way this quilt turned out. I’m very proud of it.
Dayle Gruder
From Dayle Gruder of Sarasota, FL:
This is a Siamese cat my friend owns. She sent me a photo and I fell in love with her crossed eyes. I had to honor her in cloth. I added glass beads on the flowers for flash.
Liz Chronister
To see more of Liz’s color-filled fabric collage art, click here.
From Liz Chronister of Columbia, MO:
I have always loved little sayings and quotes and frequently write down the more unusual ones I hear. “When pigs fly” is a common one I heard as a little girl whose parents grew up in southern Missouri. Our summers were spent in southern Missouri, staying at my grandmothers house. Days were spent swimming in Current River, walking to the Jolly Cone and playing with cousins we only saw once a year. I caught myself thinking more and more of those days while working on Pigasus. I know my thoughts were due to the saying and hearing those words so frequently when visiting my relatives but it was also due to the colors I was using. My grandmother LOVED color and had the prettiest kitchen I’ve ever seen with cantaloupe colored walls and bright green and white checked curtains. I think Pigasus would feel at home there. I know my Grandma would approve.
I will never forget my first encounter with Susan. I was sitting on the couch at my mom’s house, scrolling through my phone while she napped. I had just retired and was looking at picking up a new hobby, something I had never done before that was out of my comfort zone. In my search I stumbled onto a website that saw a photo of the most incredible pink rhino done completely in fabric. I quickly googled the name of the artist and saw the rest of Susan’s work and decided right then that I wanted to try to take a class with her. It was during the pandemic and life was chaotic and so it was several months before one was finally posted. I took it and fell in love with the process. I’ve tried several other methods of collage but Susan’s is the method I love and continue to use.
*quilting done by Jean White
Sara Crocker
To see more of Sara’s fantastical artwork, click here.
I purchased the 2025 version of the “Fantastic Fish Follow Along” and edited one of Susan’s fish patterns to make this quilt. My “story” for this quilt was printed on the label:
“Meet Zelda. She is the first to admit she is a diva. She is bold, bright, loud and has never met a sequin or glitter tulle she didn’t like. She is part teenage Valley Girl, Madonna, and Lady Gaga. She likes to hang out by the “cool” coral because it has almost as much sparkle as she does.”
Bright colors and glitzy tulle were the order of the day, and I just wanted to have fun with it (which I did!). I usually try to hide dozens of animals and items in my collage quilts, but I just hid a few this time, which made it go together much faster.
I tried a LOT of different backgrounds, but none of them worked for me, so I wound up collaging the background and then using Susan’s “wrap and glue” binding technique, which is loads of fun.
Hidden items: 3 fish, 2 turtles, and 1 seahorse.
I had a large party of friends to celebrate my 75th birthday last March, and I decided to raffle off this quilt (for free). The friend who won it has an amazing art collection, so I’m proud to be a part of that!