Our Featured Teacher: Felice Dahlhausen
WonderFil Specialty Threads
Claire's County Kerry
By Felice Dahlhausen using WonderFil's Eleganza™ perle cotton
Felice Dahlhausen
Felice spent thirty-two years as a high school art teacher then moved into a new artistic path. She taught photography, drawing, painting and graphic design and is now combining those skills to develop her quilt patterns with a modern and happy look to them. She has been a quilter for over thirty years and is a teacher of NEORQC and member of two local guilds, Always in Pieces, L.O.T.A., and other fiber organizations including the Cleveland Museum of Art Textile Art Alliance, and SAQA.
Felted wool has become her favorite medium combined with cotton fabrics and LOTS of embroidery stitches! Her goal is to strengthen her artistic work and learn new techniques that will provide growth in the skills she uses. She says, "I love sharing the processes with others and enjoy that as much as creating the works. I have created patterns for others to use but also welcome opportunities to teach techniques."
Q&A INTERVIEW
Q: You approach quilting from an artist's perspective. What attracts you to wool appliqué?
A: I love the variety of colors in the threads, and variations inherent in hand-dyed wool. I also love how it feels, and I feel it shows off the stitches so well, even better than cotton.
Q: You quilt, design patterns, and teach. What do you enjoy the most?
A: I was a high school art teacher for years and I really enjoyed the kids. When I retired from that, it took me about 3 years to figure out what was going to be next. I was a quilter and started to realize how much more fun it was with people around, sharing and interacting. I belong to guilds, and love the teaching for that very reason. Being creative around others, and sharing methods and techniques is just so much fun for me!
Q: Hand work is definitely a labor of love. How long does it generally take you to complete a piece?
A: A 40" x 40" piece might take me 6 months to complete.
Q: What is your favorite WonderFil Thread?
A: Eleganza #5 is my go-to thread. I use it for most of my embroidery stitching. I especially love the variegated colors. When I pick up a variegated thread I have never used before, it is exciting to see how it reveals itself! I have just taken up sashiko, and for that I like to use Eleganza #8.
Q: I understand you have just released a new design. What else is coming up for you in 2019?
A: My newest design is titled " Pollinator Blooms". I have admired the fabric designed by Leslie Tucker Jenison and created Mazie's Garden with her Urban Garden fabrics. After seeing that piece, Leslie invited me to create something with her new fabric line Pollinator by RJR Fabrics. So I sent the word out to my followers, asking what they would like to see. One follower from Texas asked for a piece using cacti in bloom. Being from Ohio, it was unfamiliar territory for me, but I did some research and discovered how beautiful their blooms were.
My "Pollinator Blooms" piece has been accepted for the IN Full Bloom Exhibit at the International Quilt Festival in Houston. I also have a piece (Claire's County Kerry) that has been accepted into the Zanesville Museum of Art's 74th Annual Show that is running this summer in Zanesville, OH. That is exciting to me, as it will be exhibited alongside a variety of artwork. I will also be teaching some locally in the summer, then in October I will be going to Artistic Artifacts in VA to teach a two day workshop with Pollinator Blooms blocks.
Mazie’s Garden 26” x 30”
Felice Quilt Designs
Using WonderFil’s Eleganza™ variegated color #EZM20
Pollinator Blooms
By Felice Dahlhausen