The Works of Tara Faughnan (3)

Tara Faughnan is a quilter, teacher and pattern designer who began quilting in 2001. For many years she worked for Michael Miller Fabrics, Pottery Barn Kids and Riley Blake creating textile designs. Tara was the featured artist at this year's QuiltCon show, presented by the Modern Quilt Guild. It was fascinating to see her work in person! We hope you enjoy these photos.

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Half Square Triangles #1 (2014), 55" x 63", by Tara Faughnan

Here's a wonderful quilt made solely with half-square triangles set "on point" with high contrasts. Tara Faughnan says, "This quilt represents a big moment for me in my design journey - this was my first step into disrupted patterning.  a long time admirer of Rosie Lee Tompkins work, a master of disrupting the pattern, I carried that influence into this piece.  Using color and value to create and then blur the lines of patterning has been the focus of my work since this quilt.  The quilt was machine pieced and quilted.

Mod  Log Cabin (2013), 55" x 66", by Tara Faughnan

We love the optical illusion created in this modern log cabin quilt.  Tara says, "This quilt is one of my earliest dives into color, using different values and hues to study how colors interact. Limiting each block to a few colors allowed me to really see the effect that contrast, value and saturation had on color interaction."  It was machine pieced and quilted.

 Give and Take (2020), 59" square, by Tara Faughnan

Tara Faughnan says that the name of this quilt comes from the method of adding sashing and cutting away the background color - thus there was a give and take to each block as I created them. I attempted to create this quilt (or a version thereof) for several years before finally figuring out the piecing needed for the design.  I enjoyed the freedom of this design, and the way the shapes and colors slightly drifted as I sewed the top."

Tara says, "To finish the quilt, I chose a very set [hand] quilting design to compliment and contrast with the organic nature of the piecing."

Jubilation (2021), 62" square, by Tara Faughnan

Inspired by the colors of Mexico, Tara Faughnan says: "I created this quilt as a celebration, an expression of the joy I was feeling during the spring of 2021.  We were coming out of the long pandemic winter.  I was heading off to a coastal town in Mexico, and thinking of its bright gorgeous colors. 

Jubilation was machine pieced and hand quilted, as shown above. Tara says, "As I pieced this quilt, I put these colors together thinking of hugs and warm nights and tacos and tequila, laughter and the sound of music somewhere nearby."  

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 QuiltCon show in Phoenix, Arizona.

Quilts by Rosie Lee Tompkins (part 2)

About five months ago, the art museum of the University of California, Berkeley learned that they had inherited three thousand quilts made by African-American quilters, many from the Bay Area. The museum immediately went to work to organize the first of several exhibitions of these vintage quilts. Please join us to see additional highlights below !

Untitled 2004 by Rosie Lee Tompkins , quilted by Irene Bankhead

Rosie Lee Tompkins was the pseudonym of quilt artist Effie Mae Howard. She made over 500 quilts in her lifetime, starting in the 1970's. She was a devout Christian and an active member of her church in northern California. In the quilt above, you can see that she embroidered her name "Effie" and the date of her birth, September 6, 1936.

On this quilt, Tompkins embroidered numbers that were important to her, such as her favorite Bible verses and other numbers. She created a large amount of free-floating yo-yo's in a number that was personally significant, like an age or a relative's birth date.

Untitled 1986 by Rosie Lee Tompkins (1936-2006)

Velvet and all its variations were Tompkins' favorite fabrics. This quilt is done with velvet, velveteen, velour, crushed velvet, printed cotton, rayon print, acrylic yarn, and pieced cotton backing.

Done in pinwheels, half-square triangles, and nine patch blocks, this quilt is tied instead of quilted. However, by using brightly colored yarn with long ends like a pom-pom, Tompkins incorporates the ties as part of the patterns of the quilt top.

Untitled 1970s by Rosie Lee Tompkins. Quilted by Irene Bankhead in 1997

Here's another pretty example of Tompkins' free-form improvisational approach to quiltmaking. It's comprised of re-purposed hand and machine embroidered fabrics, decorative trim, crocheted doilies, and velveteen, along with shisa mirror embroidery, cotton thread embroidery, and cotton muslin backing.

Tompkins expressed her deep Christian faith by incorporating many religious images, such as this vintage embroidery of Christ. For her, these images served as a focal point for prayer and meditations on her spirituality.

Untitled 2002 by Rosie Lee Tompkins (1936-2006)

This later work of Tompkins, which features a more contemporary or pronounced geometric motif,  is made of  cotton, printed cotton, polyester, canvas, knit velour, polyester fleece, wool, polyester double knit, cotton embroidery, and buttons.

Rosie Lee Tompkins' work was collected by writer, art scholar, and psychologist Eli Leon in Oakland, California. Throughout his life, he organized and presented several exhibitions of her work ; the first one was held at the San Francisco Craft and Folk Art Museum in 1987.

Untitled 1986 with "Christmas material by Rosie Lee Tompkins  (1936-2006)

Our camera photo really doesn't do justice to this quilt ! It's full of sparkly, glittery, shimmery fabric that reflects the festive, happy spirit of the Christmas season. It's done with silk brocade, woven and knit metallic fabrics, acrylic yarn, and satin backing.

Tompkins's quilts were not made from old clothes or other scraps but from fabrics she purchased for their textures and light-reflecting qualities, including velvet, fake fur, wool, silk and Lurex. She adhered generally to  the convention of the quilt block but she made it her own, with many variations in size, shape, and textures within the same block.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration with permission of the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archives.

Quilts by Rosie Lee Tompkins

About five months ago, the art museum of the University of California, Berkeley learned that they had inherited three thousand quilts made by African-American quilters, many from the Bay Area. The museum immediately went to work to organize the first of several exhibitions of these vintage quilts. Please join us to see some highlights below !

String by Rosie Lee Tompkins, 1985, quilted by Willia Ette Graham

The quilts we are showing in this series were all made by Rosie Lee Tompkins, which was the pseudonym of Effie Mae Howard. Born into a family of Arkansas share croppers in 1936, she did not begin quiltmaking until the 1970's, when she was living in California. She favored bright, contrasting colors and large geometric shapes, which made brilliant, highly original designs.

According to the information the museum has about Tompkins, one of her favorite fabrics was velvet, due to its soft tactile qualities and the ability of the fabric to hold color saturation. This quilt appears to be all hand-pieced and hand-quilted, although it is not noted on the description card.

Untitled 1995, quilted by Irene Bankhead, 1997

Tompkins enjoyed collecting bits and pieces of heavily embellished fabric like satins and brocades that were sequined, beaded, or embroidered. The quilt above is composed of velvet with rhinestones, beaded silk satin, angora sweater scraps, beaded crepe, and knit mesh with metal links, among other materials. She collaged these materials on a background of black muslin, as shown above.

Here's a piece of a beaded handbag that Tompkins included on this quilt. Tomkins did not intend for her quilts to be used as bed coverings, as the fabrics were too fragile. She intended that her quilt should be displayed as large panels of abstract or non-objective art.

Untitled 1996, quilted by Irene Bankhead 1998

What an incredible array of fabrics went into this 1996 work ! It's done with velvet, velveteen, cotton embroidery, silk, cotton corduroy, rayon brocade, printed silk, silk crepe with rhinestones, decorative trim with rhinestones and sequins,  faux fur, beaded embroidery, and cotton muslin backing.

Comprised of many solid colors, with decorative blanket stitching around the edge of piece, this quilt is reminiscent of the style of Victorian "crazy quilts." Tomkins was an original, very innovative designer, and here she adds a special personal touch, with the addition of the word "love" and an elegant bow to highlight this focal point.

Untitled 1968, 1982-83, 1996

Rosie Lee Tompkins created more than 500 quilts in her lifetime. They were preserved and displayed by her colleague, Eli Leon, an Oakland, California art scholar and avid collector of African-American quilts.

Through his friendship with Tompkins, Eli Leon formed relationships with the African-American quilting community in the Bay Area and went on to organize more than a dozen exhibitions across the country. His expert assistant and traveling companion, DeAnn Tyler, did the photography, research, and cataloging for his extensive collection, including quilts by other African-American artists. For more hand-embroidered colorful quilts, please see DeAnn Tyler's Instagram page.
In addition,  one of the trustees of his estate, Jenny Hurth, worked with the museum curators to facilitate the exhibit.

This beautiful and fascinating quilt is comprised of cotton, felt, wool, velvet, velveteen, re-purposed embroidered fragments, crocheted doilies, silk crepe, decorative trims of rhinestones, sequins, and pearls, and printed drapery backing. We love the amazing array of textiles on display here !

Untitled 1984, quilted by Irene Bankhead, 1997

Here's a wonderful work of half-square triangles, which reflects Tompkin's improvisational  approach to composition. In many cases, these quilts have no obvious orientation, so the museum curators have decided how they should be hung. By displaying this cheerful quilt horizontally, the brighter triangles appear prominent and really make Tompkins' work sparkle.

This quilt is comprised of cotton, polyester, and rayon fabrics, with a cotton backing. To us, they look like vibrant tropical prints, such as those used to construct Hawaiian themed-clothing. Tompkins has selected a fabulous display contrasting prints.


Image Credits: Photographed by Quilt Inspiration with permission of the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archives.