Since 2020, Nicole has collaborated with fellow artist Luke Haynes to create hand-sewn quilts painted with her original writing. Each quilt is placed anonymously in a public space with a small label letting the viewer know it’s free to take and do what they need with it. Over 50 quilts have been installed worldwide—in parks, outside hospitals, along sidewalks—as quiet offerings of comfort and care. Select quilts have also been exhibited in the South Bend Museum of Art, the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fine Arts, and QuiltNSW in Australia.
quilts
play quilts
Nicole’s Play Quilts bring her drawings, writing, and sense of humor into fabric. Made entirely by hand, the quilts often feature childlike or nostalgic imagery, familiar objects, animals, food, and small pieces of text. Some are made for children, while others simply borrow the visual language of childhood to explore joy, tenderness, memory, and play. Each piece begins with Nicole’s own drawings and is translated into fabric through quilting, appliqué, and other hand-built techniques.
