Beautyberry

“Beautyberry”

20 x 27.5" Copyright 2021 by Susan Brubaker Knapp

Wholecloth painted, free-motion machine quilted. 

White fabric, acrylic textile paint, cotton thread, interfacing, cotton batting, cotton backing fabric.

“Beautyberry” is the latest piece in my botanicals series. It’s based on several photos I have taken in the past year. 

American beautyberry (Calliacarpa americana) is also known as French Mulberry. It is a large shrub native to much of southeastern and central U.S. Recent research suggests that its leaves may repel mosquitoes, and the berries are edible. It is named for its spectacular berries, which start out pale green and ripen to a spectacular rose-purple in the fall. The berries remain into the winter, after the leaves have dropped.