Marilyn Belford is an award-winning quilter, well known for her realistic fabric portraits and art quilts. She comes to the quilting community after a long, successful career in the art world. Marilyn finds the congeniality of quilters a delight. Having been brought up in a home where sewing was paramount, it is no surprise that she now combines her love of art and sewing in a new career in quilting. It was after moving up to Chenango Forks, NY, from Brooklyn, NY, that her interest in quilting was sparked. Her first portrait quilt was made in December 1999 and was an immediate success, winning prizes wherever shown.

In talking about her portrait quilts, Marilyn says, “A face expresses much emotion. It can tell a complete story in a single viewing. I try to stitch a personality rather than just a face. It is in the details that the emotions rest. I try to give my students the technical background to enable them to produce a portrait in fabric that makes their loved ones seem to breathe.”

Her works have been shown at the AQS show in Paducah, Quilters’ Heritage Celebration in Lancaster, the IQA International Show in Houston, TX, the Schweinfurth Museum in Auburn, NY and other museums and shows nationally, winning many awards.

Marilyn has been teaching at Quilt University since 2003. She has written an article on her method for Chitra Publication’s magazine Quilting Today, has been featured in ARTSmagazine, and has been favorably reviewed in newspapers in New York.