Susan Fernandez is a fiber artist and quilter who has lived throughout the United States and world first as an Air Force “brat” and then as an Air Force spouse. She now calls Raleigh, North Carolina home.  Her interest in fiber arts began as a young girl with lessons from her mother, aunts and grandmothers in sewing, knitting, crocheting, tatting and hairpin lace.  As with her female mentors, she was born with a needle in her hand and a love of all textiles.  Doll clothes and funny stuffed knitted animals progressed to original clothing designs, theatre costuming, and her first two quilts: one screen-printed and the other batik resist on paper during her studies at Auburn University in Clothing, Textiles and Related Arts. Throughout her many travels, she also designed and created original christening gowns and wedding dresses for family and friends, upholstered the Fernandez’s “starter” furniture and taught beginning quilting to her Air Force friends while in North Dakota.

Her art quilt journey began in Virginia when she joined an Art Quilt Study Group and began adding to her toolbox of skills, “filling her well” with inspiration from many wonderful art quilters.

She has participated in several art quilt challenges – Donna Desoto’s “Inspired by” series, Suzanne Miller Jones “Fly Me to the Moon,” “Arts and Old Lace” and “Power Suits: An Art Quilt Challenge” by Cyndi Zacheis and Judy Gula., and “Threads of Life: Portraits and Pets in Fabric Exhibition” curated by Diane L. Murtha.  Her quilts have been featured in books and displayed at shows and venues across the nation, including the International Quilt Show in Houston, the Library of Congress, and the Iowa Quilt Museum.

She draws inspiration from the vast beauty in nature and loves the idea of taking a spark and creating something lasting with it.  

Susan retired as a federal contractor in Information Technology in 2022 and in addition to creating textile arts, she enjoys gardening, cooking, travel, photography and spending time with her husband and two dachshunds.