Another Quilt Show

Today I slept in just a little, but not nearly enough given I've taken to staying up until near-midnight these last few nights.  And I'm feeling the sleep deprivation, but today, I had plans.  Fun plans.  My "Padawan" (as she calls herself) otherwise known as my friend and quilting student, Spice, and I had an adventure planned.

Spice had never been to a quilt show!  Yes, it's true, she's that much of a newbie to quilting, so we went to one.  And after the show, she is even more excited, and enthused, and encouraged.  And I might add, she is progressing wonderfully as a young quilter. 

The quilt show was in a lesser populated area than the past couple of shows I've been to, so it was not nearly as crowded, and there was plenty of space with how the quilts were arranged, so we spent lengthy amounts of time discussing the quilt blocks, layouts, fabric choices, and quilting done.  This was not only a big help and insight to her, but also helped me slow down and really focus on each quilt.  Usually when I go to a show alone, I pretty much breeze through the quilts and only spend a little more extended time on those that particularly grab my attention.

We were scolded gently by one show attendee for "touching" the quilt and pointed to the Thou Shalt Not Touch sign, however we were within the appropriate boundaries, and did not touch the quilt but rather the identifying paper which was folded in half and clipped to the edge of the quilt in order to view the back.  During the entire time, I only saw one, maybe two, white-gloved attendees, and they were well aware of our using the paper 'grips' to view the backs.

Following are the photos I took, some of the whole quilt, others only a portion.  

 

Yes, cats are important to quilters, necessary even.

One block with a charming house and embroidery/ribbon embellishments.  This was by the featured artist.

Another block of the same quilt; really like the willow trees ribbon work.

Another by the featured artist.

close-up

And another by the same artist.  Lovely kitty listening to the bluebird sing.

"Warning: Cloth Maps Are Not Intended For Compass Orientation"  I thought that to be very funny.

The maker's husband is a cartographer.

This is one called Love Knots from a Quilt In A Day pattern.  Lovely soothing pattern and colors.  Spice really liked this one so I'll have to look and see if it's one I have in any of my QIAD books.

What I liked about this one is the quilt line around the tree, it reminded me of a church window.

Who could resist these cute umbrellas?

This is Loveland Log Cabin, a Judy Martin pattern... How do I know?  Because I've also made one like this, but mine's not quilted yet, and mine's a scrappier pink version whereas this one seems to have only a handful of different pinks.  I'm encouraged that the maker of this won a ribbon :)  Maybe I'll work on getting mine done so that I can enter it in our guild's show in a year or two.  The ribbon is a Best of Class, Pieced -unreadable- (sorry, I didn't take specific notes).

And who can turn away from a nice patriotic quilt?  This one also won a ribbon in the Mixed Technique category.

It was fun to see which quilts, and colors, appealed to Spice.  We have similar tastes in some areas, but are also polar opposites in other areas. 

There were some very nice antique quilts there; always nice to see those.  One vendor had an antique quilt top she was using as a table covering and it had some pretty tiny pieces in it.  Very lovely.

I didn't walk away empty-handed this time.  More on that tomorrow for Stash Report Sunday.

After the quilt show, we had a mid-afternoon lunch, stopping at a BBQ place that I've only been to once before.  I brought home my leftovers as well as ordered a family platter to take home so that Nick and Marty could have dinner and so that I wouldn't have to figure out what to fix for dinner so late in the day.  It's sufficient food to feed us lunch tomorrow and dinner again tomorrow too.  I like that, and the food of course was oh so very good.  I was only disappointed when I got home to find out the waitress, or whomever filled the order in the kitchen, substituted the requested mashed potatoes for the wrong item - I requested the chunky fries be substituted and instead they subbed the coleslaw...booo, hisss, I was looking forward to more coleslaw! and not to reheated (tomorrow) chunky fries! :(  Even so, I  we will enjoy the rest, and maybe I can put those fries on a pan in the toaster oven to reheat and they might crisp up some.

Culling and Tossing

This isn't what I'd planned to do today.  Well, ok, I hadn't planned anything which is par for the course.  What did I do?  I pulled out what remained of my old quilt magazines, some as far back as 2000 or so.  I had a little less than three of those magazine sleeves remaining from my last purge.  At first, all I was doing was looking through them to see if anything I had marked previously would jump out at me for my next project(s), a handful strolled, but didn't jump, so I set those magazines aside and put a sleeve and a half's worth back on the shelf for another time.  But the other sleeve, I had been watching a recorded episode of Hoarders, so you know what I'm going to say....I looked through those magazines and ruthlessly tossed carefully removed the projects I might some day decide to do along with some tips and techniques I may some day try.  What remained went into the paper recycling bag.  Now, if I could do that to a lot of other clutter hot spots throughout the house!

Tomorrow, my quilting Padawan, and I will be headed off to a quilt show about an hour's drive from here.  I've gassed up the car, and I tried bribing offered Nick some cold hard cash to wash the outside of the car, but he told me he didn't have anything he needed money for, so I expect I'll be driving a dirty car unless he changes his mind, and daylight is rapidly fading so probably he won't be changing his mind.  I think the boy has it too easy, maybe a 'do it or else' is in order?  Hah! as if : /

A Very Nice Day

Early this morning I met up with my friend Panda and we drove to a quilt show.  It was a great day and we had a great time together.

After the quilt show, we went to a late lunch at a place called Dr. Hogly Wogly's Tyler Texas BBQ, I hadn't eaten there in probably 17+ years as I don't live in the area any more and Panda had never eaten there.  Oh Yum!! So very good, but I used a bit of the 'hot' barbecue sauce on my sausage link sandwich and now, hours later, I'm ready for the antacid.  I guess I can't do spicy sauce the way I used to {sad face}, sure tasted good though.  By the time we were ready to leave, the next crowd was coming in and it was a waiting line!

I found two quilts especially fascinating.  One is a Baltimore Album type, all hand appliqued and embellished.  Unfortunately, my little pocket-size Canon camera doesn't give me the sharpest detail and doesn't do the quilts justice.

An almost full image of this large quilt.

A close-up of one section.

The maker's statement.

An even closer image of the bird-nest.  The white-glove lady said that the maker even used her own hair in this 3-D bird's nest.  The entire quilt had a lot of embroidery accents and was stunning.

This next one was smaller (and for some reason, I didn't get a shot of the entire quilt) but I found it very beautiful as I have an interest in Brazilian embroidery which I posted about here.  The exquisite embroidery, was accompanied by crystals and there may have been some tiny beads too.  

The maker's commentary.

One block.

Detail of the floral arrangement on the column.

Detail of the foxglove.

Another block.

And who has ever seen a blue batik horse with a purple and pink batik mane?  Still, I liked it but I'm afraid I didn't get a good shot of the maker's description.

Personally, I was happy to see that a high number of the quilts in the show reflected traditional quilting structure rather than the art 'quilts'.  While I appreciate the beauty, creativity and time involved in some art quilts, I will always define them as 'fabric art' and not true 'quilts'.  I can't cuddle under wall art, but I can under a quilt :)  The show also had a small room displaying dolls but since neither Panda nor I are into that art, we didn't take time to see them.  

While at the show browsing through the vendor booths I saw a lady and she saw me and it was one of those "I know I know you" moments, we both went about our browsing and a few minutes later again were in the same booth at the same time only this time I said, "I know you!".  And we did.  Some 30+ years ago when I was living in another town, I had a then close friend and she in turn had another friend and the lady at the show was that other friend.  I had had opportunity back then to meet her on several occasions at gatherings at the mutual friends home, but didn't associate with her outside of that.  We ran into each other again later shortly before we left the show and chatted for awhile.  It's always nice to be 'recognized' even if you are 30+ years older, more wrinkled, grayer and carrying a whole lot more poundage as I do now.

I got home, and took a nap.   Oh, and the only money I spent today was the show admission and lunch.  Can you believe I didn't buy a thing?!  I exercised great discipline as I will be in Oregon....near Sisters....and get to attend the Sisters Quilt Show....and visit The Stitchin' Post in July....yippee {doing the happy dance}.

Quilt Show Class

On Saturday, I took a class at a quilt show not too terribly far away. 

Bright and early, I got my stuff loaded into my car and drove to the home of my friend Panda, and she loaded her stuff into the car and we drove together to the show.  SHE talked me into going to this class.  It was not a class I would have considered otherwise...it was described with paper piecing, and fusible web, and nylon thread, and oh blech, that just did not sound like MY cup of tee...and good grief, what did I need another Christmas wall hanging for!  I had even thrown the brochure with the list of classes into the trash by the time she'd prodded  asked if I'd join her....it would be a lot more fun to take a class with a friend, she said.

And you know what?  IT WAS.  We had such a great time.  The class was small, only nine of us.  It was the instructors first time teaching this class...and she did a terrific job!  Very nice, personable and helpful young woman.  The teacher was Tina Curran (yes, I'm using a real name and she said it was ok).  Here she is holding her quilt that we were learning.  And you can see more of her work at her web site.

Tina Curran with "O Christmas Tree"

I only took a couple of photos at class so here are two of the ladies who were there.

This is "P", she flew in from a point north of us that would be about a 5 - 6 hour drive by car!  She was at the same table set-up as Panda and I.  She was very nice and we talked quite a bit.  I especially enjoyed when she told me how much space her stash occupied in a moving trailer/van when they moved north, ahem, makes mine look puny! 

This is "M".  She likewise was very nice, and I'm afraid I've already forgotten where she said she was from, but it seems it was closer than "P" though I could be wrong.  She was at the table behind us, so we didn't get to talk as much with her.

We had two ladies from a location about 6 hours drive east, another was from a couple hours to the east, and the others I don't know.  As this was my first class at a quilt show, I was a bit surprised that people came from so far away to attend the show and classes.  I guess to them, it's a three-day retreat.  So with that in mind, Panda and I just might take an occasional road trip if only to just get away from the sameness of our area and to see what lies beyond.  

The class was from 9 - 5, and it sure doesn't seem like we got much done, time passed very quickly, but then, paper piecing does take a bit longer, and it's a method I've only done once before many years ago and was not overly fond of it.  With that project, it came with pre-printed tissue paper sheets.  For this class, she printed her patterns on standard printer paper and newsprint.  We had the option of choosing either one.  After the tissue-paper project, I really felt I did not enjoy paper-piecing.  Using the stiffer paper, I found it to be much more enjoyable, although I'm still not crazy about how much time it takes - I'm a slow piecer anyway. 

These are three blocks I managed to get done during the class. 

This is the boy.  There will be six.

This is the star block, there will be four, one for each corner.

This is the girl block.  There will be six.

When you look at those faces, or their clothes, can you just imagine adding a little embellishment for eyes, nose, mouth and buttons, or belts, or a hair bow?  And I suppose, if you're really creative, you could come up with some toes or shoes and socks.  The boys and girls alternate with each other around the outsides of the quilt, three on each side, then in the center is a tree made from half-square triangles.  I was able to sew about half of them together before it was time to pack up.  The tree is made independently and then adhered to a center background square using the fusible.  It is then machine embroidered around the outer edges, and I'll have to go to the pattern to find out where and how that nylon thread is used - I missed it while she was explaining (I was busy sewing instead of paying attention!).  

I'll show some of the photos I took at the show of the quilts on display sometime during the week, probably spread over a few days.

Stash Report - Week 11

It's that time again where we post our Stash Reports over at Patchwork Times.

It looks like my last report was back on the 25th of February....late even, so it's clearly time to report in again.  And this time, I have sad news, well, ok glad news, well, view it however you wish, but I haven't decreased my stash, rather, I have again added to it!  You see, there was a quilt show this weekend, and what does one do when they go to a quilt show and there are vendors with fabric?  Exercise restraint? I don't think so.  But oh, there was so much more I petted and wanted to buy, so I DID exercise restraint, lol.

Without any further adieu, here are my numbers....an increase of 9.625 yards over my last report.

Used This Week: 0 yards
Used Year to Date: 0 yards
Added This Week: 9.625 yards
Added Year to Date: 14.625 yards
Net Used for 2013: -14.625 yards 

And this is what I brought home:

This set of 6 fat quarters was a WIN for posting on the facebook page of one of the vendors that was there! I had a choice of these, a $10 gift certificate, or a Charm Pack.

Another set of 6 fat quarters, love these!  These weren't free though.

I don't like orange....usually.  You won't find much orange in my stash unless it was given to me.  But there was something about this fabric that grabbed me, so I bought both 1/2 yard cuts available.

One of the vendors sells 'pre-owned' fabric.  The gray-blue on the left was 1.125 yards, and the other was a yard.

And lastly, this set is two one-yard cuts and 3 half-yard cuts, all sold independently of the other but to my liking and for no specific purpose other than I liked them.  Which is really why my stash grows a bit at a time.

Also following me home were these items:

A bobbin box, a 3" tumbler template, and two quilt patterns.

And there you have it, my report for this week.

And Monday It Is !!

The weekend is over, we signed the remodel contract on Friday, I went to a quilt show on Saturday - and had a wonderful time I might add! - 'attended' church via the internet again, it was a 'guest' pastor but one who's on staff, Marty took a few hours Sunday afternoon to head to an area of higher altitude to try to get some snow shots - we'd had rain here and the mountains had snow. During the times I was home over the weekend, I emptied everything out of the bathrooms to be ready for the contractor demo today.

Back to the quilt show. I'll cover purchases today. I got these two bits of fabric; the blue/brown stripe is 1 1/3 yards, the other is a stack of 42, 5" squares. I have a gift project in mind for them. The colors are right in the 5" squares, but the florals won't work, so I'll save them for something else, and if I need more I'll shop in my stash.



This was an 'ahem' somewhat costly purchase because I bought it ONLY for one block.



The block I use, will be either this one, the rooster in the middle:

or this one, but I'm thinking I'm leaning towards that first one but I may adjust the comb, it doesn't seem quite big enough for a rooster. I'll have to think about that. It'll be for my rooster quilt which is in my 2012 UFO Challenge list. I'm very happy to have found this, I've been looking for just the right rooster, in just the right size, for the longest time. I will probably flip it too, as I want the rooster to be looking to the left. Looking to the right just doesn't set with me. It must be a brain thing.

And I saw this nice cross pattern but needed to buy the pattern which had the special acrylic templates to make it. I don't know why Blogger rotated the latter photo-I did not take it that direction and it doesn't show that way on the memory stick :S



And then this one just looked interesting in the form of a flag that was on the vendor's wall.
It's by Donna Poster and she looked VERY familiar. Maybe I saw her years ago on Alex Anderson's show, or maybe she's even been a guest speaker at our guild...I just don't remember. It's a very forgiving pattern if you have trouble with that 1/4" seem, but does use a wee bit more fabric than the traditional method, but that's countered by an almost 3-D effect because of the folds. She has the flag pattern - free - on her website.



I also bought another pattern along with some embellishment items, but I won't show it as it will be a gift item also, but not for the same person as the aforementioned fabric.

And those are my 'conservative' purchases. I spent about the same as the limit my friend had set for herself. Hehee, I won't say what she spent but it was more than her self-imposed limit.