C'mon Along...

C'mon along on a quick walk through of the quilts that caught my eye at MAQF 2018, some award-winning and some that were just my very favorites. It was a great show, I simply couldn't be a judge.

I took a lecture and a class from the immensely talented Sue Nickels. She is a wonderful instructor, extremely well-prepared and super organized. I got a lot accomplished in class and finished two machine appliqued blocks since I have been back home. I am inspired and eager to see these blocks in a wallhanging-- when? Hmmm. We'll see.

And in between the show and the workshop that I took was shopping, visiting, more shopping, eating and-- yes, you guessed it-- more shopping. I came home fully supplied, enough to last until next year. Maybe. 

😲Also-- just a bit of MidAtlantic Quilt Festival trivia-- in yesterday's post I mentioned the fact that the event moved from Williamsburg, VA to Hampton, VA somewhere in the mid-2000's, but I was unsure exactly when that change took place. I contacted Mancuso show management and this is the official answer, in case any of you were wondering the same thing:  "The show moved from Williamsburg and was held (for just one year) in the Hampton Coliseum in 2005. In 2006, it moved to the Hampton Roads Convention Center where it has been held ever since."  Now we know. 

Life is Good!

Playing With Pieces

These are 4" sub-units created in two sessions of Tucker University at my LQS. I absolutely love Deb Tucker's Studio 180 Design tools (they're not rulers, they're not made for measuring). I have quite a collection of them, having acquired them over the years. These sub-units are the result of using the Tucker Trimmer and the V-Block Trimmer. Here you see stacks of Half Square Triangle blocks, Shaded 4-patch blocks, Combination blocks, Quarter Square Triangle blocks, V blocks, Sidekick blocks and Hi-low blocks. They are all precisely trimmed to 4.5"and will finish to 4"; they can all be combined with each other interchangeably to create innumerable combinations for larger block layouts as shown below. Tomorrow I will attend the third session of Tucker University where we will use the Wing Clipper tool to make Flying Geese sub-units and variations, these will soon be added to the mix; I can't wait! Yesterday afternoon I played with the stacks shown to imagine just a few of the pretty  12" blocks that might be in my future; as you can see, missing in all of them is a center square-- I am dreaming up all kinds of exciting possibilities there! How much fun are you having in your sewing room these days?

Life is Good!

Sew Inspired!

This dear friend, pictured here, is my very first quilting instructor! She has inspired me in SEW many ways. Today is her birthday and this post is dedicated to Ann and all her multitude of talents; but, far and away, one the things that she is the very best at is being a friend! I cherish her and our friendship, one that has lasted since I was that eager wanna-be quiltmaker in her class 33 years ago. She delighted me with some show and tell when I visited her just before Christmas. She happily displayed her "Spinning Stars" quilt top from a class that she and I took together at Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival three years ago. Sigh and groan... this is where mine is so far:

I don't know why I ever quit working on mine... but I did. As you can plainly see, I adopted an alternate setting from the pattern for my blocks. I had entitled mine "Mountain Day" and only lack four more rows from having a top that measures 60" x 84". I have dragged it out, with all of the components and rulers, and placed it front and center. If Ann's is done and ready to be quilted, then mine will be too!

This was Ann's second show and tell that same day. The sigh and groan that eminated from me this time was much more audible and dramatic; I do know why I never kept working on this one... it was HARD...  I gave up in utter frustration after one completed block! Again, a class that she and I took together, this one two years ago. Always inspiring me, Ann's actions on this front (twelve blocks seems like a reasonable goal!) convinced me to drag out what I had stashed away. Here it is:

The working title given to this one was "Starburst Spin"... in honor of Starburst jellybeans. I can dust this one off and bring these candy colors to life. All I need to do is dedicate my mind and spirit, I can do that, in honor of my friend; she has always left me SEW inspired! Thanks, Ann, you never fail to bring out the best in me. I have weekend plans (Friday/Saturday) to stitch away while being on a fairly close-to-home retreat. My projects this time have self-selected; wish me luck. Hold me accountable. My quilt teacher will, I'm giving her permission to be tough on me... after all, it's her birthday!

Life is Good!

Go, Big Red!

"Go, Big Red"

Two blocks down, four to go, a lap quilt is born. I attended Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival in Hampton, VA last week; you'd never know that from the number (zero) of photographs I took while away, you'll have to take my word for it. I had my camera with me but had left the memory stick at home in the laptop! The only internal memory the camera has was occupied with photos of the grandchildren and  I was not deleting those. Can you blame me? No way could I erase these all-too-fast fleeting moments in their lives (and mine): 

So, instead, I'm sharing the initial results of the workshop I took from Augusta Cole last Saturday. These blocks are big; measuring 24", they are easy to piece and use up LOTS of scraps, making a really big dent in the red section of my stash! I chose to use all scraps and a consistent white background fabric. Red and white always reminds me of high school, our colors were crimson and white; "Go, Big Red!" was an oft chanted cheer back in those days. In honor of that and the BIG bite this took out of the stash as well as the BIG block size I feel like a cheerleader at a pep rally for this quilt. Before I left home I divided twenty two different red fabrics into three stacks and prewashed them using the method pictured below, it worked great.

Back home now, I've recovered from all the fun and frivolity and put away all of  the treasures that I found in the vendor's mall. Thursday morning we awakend to heavy snow falling in Hampton, VA; the show and merchants area at the Convention Center was nearly deserted, it was eerie in there... those if us who shopped that day felt like we had our own private quilt shops open exclusively for us! I felt bad for the vendors, I know they were anxious, but the attendance did pick up on Friday and by Saturday the crowds appeared back to normal volume. All tolled, I believe nine inches of snow fell and was a record for the area on that date. For me, it was the best of all places to be snowed-in!

Today I've got my work all cut out for me, this one should go together quickly; so much so that I feel a cheer coming on: "Go, Big Red!"

Life is Good!

Coming Up For Air

"Coming Up For Air" ~ 60" X 78"

I've been on a roll lately, the queue of "to be quilteds" isn't quite as long as it used to be; I've been using up a lot of fabric (backings), quilting thread and batting too; it's all good. I'm loading this String quilt  top today, it's the product of an Ami Simms class that I took at Mid Atlantic Quilt Festival back in February of 2012. I was hunting for enough backing fabric (5 yards) for this one when I received a message from a friend last week that she had found an odd bolt of Marcia Derse fabric (no longer available) by Troy that's about as old this quilt top. She remembered that I had been looking for this fabric some time ago and set the bolt back for me, she assured me that there was enough fabric remaining to back this String quilt. I stopped my my LQS and purchased 5 yards yesterday! Score!! Or so I thought.
When I got home and introduced the front to the back it was apparent that this fabric just wouldn't work... it's too mushroomy-gray compared to the honey-toned creams on the front.; this wasn't turning out to be the match made in heaven that I had hoped.  Now I was faced with another decision; piece a back from matching scraps left over from the class or dive a little deeper in my stash closet... I chose to take the plunge!

When I came up for air this is what I had clutched in my hand... and, yes, there's enough; it's a fabric ("Painted Desert" line from Hoffman International) that I loved so much back in the mid 1990's I bought all that I could at that time; a long-ago purchase that's paying off today. It's the absolute perfect backing for this quilt... and, a name has been assigned to this quilt now too, in honor of today's diving adventure:  "Coming Up For Air"; that moniker describes not only the sky quality of the quilt's backing fabric but also my recent full-on run at finishing up quilting projects. So, what to do with a now prewashed and pressed 5 yard length of Marcia Derse fabric? Not to worry, it will likely come in handy twenty years or so from now... after all, I'm on a roll!

Life is Good!

Feathered Friends

~"Lynnleigh's Feathered Friends"~

I've been waiting for a sunny day to photograph this latest, completed quilt. It is made from the pattern "Chubby Chicks" and measures 60" X 60".  One more added to the "done" column for this year!

I poured a lot of attention into the quilting on this one.  Using tips and tactics learned in Gina Parris-Perkes' longarm class (Fantabulous Feathers and Fills) at the AQS Quiltweek event in Charlotte this past summer I was able to let the feathers just fly! I am very happy with the results.

I searched all over a few years back to find enough of this backing fabric, it's the perfect complement to the theme and was well worth the effort. This quilt is a gift for our youngest granddaughter.

Life is Good!

There's A Party Goin' On...

Best of Show quilt: "Chiluly's Gondola" by Melissa Sobotka of Richardson TX

... in Charlotte, North Carolina and it's the very best kind; a QUILT party. thrown by AQS! It's an A+++ party too:

Amazing quilts...

Abundant vendors...
Awesome classes and instructors!

I had the privilege of attending the festivities on opening day yesterday and will include here some of the highlights; first, some of my personal favorites, the quilts that spoke to me:

"Rainbow Star" by Carol McDowell of Elkin, NC ; machine quilted by Kim Buterbaugh

"Circles of Joy"  by Barbara Wynn of McLean, VA

"Crown Jewels" by Lisa Calle of Pottstown, PA

"Dresden's Dilemma" by Deborah Poole and Sharon Del Pino of Shelley, ID

"Fiesta Fireworks" by Julia Graber of Brooksville, MS

"Rhapsody In Blue" by Edith Stein of Fort Mill, SC

In the afternoon I was a student sponge in a longarm quilting class, "Fantabulous Feathers and Fills" taught by Gina Parris-Perkes. I tried to soak up everything she said and did, took copious notes and attempted to mimic her movements at quilting time, she was a great instructor.

Gina doing what Gina does best.

Class samples of Gina's amazing longarm artistry.

   

Before leaving the Queen City for the day there was time for one more look at the quilts.

"See Rock City" by Julie Sefton of  Bartlett, TN. Quilted by Chris Ballard.
Julie is a blogger friend of mine, spending time with her
 quilt was almost as good as an in person visit.
Check out more of Julie's beautiful quilts by clicking on her name.

The above two detail shots are from Julie's amazing pictorial homage to rural barns, I found myself lost in all the details... this quilt begs the viewer to step in and search out all the charming additions, it isn't a quilt that you can appreciate from a afar or even quickly;  this one requires time to savor and appreciate.

"A Letter Bit of BAA-ltimore" by Janet Stone of Overland Park, KS

Detail from the quilt above; this quilt contained precious sheep appliques as well as alphabet letters scattered thoughout. Each of the 26 intricately appliqued Baltimore-style blocks represented a letter of the alphabet. This was another masterpiece to study and enjoy ever-so-slowly.

If you're in the mood to celebrate, and can get yourself to Charlotte anytime between now and Saturday

evening you couldn't find a better party to attend than this one... guaranteed!

Charlotte Convention Center

501 S College St.

Today and tomorrow: 9 - 6

Saturday: 9 -5

Life is Good!

Ramping It Up!

How does that saying go? "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten?" Something like that. My quilting endeavors seem stale to me lately, with the exception of that "Head For The Border" challenge I haven't tackled anything truly new or put forth any extra, out of the ordinary effort.  In an attempt to take it to the next level I have registered up for a few classes this summer; nothing like a new perspective from a skilled instructor to jumpstart that old creativity! One class is on "free-form piecing" taught by Lynne Tyler and the second is a longarm quilting class taught by Gina Perkes; they are completely different as far as content but learning some new approaches and getting some fresh ideas should go a long way to ramp up the imagination level and bring me to a more original and energetic place as far as my quilts are concerned. I couldn't be more excited about learning a new thing or two... how do you reignite your own spark?

Life is Good!

A Turn At The Wheel

 Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival in Hampton, VA last week was all that I expected it to be... and more! 

Quilts! Classes!! Vendors!!!

I drove the 300 miles up there on Wednesday and traded in my steering wheel for a wheel of a different type on Thursday morning. I was enrolled in Augusta Cole's "Wheel of Fortune" class; here's my first completed block. This will be a great stash-buster quilt. By no means is this a block that I can mindlessly skate on through, though...piecing  it takes vigilant monitoring of every single piece. Augusta recommended, at the outset, that we label 5 ziploc bags and keep our individual cut pieces in their own designated bags each and every time we handled them. She couldn't have overstated that directive! Ask me how I know. This block is worked in quarters and those two wheel background pieces are not the same. I made the same mistake of switching them at least three times before it all began to sink in; I get it now. Once home, in the quiet of my own sewing space, I was able to concentrate and get the components of three more blocks together. I'll be adding in some more white background fabrics and chose not to stitch the blocks together quite yet, as I want to scatter the backgrounds and incorporate them into the mix.

Here are four blocks laid out together, I love the secondary pattern that emerges where the corners meet. These colors remind me of jelly beans, I may be naming this one "Starburst Spin" in honor of my favorite brand of jelly beans, the tropical flavor assortment that usually hits the store shelves at this time of year.

I don't have much of a Festival report this time, I will pass along my observations, however. One trend that I did notice, and found interesting, this time at the Quilt Show was the presence of more hand quilting than I have seen in years past. Of course, the phenomenal machine quilting and embellishments on the "big winner" quilts only gets better and that bar is raised higher.  Another trend that's going away, I would say based on my observations, are quilt "kits" from the vendor's booths... there were still some, certainly, but not nearly as many as I have seen at  past Festivals. Specialty rulers of all sorts utilizing quick cutting techniques for block accuracy couldn't be missed, they were everywhere; as were longarm machine vendors, there seem to be new manufacturers popping up overnight! I did my fair share for the economy in the booths, picking up mainly essentials; a few of those rulers to combine with my cutting dies for setting purposes followed me home. I was also able to collect quite a few black and gold FQs to make a Boilermaker quilt (in the future) for my Purdue alumni husband; that happy hunt took up most of one day without doing too much damage to my wallet... oh, a few low volume FQs may have jumped in my shopping bag too. As always, it was an energizing and inspiring time away; I can't wait to start planning my trip for next year! 

But for now, it's back to those wheels.... 

they're in motion and I can't lose momentum!

Life is Good!

Inspiration Abounds!

Last week's "Head For The Border" meeting at my LQS was one loaded with excitement and inspiration! I posted here a few weeks ago about the rules associated with this class. The show and tell, as you can see below, was absolutely amazing. Everyone's center block was surrounded, somewhere, by rectangles and black; those were the assignments of design element and color. After each participant was through with their "reveal" our assignments for next time were drawn from two paper bags: Flying Geese and green. After that we were all dismissed, back to our respective drawing boards! I've played with my design in EQ7 and come up with this solution for our next meeting... I like the movement that is occurring  now; where will this medallion quilt go from here? It's the luck of the draw, but one thing's for sure... no two will be alike!

Life is Good!