hodgepodge . . .

Really I have just a strange collection of odds and ends from my life to share today. All of them are important to me in one way or another, so I just piled 'em up together. There's no wonder I don't have a design wall per se . . . I've been too busy buying fabrics and running the video on my camera . . .

First, a nod back to Knoxville and the AQS show. One of the most poignant exhibits there was the traveling Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative exhibit. Unfortunately, in order to preserve the quilts, no photography was allowed, but you can see photos of it HERE at their website and some HERE if you "like" them on facebook. (Photo from the website.)

I had actually had an opportunity earlier in the year to put the name of a dear friend and mentor on one of the squares. I was so excited and touched to find her name -- my handwriting -- on the exhibit (yes; that's the thing I had a part in that was hanging at the AQS show) . It's a very beautiful and moving display and would have been worth the AQS entrance fee if that had been all I'd seen. If you have the opportunity to see it, I highly recommend it.

Next? I got not one, but TWO happy packages in the mail! The first was this wonderful collection of books - and you can see, there are some great titles (and a cute little notepad which is perfect for list-making and/or doodling)!

This came from Peggy at The Simple Woman's Day Book.

The second package came from Karen over at Lisnaweary Quilts. She picked my names, "Cactus Kid & Bo" for her little guys on her Wild West Quilt.

Aren't these fun and pretty? Perfect for the little cowgirl in my life (and I do have one or two).

Saturday I got to spend a couple of hours with my favorite little man, Sawyer Graham. I cannot believe how busy and chatty he is!

Just bright-eyed and bushy-tailed!

See that frown? That's what happens when you try and read your books upside down!

Great profile shot, non?

Just so HAPPY!

I managed to whittle this little clip down from the eleven minute mini-movie it originally was. It's still entertaining to me -- and I've already watched it a dozen times!

Remind me to share why the pig says, "La la la!" I love being a grandmaaaaaa. :)

Then finally, from today, we have new visitors at the camp!

Mama Raccoon and her sweet little babies! They were the first raccoon babies I've ever seen. We saw the first fawn of the season up here last week -- but it was very timid and wouldn't come out for a camera shot. With the baby raccoons I had no such problems.

They were so cute -- and they didn't get too far from mama at first.

Todd commented how amazing it is that we're seeing them in the daylight like this.

Something startled them (another raccoon -- a big male -- came out to eat) and they went dashing up the tree!

After they'd been in the clearing for a while, they got a little braver and let mom get more than six feet away. But my favorite part of their visit I managed to catch on video . . .

Isn't that fun?!?!

All right, I've got a busy, busy (but fun) week in store. Tomorrow I'm off to a church finances seminar and then we've got Community Groups in the evening. I've got a dear, quilty friend coming for lunch and iced tea on Wednesday followed by an evening with the Ignite ladies at the movies (Winnie the Pooh), then Thursday I've got some book-keeping to do before I head off to my guild meeting. Friday I've got lunch at Emma's with a sweet young lady from church, and then a Friday evening ladies' conference at Lighthouse Baptist, and then Saturday morning is the Sulky Thread workshop. Whew! I'm out of breath just typing all that! Good thing the list Todd gave me for the week was such that I finished everything but one item today!

:)

home again, home again . . .

. . . joggity-jog!

What a glorious, fun and frivilous two days it's been! We road-tripped, ooh'ed and aah'ed over quilts and fat quarters, shopped, ate, shopped, ate and shopped and shopped and shopped. And then we got up today and shopped some more!

Our first stop was, of course, the AQS show in Knoxville. We got there just in time for lunch and then headed down to take in the show.

There were tons and tons of gorgeous quilts. I long ago determined that even if I don't care for a particular layout or combination of colors, I can appreciate each quilt based on the workmanship, determination and creativity of the quilter. What a fascinating, incredible group we quilters are!

We were at the show until it closed. I took tons and tons of pictures, too. The challenge quilts were great fun, and there were several exhibits that held exquisite work as well. I know if it were up to me, a heck of a lot more ribbons would have been handed out. Oh, and would you believe, something *I* had a part in was hanging at AQS? For real!

Stick around . . . I'll post more beautiful quilt pictures, more trip details, and some photos of my *sweet* purchases (along with an explanation) over the next couple of days. Tonight, however, I'm headed to BED!

Catch you on the flip side!

:)

knock, knock . . .

Hi Neesey, c'mon in!

Hey my darling Sawyer! What are you doing today?

I'm playing house -- you want to play with me? Come play!

Sawyer, I can't imagine anything I'd rather be doing than playing with you!

Neesey, this is my panda. I love him a lot. Mmmmwah!

Sawyer, I can see indeed that your panda is well-loved!

What's for lunch, Neesey?

How about sharing my zucchini and tortellini, and a piece of pizza for you?

Yum! That sounds really good, Neesey.

Sawyer, you have such big blue eyes!

First you see 'em, now you don't, Neesey!

Sawyer, you are so silly! I love you!

Nee--seeeeeeey . . .

Yes, Sawyer dear?

My lunch is that-a-way!

Okay, darling boy, here it comes.

Mmmm mmmm yummmmy!

Tortellini must be good?

And so are the bread sticks, Neesey!

I see that, Sawyer!

Now that I'm done and all cleaned up, will you read to me?

Of course I will, sweet boy! Let's find a book with bigger print, okay?

What about this one, Neesey? I like this one!

God Knows All About Me -- that's a good choice, Sawyer!

Does God really know all about me, Neesey?

Yes, darling boy, He certainly does.

At least, that's how I imagine his part of our conversation went yesterday! He's quite the chatterbox -- he talks nonstop! It's not his fault I can understand but a word, here and there. And it won't be long before his words will be clear and intelligible, either. He's grown a little (lot) more every time I see him. And he's so bright! I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with him yesterday. He's such a cuddly, loving little boy.

Tomorrow morning I'm getting up very early, grabbing my suitcase, and headed out with my friends, Kathy and Kari, on a road trip to Knoxville, Tennessee! We're going to take in the first day of the AQS show, spend the night, and do a little shopping. I'm thrilled to be able to go! I'll be sure to take my camera and my battery charger. Lots of fun pics when I return. And maybe a purchase or two?! Hahaha!

Toodles!

:)

Red and white quilt show photos... and free stuff !

~Stay tuned for the May giveaway !~

The Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red-and-White Quilts show, which we previewed in March, still has the quilting world buzzing. So when the American Folk Art Museum offered us some photos of the show, we jumped at the chance. Plus we learned that there is a free App for iPhone, iPad and Android owners. Quilting goes high tech !  More info on free quilting resources after these gorgeous photos by Gavin Ashworth.

These photos make us feel as if we were walking around at the show.  A digital guide to the exhibition, including images of all 650 quilts on display, is available as a free app for the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, or Android smart phone. Get the links at the Infinite Variety web page.  (For a few hints, also see the blog post by Peggi at Seams to Be You and Me.)

And did you know that there are more free Apps for iPhone-toting quilters?  Check out the highly-rated QuiltingCalc by Robert Kaufman fabrics.  Oh, and the free quilting podcasts by Alex Anderson or by Pat Sloan. You don't even need an iPhone to listen to podcasts... you can listen online (the iTunes software is free)!

April (no Fools) exhibits and shows !

April showers bring spring shows...here is a virtual bouquet of quilts !

Row 1, L-R: Fibre Arts at Ballarat 2011 (shown is a piece by Alison Withers; Apr14-20, Ballarat, Australia);  Machine Quilting Expo (Ap 11-16, Rhode Island, US); Art Quilts and Poetry about Japanese Americans, La Conner Quilt and Textile Museum (Mar 30-Jun 26, Washington); Row 2: Quilt Art at 25, at the Quilt Museum and Gallery (shown is Lightstrike by Janet Twinn; until May 2, York, Yorkshire, UK). Layered Textures: New works by Carol Ann Waugh, Ice Cube Gallery (Apr 29 - May 21, Colorado); Orange Peel, New Quilts from an Old Favorite contest winners (shown is Orange Blossom Special by Robin Gausebeck; at The National Quilt Museum of the U.S. until Jun 5, Kentucky). More exhibits, U.S.: 43rd annual textiles exhibition, Olive Hyde Art Gallery (Apr 1-May 14, California); Celebrate! 20th Anniversary Exhibit, at the National Quilt Museum (Apr 7  to July 2011, Kentucky); Nebraska Quilts and Quiltmakers, International Quilt Study Center (Apr 8 – Oct 2, Nebraska); International Quilt Festival/ Cincinnati (Apr 8-10, Ohio) ; One Foot Square, Quilted and Bound, at the New England Quilt Museum (Apr14  to Jul 10, Massachusetts); 27th Annual AQS Quilt Show & Contest (Apr 27-30, Paducah, Kentucky); Denver National Quilt Festival VI (Apr 28-May 1, Colorado); The Beauty of Kaleidoscope Quilts, Virginia Quilt Museum (until May 14). Australia : Australasian Quilt Convention (Apr 14-17, Melbourne). Europe: 5th Prague Patchwork Meeting (Apr 1-3, Czech Republic); Six years of quilting, South Midlands Branch, Irish Patchwork Society (Apr 9-17, Ireland); Quilt Expo en Beaujolais (Apr 14 -17 , Graves sur Anse, France); European Art Quilt VI, Stadtmuseum und Stadtarchiv (Apr 16-Jun 30, Einbeck, Germany); Quiltmania, Pour l’Amour du Fil (Apr 27-30, Nantes, France).

Quilt shows, opportunity quilts, and auctions

Row 1, L-R: Kingwood Area Quilt Guild (Apr 15-16, Texas); Milltown Quilters (Apr 28-30, Maryland); African American Quilt Guild of Oakland  (Apr 9, California). Row 2: Krazy Horse Quilters (Apr 30-May 1, Oregon); County Line Quilters (Apr 2-3, Massachusetts); Foothill Quilters Guild (Apr 9-10, California). Row 3: Kansas Mennonite Relief Sale (Apr 8-9, Kansas); Clark County Quilters (Apr 7-9, Washington); Guild of Quilters of Contra Costa County (Apr 2-3, California). Row 4: West Houston Quilters Guild (Apr 8-9, Texas); 2011 Raffle, Santa Rosa Quilt Guild  (Apr 21, California); Dixie Quilt Guild (Apr 22-23, Utah).  More shows and festivals (US & Canada): 19th annual Sewing & Crafts Show  (Apr 1-2, British Columbia, Canada); West Coast Mennonite Relief Sale and Auction  (Apr 1-2, California); Colonial Quilt Lovers Guild,  (Apr 1-2, North Carolina); Twin City Quilters Guild (Apr 2-3, New York); Quilt Extravaganza 2011, Smithtown Stitchers Quilt Guild  (Apr 2-3, New York); Quilt Guild of Metro Detroit (Apr 8-9, Michigan); Northern Shenandoah Valley Quilt Show (Apr 8-10, Virginia); The Best of the Valley Quilt Show  (Apr 8-10, California); Piney Woods Quilt Festival  (Apr 15-16, Texas); Bay Area Quilt Guild  (Apr 15-16, TX); Chadron Festival of Quilts (Apr 15-17, New England); Umpqua Valley Quilters Guild  (Apr 15-17, Oregon); Rutherford Quilt Guild  (April 15-17, North Carolina); Piecemakers Quilt Club  (Apr 15-17, Washington); Seabreeze Quilt Guild (Apr 16, New Hampshire); Northern Lights Quilt Guild (April 16 – 17, New Hampshire); Mason Dixon Quilt Show (Apr 21-22, Maryland); Mid-Valley Quilt Guild (April 21-23, Oregon); Sauder Village (Apr 26 – May 1, Ohio); Kalona Quilt Show and Sale (Apr 28 – 30, Iowa); Penn Oaks Quilters (Apr 29 – 30, Pennsylvania); Merrimack Valley Quilters’ Guild  (Apr 29-30, NH); Associated Quilt Guilds of the Central Coast  (Apr 30 - May 1, California); Heart & Hearth Quilt Show, Amador Valley Quilters (Apr 30-May 1, California); Flat-Iron Quilting Guild  (Apr 30-May 1, Montana); Northern Star Quilters (Apr 30-May 1); Brampton Quilters Guild Show (Apr 30-May 1, Ontario, Canada).

Arizona Quilters Guild Show 2011, part 5 (of 5 !)

It's the grand finale, and we have five more beauties to show you.  We hope you've enjoyed the show (and let us know your favorites !)

Log Cabin Cubicles, 21 x 18, by Margit Kagerer

Margit Kagerer says she loves the log cabin block and all its variations, and we love everything about this piece, which won 2nd place in Miniature Quilts.  The entire quilt is only 18 inches across, and the log cabin strips were less than 1/2" wide! Margit chose the perfect light-medium-dark value fabrics to give a strong 3-D effect.  Little red centers and diamonds enliven the quilt.  You can see more of Margit's beautiful work at the Arizona Quilters Hall of Fame Gallery, and at her website:  Artrageous Fibers.

Unleashed, 36 x 36, by Rita Blocksom (quilted by Sharon Brooks)

"Unleashed" is a lively fabric collage that includes a masked lady (celebrating Mardi Gras), musical notes, the Blues, and the word "French".   What we like about this quilt is the spontaneous, free-form design which fits the festive theme.  Rita Blocksom says:  "The quilt represents all of the things we enjoy in New Orleans, that have been changed as a result of Hurricane Katrina".  The piece won 2nd place for applique (professional-small quilt).  You can see more of Rita's work at her website; and you can see her other award-winning Arizona Show quilt, called "Moab", at Rita's blog.

Owlish Insomnia, 50 x 50, by Carol Carpenter (entered in the Theme category - Along the Desert Highway)

In "Owlish Insomnia", Carol Carpenter used broderie perse and trapunto to depict owls in various states of sleep.  The fanciful owls appeared to be cut from a single fabric motif that looked vaguely familiar.... and we finally were able to place it:  the 2009 full moon forest collection by Tula Pink.  The owls were embellished with beadwork (below; click to see the detail).

This is a really simple but creative use of broderie perse.... the technique has unlimited potential!

Flying Flower, 46 x 37, by Nancy Swanson

Nancy Swanson's own photo from a butterfly house inspired this original design. The butterfly was more than  12" wide, allowing for the detailed treatment of the wings with raw-edged applique and thread painting.  The subtly textured background seems just right; it provides the textures of bark and leaves without detracting from the butterfly. 

Mexican Star, 40 x 40, by Toni Quintana

Toni Quintana's orchid-and-violet quilt really sparkles, and we loved her clever use of gold lamé for the centers of the 9-patch squares. What is interesting about this quilt is the way in which the star points are slightly curved. This is a dimensional piecing technique, designed by Annette Ornelas, which consists of layering and inserting folded fabric pieces into the seam line of a pieced unit or block. The technique is described in Peeled Back Patchwork: Curves without Piecing, and the Mexican Star pattern can be purchased at Southwind Designs.

Arizona Quilters Guild Show 2011, part 4

Do you think our picks from the Arizona quilt show are a little bit.... eclectic?  You'd be right.  We don't always gravitate to the top award-winners, and we tend towards the truly unusual.  Today's quirky mix includes some wonderful art quilts, and a real, live Sunbonnet Sue ! 

No Rain Today, 60 x 48, by Betty Hahn

This stunning landscape quilt was a standout at the show, in our humble opinion.  Luscious, shibori-textured fabrics, which were hand-dyed by Betty Hahn and Elizabeth Barton, were used to depict the view along a desert road, from distant (top panel) to close (bottom panel).  'No Rain Today' received honorable mention in the Theme category (Along the Desert Highway).

Island Sunrise, 64 x 64, by Betty Santa

A classic New York Beauty, with a really lovely cool-and-warm scheme: just look at the right-hand border squares to see how well the fabrics complement each other.  This is a Judy Niemeyer paper-pieced pattern known as Desert Sky, which Betty Santa altered to make the center float, and to have the same sized blocks in each corner. It was quilted it on her domestic machine; click to see the quilting detail in the border squares.

Sunny Bonnets, by Felicia Brenoe

A real Sunbonnet Sue! As famous as 'Sue' is, we rarely see these quilts (except in museum collections !) Felicia Brenoe says that she wanted to create a little girl’s quilt using the colors of 1930’s reproduction fabrics, including the sunny yellow sashing and border.  In a clever touch, the inner white border is decorated with appliqued yo-yo's.  Honorable mention, first-time entrant. (You can download templates for a slightly different Sunbonnet Sue, and Overall Bill, by Marti Mitchell).

Hummingbird, 16 x 20, by Barbara Nicholson

About 15 species either breed in Arizona or migrate through in the spring and fall. Hummingbirds are the smallest birds in the world, but this hovering hummingbird is nearly 18 inches across !  Barbara Nicholson made the quilt in an "awesome" class given by David Taylor last summer at Quilt Camp in the Pines. The pattern can be seen at David Taylor Quilts. Hand appliqued, machine quilted.

Log Jam on Turtle Creek, 37 x 37, by Karen Fisher

‘Log Jams’ is a twist on a log cabin. Karen Fisher paper-pieced the lop-sided turtle and turquoise squares, then continued with lots of red fabrics to frame them. If you look closely you can see that the turquoise log cabins were first pieced on the straight, and then sliced off at angles to make the wonky squares. The quilt, which won 2nd place in the Masters Division, was heavily embellished with beading, buttons and turtle charms (below).

Arizona Quilters Guild Show 2011, Part 3

Are you ready to continue our road trip to places near and far as shown at the Arizona Quilters' Guild 2011 show?  Well, hop in the car, because here we go on Part 3.............

California Dreaming, 28 x 61, by Patsy Kittredge

Patsy Kittredge was inspired to make this quilt based on a late summer visit to the beaches of California with her teenage daughter and friends. She captured them as they relaxed on the sand after playing in the surf. Notice the careful placement of shadows on the sun-washed beach, which increases the sense of realism in this quilt. For the shore break, Patsy used a piece of what appears to be silvery mylar, which added extra sparkle. She received a yellow ribbon, for Honorable mention in the pictorial quilts category.


Paper Star, 61 x 61, by Carol Caplan (Quilted by Maria O'Haver)

Carol Caplan says that she created this quilt, based on a pattern by Karen K. Stone, out of bali batiks that she has collected for many years We're always so happy  to see quilts with beautiful symmetry and precise piecing like this. Sometimes it's challenging to create enough contrast when using batiks, but Carol overcame that by using a deep colored background fabric, which allowed the light-valued balis to really "pop" into the foreground.

About Trout, 30 x 50, by Angie Steveson, at Lunch Box Quilts ( Quilted by Jessica Jones)

Angie says, "My husband gave me the inspiration for this original quilt design. Five different trout were appliqued using an embroidery machine from top to bottom." Angie did a superb job, and this quilt was the first place winner in the machine embroidery category.

Above, here is a close-up of the dry flies which were embroidered in the quilt border. In fly fishing, an artificial fly is constructed by hand to closely resemble a real insect. Angie has done very careful work to re-create this life-like fly, even to the extent of embroidering the fish hook.

Angie found wonderful fabric to realistically portray the water, the riverbed, and the scales of the trout. Even the small eye of the fish is perfectly rendered with beautiful workmanship. The pattern for About Trout can be obtained at Angie Steveson's Lunch Box Quilts.

To Russia With Love, 37 x 30, by Carol Miller

Carol and her group came up with an interesting way to depict St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, Russia. She writes, " After being handed a portion of a photograph, my friends embroidered each individual turret. I hand-appliqued their work back together and added the domes."  The domes were constructed with a trapunto technique.  "To Russia With Love" won the Honorable Mention for Group Quilt.

Colored Squares Set in Stones, 94 x 82, by Christy Schliesmann

This stunning  rainbow quilt won first place in the pieced (non-professional, large) category as well as  the special award for exemplary machine quilting. The pattern was designed  by Liz Schwartz and Stephen Seifert; it originally appeared in Quilts with Style as a design called Armenian Tiles. We think this looks like the very pretty traditional  Amish card trick pattern. What do you think? We'd love to read your comments below.