Creative Life Sampler

Another wonderful part of attending a show is getting to see so many quilts up close. If the quilter isn't there to chat, you may find an attendant to show off special features and answer questions about the piece.  White gloved volunteer reveals the back of Stephanie Hedstrom's temperature quilt. Pictures are permitted, without flash of course. But the Modern Quilt Guild makes that irrelevant. True to their name, they incorporated technology for a more modern, up-to-date presentation, - very savvy. There is an app which gives access to pictures of each quilt as well as the artist's written and recorded statement about their work. Pretty sophisticated, right? In many respects this is an open sharing of ideas, - and there are so many cool quilting techniques that can bring fresh inspiration to the viewers' own work! Here are some examples that spoke to me: The mosaic look of Bianca Mercado's Cuban Panels , in  the Youth division Hand embroidery in Seeing Red Feeling ...

The a ppliqué category was incredible! The first prize ribbon went to Leo Ransom for Double the Hipster: Entries in this group reflected a range of perspectives, interests, and personalities. The work included many different styles in color and black & white, hand and machine appliqué. Here are a few examples: Left: Sheila Frampton-Cooper's Dragon Dance , right: Laura Armiraglio's Battistero di Firenze Left: Laura Bryant's Regenerate , Right: Karen Stone's Sacred Once again I was so taken by the atmosphere at a quilt show. There is an energy and joy in the air. I've often commented on the casual conversations that evolve while standing with strangers  in appreciation before a quilt. Three times I was asked by quilters to take a photo of them with their work. This always leads to interesting conversations. That's how I met the lovely quilters of this group effort, V Formation in the Community Outreach category.   Gorgeous quilting in this detail The quilters ...

  Ok. I'm back on track with my photos and ready to share a few favorites from the show, along with a couple of overall impressions. First, I would like to give a shout out to the Modern Quilt Guild for pulling this event together. I was particularly impressed with the care they took in presenting the quilts. For instance, I noticed that they took the time to carefully pin up extra long quilts so they would not be resting on the ground. "Accountability" from the Social Justice Sewing Academy  needed several pin tucks to elevate from the floor. I also noticed that there were several spots in the hall that were less than optimal for viewing quilts, either because of poor lighting or obstructions. These spots were left empty, rather than filling every inch to the detriment of the presentation. It is little details like this which optimize the viewing experience for attendees. It also sends a strong message to the entrants/quilters that their work is in good hands for the dur...

Work in progress packed for the road. This was the week modern quilt makers have been waiting for! It feels like ages since I filled out the paper work to enter my quilt for QuiltCon 2022 and I've really been looking forward to attending this annual event.  So, my wonderfully supportive hubby and I packed up the car for the 6+ hour road trip to Phoenix, Arizona. It's been a long time since we've driven that far for anything. Like a lot of people, we have been very predictable and conservative in our ramblings of late. Somehow it was freeing to get out of the pandemic imposed bubble to see a different part of the country.  The Phoenix Convention Center is a wonderful venue for such a large gathering. It's got great architectural angles, with interesting textures in glass and stone, and lots of space for social distancing! This year the show contained 481 quilts from all 50 states and 19 countries including Russia, Australia, England, Germany, Italy, South Africa, Mexico,...

I've finished the appliquéd top of my first 2022 project. Now I've moved on to the hand quilting stage.   For earlier hand quilted projects, I used a needle punched cotton batting which I felt was easy to work with since it is fairly thin. "Needle punched" means that the cotton has been treated with a stabilizer called "scrim" and then it is poked with needles. This makes it stable and dense, not layered or fluffy, and the batting is more durable. However, I found that sometimes little wisps of white appeared on the surface top where the needle pierced the fabric. This is called "bearding."  I wasn't sure why it was happening until a guest speaker from Hobbs Batting gave a talk to our guild. It turns out that, unless your needle is going through the batting in the same direction as the needle punch did in manufacturing, you are liable to catch little balls of the scrimmed batting when pulling the thread to the surface.  It was suggested that a ...

(The gridding above was drawn with heat erasable pen which will disappear when ironed. ) I recently started a new reverse appliqu é  project for the second in my "Q is for quilting" series. The concept for this piece was influenced by a photo of "Scrambled Q's" in its the early stages. In this design, I'm trying to give a feeling for how the idea for the first quilt developed. With "Scrambled Q's," I had a definite layout in mind and drew it all out before taking needle and thread to the fabric. Everything was planned.  But that's just one method for creating. My starting point for #2 was the existing layout from "Scrambled Q's," however, this piece seems to be evolving as it progresses.  The color choice was inspired by a length of fabric that I've wanted to use for some time. Though I never found the right project for it, I'm drawn to the way the gold and purple seem to glow in this fabric: This will be perfect for t...