BUSY DAYS

First and foremost, I want to say Happy Birthday to my brother.  He is such a delight, and I am very lucky to have him in my life, even though we seldom see each other.  You know how it is with good friends, though -- even if you don't get together often, when you do, you just pick up the thread of conversation and keep going.  My baby brother is like that.  He's the real deal.  What you see is what you get, and I like him that way.  Many more, bro'!

In my quilting world, I am working on a small project, a wool needle keeper, that I started in Sue Spargo's class at Quilt Odyssey.  Above is a sampler that she did for us with wool leaf shapes that were all the same but had different embroidery stitches and embellishments on them.

Here's a closeup of some of the stitching.  Isn't it luscious?  The shapes I have on my needle keeper are just circles, but it's surprising how unique they can be made with just a few cleverly placed stitches.  When I get it finished, I'll post it for you.

Meanwhile, here's a little preview of the larger wall hanging project that Mary started in another of Sue's classes.  This is just one section of the quilt, but Mary is a very fast quilter/stitcher, and she had this part almost finished by the time the show was over.  The background is a gorgeous turquoise raw silk, not shiney at all, and fairly loosely woven, but it has great texture. 

Yesterday a lady called me wanting me to put her granddaughter's name on a laundry bag that she was making for her to take to college this fall.  I don't do embroidery as a business, but the lady's friend, who usually did her embroidery, had injured her arm, so I did it for her.  What a great idea!  I immediately called my DIL to ask if my grandson, who is going to VA Tech this fall, needed a laundry bag.  Turns out he already has one, and it isn't made of any type of fabric that can be embroidered.  Oh well.  I'll save that idea for some other time.

TRADITIONAL BEAUTIES

Isn't this just the loveliest quilt?  It's all appliqued, and then finished with a scalloped border.  Click on this picture to see it better.  I love to see hand piecing and applique, but I find it tedious to do.  Maybe that's why I value quilts that have this kind of work on them so much more than straight pieced ones.  The quilting on this one is by hand, too.  Sorry I didn't get the name of the artist, but this quilt was among the others I have shown that were hanging in the show at Quilt Odyssey.

Talk about quilting!  Take a look at this one.  Again, hand appliqued and hand quilted.  These traditional style quilts are such beautiful presentations.  I think for all their novelty and inventiveness, art quilts can never have the grace and solidity of traditional quilts.

Karen Marchetti created this simple but dynamic example of a pieced quilt and won second prize in the wall quilt category!  She named her work "Clouds in my Latte", which reminds me of a Carly Simon song, "You're So Vain" in which she sings about "I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee, clouds in my coffee...."

This miniature quilt is mind boggling!  The quilting is so very tiny and detailed.  I can't imagine how she accomplished that without going blind!  The name of this quilt is "Secret Garden" by Terri Doyle.

This large quilt was made by the Friendship Star Quilt Guild from Montgomery Village in Maryland and is called "Sunflower Square Dance."

This last one is the creme de la creme.  "Pine Burr" by Judy Elwood is machine pieced, hand appliqued and hand quilted.  For her superlative efforts, Judy won First Place as Best Traditional Quilt in the show!  Click on it to magnify it to see each tiny piece.  It is stunning!

I hope all this has stimulated you just as it has me to reach beyond my present grasp when designing or sewing or quilting your quilts.  The show was everything I've come to expect from it over the years and more.  Missy Molino deserves kudos yet again for another year of perfection.  Great classes, great show, and great vendors' mall!

As I complete the projects from my classes, I'll post them here.  Meanwhile, take a look at Mary's blog. She has information on the classes we took with wool queen, Sue Spargo.

MQX LOL IQP HSH

From April 12 to 16 this year, I had the extreme pleasure of attending Machine Quilters Exposition East (MQX) in Providence, RI with my quilting buddy, Mary.  Mary grew up in Newport, RI and had wonderful tales to tell about those years.  We rented a car and toured the streets in Newport where her family home had been, her school, the beaches, favorite haunts -- each with a tale of its own.  The day was grey and blustery, but that didn't dissuade us from our mission one bit!  Lots of laughs along the way, despite the cold and occasional rain.

Eventually, it was time to end the nostalgic sightseeing and go to the Westin in Providence, next to the Convention Center where the show and classes were being held.  The picture at the top of this page is just an example of the startlingly intricate quilts that were in the show, and the one above this paragraph illustrates the finely detailed quilting that could be found in all of the quilts.  After all, this contest was showcasing the quilting more than the piecing -- just the opposite of the usual quilt show.  I was humbled by the expertise demonstrated here. Although I don't think I ever want to drive myself crazy doing such intense quilting on any of my (or my customers') quilts, I really appreciated the fine work done by each and every entrant in the contest.

I took a variety of classes this year, but the best -- and most relevant -- ones were given by this cheerful lady, Crystal Smythe.  What Crystal doesn't know about the Intelliquilter computerized robotics system hasn't been invented yet.  When I attend these classes, it is as much to confirm that I am up to date as it is to learn something new, which doesn't always happen if I am really up to date -- a sort of IQ catch-22.  However, Crystal was able to pass along at least one new use of my system (or remind me of one I hadn't used yet) in each of my three classes with her, as well as make the time fly so quickly that I thoroughly enjoyed her unique personality and its painless delivery of highly technical procedures.

Back in our room, Mary and I each had projects we had brought -- knitting for her, crochet for me, reading for both of us.  However, one that we shared was this adorable scissor fob that I had brought along for each of us to do.  The kit was by Sue Spargo.  These are some of the pieces.  You can see more on Mary's blog as well as her version of the bird.  She thinks outside the box better than I do.

My little bird, complete with felted balls for the feet and top, beads, buttons, and hand sewing. 

After a very full week, we headed for Home Sweet Home!  Tomorrow I'll show you some goodies I bought to try out during my machine quilting.