Guild Meeting and Quilt Show Entry Deadline

Today was guild meeting and since the President is on vacation to Florida, this was my first time running the meeting. We are gearing up for the quilt show and one of the topics was getting volunteers signed up to work at the various jobs for the show. My responsibility for the show is the Guild Demo Area. At least I can offer people the opportunity to sit down and sew for 2 hours. I made a poster for signups and about 1/2 the time slots are full.

It was also garage sale day at the guild meeting where members could set up tables and sell things they no longer want. I tried to resist but ended up with a tote bag that my friend Jan makes and a lime green wristwatch. It was fun.

It was also the last day for entries to be submitted for the quilt show. I decided to enter 3 very different quilts. Fortunately, they do not require that they are quilted before entry - of course they need to be quilted before being shown.

First is my color rainbow. It is huge! When I quilted Mary's it turned out to be 90 x 114. I made the center of the quilt in February at Retreat but kept putting off getting the borders on. There are 5 separate borders. First one is the black background to float the center, then one of the light fabrics, one medium and one of the darkest. It is then finished by another border of black. Got it done just in time to take the photo to put in with the entry form.

The second one is the black and white 4 patch kaleidoscope that still isn't quilted. I hope to get that done before leaving next weekend on the cruise.

Last is a wholecloth quilt. The fabric was dyed by a friend Susan Rice who is a member of my Allatoona Quilt Guild. This one is about 44 inches square and is beautiful, even before quilting. I also have a large queen sized piece that I want to quilt but will do that some other time.

We will find out in August of the quilts are accepted as it is a juried and judged show but hopefully these will make it in.

Another Postcard Workshop

I taught another postcard workshop last night. We also got the first rain in a long time - right when we were arriving at the workshop and a real downpour when we left. Since we are behind more than 12 inches in rain, I am not really complaining. Of course, it does feel like a sauna with the 90+ temperature and the rain. This workshop was for the night group that is part of the ECQG. We are still making postcards to use for publicity for the quilt show coming up in September. Many have already been sent to the press but now we would like enough to send to all the quilt guilds in Georgia and some for Alabama and Tennessee. Lots of quilt guilds.

Here are the cards that were completed during the workshop. In addition, several people took theirs home to finish and turn in later.

Everyone always has so much fun learning to make postcards - I love to teach it and share the postcards that I have received from others. I have over 200 cards from all over the world and they are real treasures.

Been Quilting

Sorry I haven't posted recently but I have been quilting and quilting and quilting. The above is Mary's Color Rainbow that needed to be quilted in time for her to enter it into the ECQG show in September. The deadline for entry is June 30. Fortunately for me, the quilts don't have to be quilted for entry. My color rainbow is going to be entered but I just ran out of time to get it quilted.

I also finished 3 other quilts that are going in the show along with a wedding present quilt. All required custom quilting and that takes me quite a while to do each one. Pictures of them are posted on my webshots which is listed on the sidebar.

I did call today to the Gammill dealer to order the table modification that will allow me to sit down to do custom quilting. I finally decided to spend the money. I should get it in after I come back from vacation, in time to start quilting the rest of the quilts for the show. It won't help when doing pantographs but will with custom. It seems like most of my business is custom anyway.

I also signed up for a class with Jamie Wallen at the Gammill Dealer. I think it is the week after the quilt show. He does beautiful work and I love taking classes from some of the best longarm teachers. The last class I took was from Nicole Webb and I learned so much.

Quilt Show Ribbons

We had the monthly planning meeting for the quilt show yesterday and had a very interesting discussion. First, here is a photo of one of the 5 ribbons that I pieced for the show. We were given a little kit with the fabric to make 5 ribbons and the ones I made were some blue ones. The next step is that the committee will take these pieced blocks and turn them into the ribbons.

At the meeting, I suggested that since we have a two person category for quilts, we should give out two ribbons for this category. In other words, each of the two people would receive their own ribbon. I thought this was perfectly reasonable but some others did not and it caused a lengthy discussion - was very interesting to hear all the viewpoints about this issue. I am not sure what other quilt guilds do and if they have the same type of category. Typically, the two person category has quilts that the piecer has paid someone to quilt for them. Of course, it also includes quilts that are pieced by two people or appliqued by two. The quilt is almost always entered into the quilt show by the piecer who is almost always the owner of the quilt.

It just makes sense to me that two person quilt means two ribbons. Fortunately, after much discussion, the group voted to offer two ribbons for this one category.

At the last show, the two person category only had one person's name listed on the label hanging next to the quilt, although the second person was listed in the program. This oversight has been corrected and both names will be on the label this time. At the last show, a quilt won first prize for machine quilting and the quilter's name wasn't on the quilt. Fortunately, the piecer immediately asked that the quilter's name be added to the label and a new one was made. That issue is being resolved this year by stating that only a single person quilt is eligible for the machine quilting award. Not necessarily the solution I would have suggested but it will work.

The quilting world is changing and it is hard to keep up with everything that might come up. The two person category is the largest category in our show. I might add that this is a judged and juried show and has an excellent reputation in the Southeast - it is a great show.

I wonder what others think about this issue. I know that my view is colored by the fact that I am a longarm quilter and quilt for others. At the last show, quilts that I quilted won three honorable mention ribbons. Two were won by one of my favorite piecers/customers and she gave me one of the ribbons. I loved her for that (and for many other things). I am not interested in sharing any money if it is awarded - I got paid for my quilting and that is enough for me. On my invoice, I ask that if they show the quilt in a show or at a quilt shop that I get recognition as the quilter. I just want everyone who contributes to a quilt winning an award to share in it. Let me know what you think.

House Block Exchange

Well, we did the house block exchange on Monday. 15 people completed the blocks so we got one of our own, 11 made by others and didn't get 3 of them. The photo above is the group that I did receive. It is interesting to see how people interputed the challenge of using black and white backgrounds (I got 7 dark and 5 light backgrounds), use of the yellow focus fabric in each block and the house pattern everyone chose. They all go together well. There are two that are a little different from the rest - the log cabin (bottom row, second from left) is not out of the same bright colors as the rest and the 5 little houses in a circle (third row, second from right) but they still look good when added to the rest of the blocks.

These three are blocks that I did not get in my 12. I like them but we could only get 12 blocks, not all 15 since we only made 12.

The size seems to be very good - they were supposed to be 10 inch blocks, measuring 10 1/2 inches when swapped. The circle of houses is slightly larger but easily cut down. Size of blocks can be a problem with swaps but not this time.

Next step is to decide what to do with them - I think I will get some of Sharyn Craig's books out and look at some of her inventive settings before deciding. The goal is that we all complete the quilts by the December meeting and then put them in the Bullock Hall Quilt Show in the Spring.

I won a prize from the FabShopHop

I have played with the FabShopHop for years. I usually start out great but get tired of searching for the bunnies so never am eligible for the Grand Prize. A couple of weeks ago, I got an email saying I had won a second prize worth more than $25. I forgot all about it but got a package this week and in it was 4 one yard cuts of white on white or white on beige fabrics.

They seem to be very high quality fabric and I am sure I will use them for something soon. So my recommendation to you is that you check out at least a few of the shops in July when they have their next shop hop. It is fun to visit new internet shops and you don't have to buy anything.

House Swap Blocks Finished

I finished up my 12 swap blocks for Monday. Again, the "rules" are black and white background, any house block and must use the bright yellow print somewhere in the block. We only had a fat eighth of the yellow but I was able to cut enough for the door and windows.

The block pattern I found was from a Little Quilts book that I won as a door prize during my guild retreat earlier this year. Our blocks need to be 10 inches and the pattern is for a 8 inch house. I added an inch of extra sky and an extra inch of lawn/garden to bring it up to the right size. I like the looks of the smaller house - I know Lynda did the same (I think her house is actually 6 inches) but not sure what the others will do.

We are swapping out the blocks at our Monday meeting - I can hardly wait.

Redwork Quilt

On the Pat Sloan Yahoo group we have been talking about redwork quilts. I made one a few years ago. Actually, I made the center of the quilt and since it was a round robin, others added the borders, while I added borders to theirs.

I think it turned out very nice. I wasn't very happy about the last border with the celtic type stitching but decided to leave it and finish it up. I did several round robins with this group of women and almost all of them did very good work.

It was quilted before I had my Gammill and was done very nicely.

Here is the center block. The designs came from a pattern pack that is still available at Tiny Stitches where I work. I bought them from a different quilt shop several years ago and was surprised to see they are still available. I think the pattern pack has about 9 different designs but these were my favorites.

I really enjoy redwork - perhaps I should get some ready to take on the cruise to Mexico next month. We will be on the ship for 6 days so I need handwork of some sort to take. I purchased a kit for a Christmas Redwork quilt a couple of years ago at the Nashville Quilt Show and think I will try to find it in my closet of kits and UFOs and take it with me.

My sister called this morning - she wants to go to a Mary Ellen Hopkins seminar in Las Vegas right after we get back from the cruise. I have been trying to decide if I want to go - that isn't correct, I know I want to go, but can't decide if it is smart for me to take the extra time and money to do it. We have been to this seminar several other times and have always had a great time and I think she talked me into it.

Stashbusher Topic of the Week - What kind of quilter are you?

Are you a machine quilter, hand quilter or a send it out to be quilted quilter? What is your taste in quilting? Stitch in the ditch, outlining, heavy detailed quilting, all over quilting?

The above is the Stashbuster topic of the week. I have only quilted one hand quilting project and it was a small angel wallhanging that my daughter has hanging in her 4th grade classroom.

I also have not done any machine quilting on my domestic sewing machine. However I do have a longarm quilting business so I quilt almost every day. I like quilts that are heavily quilted however that is not what most customers are prepared to pay for. I love doing simple allover designs for customers but have developed a following for custom quilting.

I love custom quilting - it is so much fun to look at a quilt and be able to quilt it to enhance the piecing/applique by quilting the top. I think my favorite quilt that I have quilted is the Guild Raffle Quilt for the East Cobb Quilt Guild. You can see it at my webshots or at ecqg.com . I also recently finished quilting a wonderful Home Sweet Home quilt that is also in my webshots under Customer Quilts 2007.

For my own quilts, most of the ones I make are samples for Tiny Stitches so I usually need to get them done quickly. Therefore I usually just do a panto on them.

House Swap Blocks

My Piecemakers Bee is doing an exchange of house blocks. Lynda is going to be out of town on Monday when we are actually doing the swap so she brought them to me to take.

The rules are simple. 10-1/2 inch block using black and white as the background, with bright colors for the house. Any house pattern is acceptable. Each block will include some of the bright yellow paisley fabric (we each received 1/8 of a yard) and are making 12 blocks.

I plan to work on mine tomorrow. Thank goodness for the last minute or I wouldn't ever get anything done!

Borders on

Well, I have the borders on the quilt. I still need to quilt it. I bought backing today - Black with white polka dots! The quilt is slightly too wide for Minkee or I would have used that.

I am working on quilting Mary's Color quilt we made during our February quilt retreat. She wants to enter it in the guild quilt show so I need to get it finished for her. I also would like to enter mine but still have to put the borders on it. The deadline is June 30 but it doesn't have to be quilted by then, just finished enough for pictures to be taken.

I have several other quilts that need to be done for the show so I guess I better get busy quilting.

Magic Happens

Here is the 4 patch kaleidoscope quilt put together before it gets turned on point. I was downstairs in the longarm studio cutting it when the electricity went out. It was out for about 1 1/2 hours throughout the neighborhood. No idea what happened but it came back before it got real dark. Of course, since the longarm is in the basement it was very dark. Fortunately, my hubby found a flashlight and came down to give me enough light to make it upstairs.



The pattern I am following for this quilt is kind of like Simply Squares. You put the setting triangles into the quilt as squares and then cut them at an angle to put the quilt on point.

Here is the quilt after being cut and resewn. I need to add a small inner border of the black fabric used for the sashing and then an outer border of the original fabric. I really love this quilt. You can't tell by the photo but the setting squares are black polka dots on white.

Here is a closeup of some of the blocks. It is fasinating how the different blocks turn out. Makes you look at fabric in a whole new way.