The Quilt Show - Part 2

I just discovered that one of the ladies on my yahoo group (CyberQuilters) entered a quilt and it received first place.  It's a wonderful nautical themed one and she is going to be at the Show tomorrow and we've made arrangement to meet up with her.  How exciting is that?

Here is her entry.

Soooo, what did I buy at the show?  Not much but I am totally happy with what I *did* buy.  First I bought some patterns.  One of $.50 and one was $1.

I also bought a book(let) which only cost $3 and I am REALLY happy with it.

The last thing that I bought was a bag of scraps.  Each bag of scraps was $1.  They were stapled together so you couldn't find out what was in it but they would tell you the color group or, like in the one I got, just a "surprise".  I *was* surprised.  I was expecting smaller scraps in there but look what I pulled out!  Small scraps would have been alright with me too since I do applique but this was a bonus!

That's it for part 2.

Have a great day.

Hugs

Harvest of Quilts 2012

The DeKalb County Quilters Guild had their quilt show this weekend.  I decided to go even when a friend of mine developed back problems and had to back out.  I told her that I'd take plenty of pictures so if your mailboxes get flooded it's Connie's and Harmony's fault since I also told Harmony I'd take pictures.  :)  I only took 160 so I thought I was being somewhat restrained.  LOL.  Before I go into my experiences at the show I wish to say that all the quilts were great.  I am not affiliated with the DCQG or any of the vendors nor am I taking credit for any of the quilts shown.  I am just an appreciative admirer but if anybody sees a picture that should not be shown for whatever reason, let me know and I will take it off.  That being said.....Let's go to the Quilt Show!

This Quilt Show, although smaller than a lot still had plenty to see.  One of the highlights for me was when one of the ladies showed me her Double Dragon...Talk about innovative!  She won First Place with it.  She also used the same pattern (which is her original design) for a star.  Oh, before I forget...I really liked how the guild had done little mini quilts/holders for the ribbons.  Isn't that cute also?

The two dragon heads are connected by a magnet.  Separate the two heads and it folds up.

Orange dragon head on one side and blue on the other!

The first quilt I saw after I paid admission fee ($5 for one day; $6 for both days)

I love this quilt and the turtle.  :)

That's it for this segment.  I don't want to flood everybody's mailbox.  If you can't wait for another posting, you can see my pictures at:

http://public.fotki.com/bonni56/harvest-of-quilts-s/

Christmas 2012 Wish List

Farm and Fleet, Penny's, Sears...they all have their wish books and toylands that are sprouting up over night these days to try and start the holiday buying.  Quilting is no different.  In the multitude of renewal notices for magazines and other membership type things, I've decided that I will start my own wish list.  This stemmed from getting the American Quilter's Society September/October 2012 catalog.  Oh my there were some nice things in there.  Let's see.  Some of the things that I caught my eye (in no particular order) are:

Road to Bethlehem Appliques.  Already stencil cut and adhesive so all you do is iron them on.  How easy does that appear to be?!

For $12 a quilt engagement calendar.  This is a must.  I will have it sooner or later.

Puppy Love and Cat Snack kits.  Aren't they cute?

But those aren't the only thing.  Just fabric works for me as well (like I don't have a large enough stash already?)

Bali's are always popular and great to use in many things.

Books are great also.  Anything with applique is good.  Some titles that seem to stay on my list because I haven't bought them yet are:

Applique in Reverse by Teri Henderson Tope
Baltimore Garden Quilt by Barbara Burnham
Flowers, Hearts & Garlands Quilt by Liz Jones
Favorite Applique and Embroidery Quilts by Betty Alderman
Adventure and Applique by Suzanne Marshall

And....don't forget gift certificates.  I LOVE to buy things when I don't have to worry about what bill I'm not paying doing it.  Gift Certificates are one of THE best things I can get.  Doesn't matter if it is JoAnne's, WalMart (which I dearly love), Barnes and Nobles or to Hobby Lobby.  

I had better stop here because I am at work and probably should do some.  LOL.  Hmmm.  I wonder how long my list will grow by the time Christmas comes around?  The good thing about the list is that it is perpetual. 

HUGS to all.

Sit down Kat

Ok.  This post is mostly for Kat because she always said I could do this but also, at the same time, admits that she doesn't like to do it either.  What is it?  FMQ - Free Motion Quilting.

Here is my first total attempt at FMQ....

Here is a close up of the stippling.

It's a start.  :)

Also this weekend is the local quilt guilds "Festival of Quilts" Quilt show.  If you're in the area go drop on by.  I'm not a member (might rejoin next year) but I know there are very talented ladies there.

http://www.dcqg.org/

Herd of Turtles update

The herd of turtles is slowly moving along.  I managed to work on it this weekend a little bit but to tell the truth, I was just being lazy.  :)

Hopefully I will be able to work on it more this week.  It goes a little faster now that I am figuring out the best way for "me" to work on it.

More pictures from the 2005 show

Need eye candy?  Look no further (well you can but then you'd miss these). 

I love the border on this next one.  I might not be able to do the tree itself but I bet I could (with a lot of hair pulling) do the border.  Does that count?

The more I look at this next one, the more I think I could do it.  Won't do it...but COULD do it.

My brother Tony had given me a pattern of an angel and it looks pretty similar to the way this quilt flows.  I must remember to try and find that and see about doing it.

Well that's it until Monday.  Hope everybody has a good weekend and gets plenty done because I probably won't.  LOL.

Found the pictures

I guess time does fly since the last International Quilt Show that I attended was in April 2005.  Wow.  Hadn't thought it was that long.  Here are pictures from that show.  Nobody objected to me taking them and when asked, I did mention I would be sharing them.  If, however, somebody recognizes a quilt and it shouldn't be posted just let me know and I will take it down.

Actually I will be posting these over two or three blog posts since some of you receive the blog via email and it would clog up your box.  It IS interesting to see these pictures after I've started quilting myself.  When I went to the show I hadn't gotten into quilting quite as much.  Had only finished one project and it was a simple one.  I'm sure I went through the exhibits with wide eyes and open mouth from the awe inspired talent of so many people.  That being said...let the pictures begin. 


So get your walking shoes on and let's see some quits.

When I went to the show, I didn't take notes on the quilts and now I wish I did.  In 2013 it will be interesting to see if I remember then.  The next pictures intrigued me because it was so unusual.  Not what I expected to see.  But then I didn't know things like thread painting etc. esisted.  These birds have different stitches in them as well as some braids and ribbons.  Very innovative use.

It was fun going back to see these pictures because now I know how to o some of the Baltimore (or Baltimore style) blocks.  Gulp...does that mean I am learning something?

I'll stop there and post some more tomorrow.  That should give you some time to clear out those mailboxes.  :)

Hope you enjoyed looking at them.

Yes!!!!!

The International Quilt Festival REturns to Chicago in 2013.

According to the Asian Fabric Magazines, The international Quilt Festival will return to the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont (right outside of Chicago) June 21-23, 2013.  I have already requested those days off from work.  This was the quilt show that I went to in, oh gosh, I think it must have been in 2007 or 2008?  I will post some pictures that I took from that show over the next couple of days.  It was so much fun going to it and snapping pictures.

Will I see you there?

Success..failure...aluminum confetti

Hi everybody.... Have a good weekend?  Mine was both too short and too long...all at the same time.  If I had more energy I would have made more progress on stuff.  I guess I shouldn't complain and I really am not because it was a predominantly stress free weekend and we all need those don't we.

So you saw my Grapes of Wrath block.  I picked up embroidery floss in various shades of purple over the weekend to use on the dots.  Why is it that I seem to have a ton of embroidery floss but never the right shades for my projects?  LOL. 

I have started stitching down the green stems.  In order to work on it, it traveled with me to work  I will work on it, when I can, during my lunch hours.  Perhaps if I work on it, I won't spend as much money on lunches?  It's a theory anyway.

Have you heard of using aluminum foil to sharper your rotary cutters?  I finally tried it this weekend and yes, I have to say I think it works.  I've been told that you can also use this method on scissors.  Haven't tried that yet.

Be warned!  You will end up with aluminum confetti!  It was quick and easy and definitely cheaper for me to do this.  Will have to try it again.

On some non quilting news...I made bread in my bread machine twice this weekend.  Twice because the first time it didn't turn out.  Not sure where I went wrong but the bread was sunken in the middle and only raised up to about 2" in height.  Reminded me of the early days of baking when I tried to make a cake from scratch....disaster time.  I threw out that loaf (can't call it bread) and started over.  The second loaf came out like it was suppose to.  YAY!   I ordered a slicing guide for the bread.  I can't cut even slices...never could...never will...without a guide.  Thank you Ebay!

Went to see mom, of course, on Sunday.  Had a nice time with her.  She's still hanging in there.  She was born in 1919.  The stuff that she has seen and done is truly remarkable.

That's it for this little tidbit today.  I hope everybody has a great day.

CRAFTY WEEKEND IS HERE!

Ahhh, Friday is over and I can start my weekend.  Why is it that four day work weeks always seem longer than five?  I made it through and now it is time for crafting.  I don't have gaming this weekend (except RPOL - which won't mean anything to most of you) but that means I can devote some time to crafting.  Sooooo, that means I get to shout it out again....

CRAFTY WEEKEND IS HERE!!!!!!

I'm not sure how much I'll get done but I did start a new project.  Remember all those dots?  Well I used up some of them.  It's another mini because mom will soon be asking for another one.

I hae lots more dots left so I'm thinking that they might get put around the edge or something.  I have plenty of time to figure it out because  this is just fused on and not sewn on yet.

Dots before my eyes!

Have you ever had one of those weekends where you planned on getting things done but then it just didn't happen?  Yep, you guessed it.  That was this weekend.  On Labor Day, I tried to work on some projects but my fabric was not cooperating.  All the shades of green were wrong, the background fabric didn't look right with what I had (and I'm trying not to buy more fabric for a bit) and nothing went together.  FINALLY I threw the fabric on the floor (carpet) and stared at it.  Truth be told I also stuck out my tongue at it and I swear it was laughing back at me.

I finally pulled out my Accuquilt GO!  I haven't used it much but I ran across some purples and remembered that I have Alex Anderson's Grapes of Wrath die.  So today I thought I'd post pictures of what I am talking about in case you haven't heard of, or seen, the Accuquilt GO!

Before I get into this, keep in mind that I am not paid by Accuquilt to talk about this or anything, just passing on my experience with it.  That being said....

AccuQuilt GO!, according to the Accuquilt go website (accuquilt.com) is a "fast, precise, affordable fabric cutter that allows quilters and fabric crafters to cut fabric as much as 90% faster than scissors or rotary cutting." 

I would agree that it is faster and this project is a good example for that. It would take forever for me to cut this out by tracing it and then cutting it out, ironing on fusible backing, etc.

In a short time (half an hour?) I had fused on Heat n Bond Lite to the back of my fabric, cut my fabric and ran it through the GO! 

That's a total of 200 purple circles.  I could cut more at a time but I was positioning my material to use up some of my scraps.

The GO! folds up nicely and is easy to lay out.  You basically just "open it up".  No fancy latches to fiddle with etc.

You use these dies (this is the Grapes of Wrath Die.  Layer your fabric on top of the tie, put the cutting mat on top and run it through the machine by turning the handle.  NOW...how hard is it to turn?  Depends on your strength and how many layers of fabric you have.  I fused my Heat n Bond Lite on the fabric first so that counted as half a layer but still I was putting around 4 layers through and it went through very nicely.  As you can see the "grapes" were at the top of the die and two different sizes of leaves at the bottom.  So I could just lay the purples where I wanted them to be and the greens and cut the at the same time.  I even ran it through without green fabric on it when I wanted to get more grapes. (why am I getting hungry as I am typing this?)

As you can see....I just laid the fabric on.  I didn't fussy cut it first.  You can fold the fabric over on itself also instead of cutting.  If you want to cut the fabric more precise...you can.  Do it however best works for you.

The handles lets you roll backwards also but that is more awkward. The above picture shows where I just covered up the grapes with purple and that round didn't do any more leaves.  There isn't any way I could have cut out that many circles (and make them look like circles) that fast without the GO!

I should also mention that a lot (not sure if all of them do)of the dies also come with a free pattern.  There are also free patterns on the AccuQuilt website.  If I made this pattern as it was shown it would be around 42".  That is a bit big for where I usually hang up stuff so I'll be making a smaller version of it. 

I probably will not put all the grapes and leaves in the border.  Just use the center part.  Will see how it turns out.  Next step on this one might be to cut out my background fabric and iron on everything.  Perhaps this next weekend will be a better weekend.  Not sure.

Break time is over.  Time for me to get back to work.  Everybody have a great day.

Labor Day Weekend starts Today

Ahhh, an extra day in the weekend.  I think I'll need it.  Did you see that list of projects I want to do?  I probably won't get to start on it until Sunday afternoon but then all my other chores should be done and I can get to some play with fabric.

It's September 1 which means that The Quilt Pattern Magazine is out and I had a couple of projects that I did as a pattern tester for them.  The first one is a pillow!  I don't normally make pillows so this was different.  It will now be sent to a friend of mine who has asked that I do "anything" for her.  She loves cats and purple so I think she will like it.

That wasn't the only one.  I also have the September block done for Wenche's Baltimore Christmas BOM.

I can't wait to see how they all go together.  I can't believe that this is the 8th block already!

That's it for now.  I will post more later but I have some other things to get ready to do.

Everybody have a safe and enjoyable day.