Crazy for Quilts

Alliance for American Quilts is focused on tracking our quilting heritage. This year's contest, "Crazy for Quilts", encouraged participants to make a 16" square crazy quilt. A special exhibit at the International Quilt Festival featured all the quilts. They are a delightful collection, as evident by this First Place winner:

"Crazy Cow Polarity"

by Kathryn Wagar Wright of Highlands Ranch, Colorado
First place, Ages Over 30

All 85 entries are being auctioned off on eBay over a three week period as an annual fundraiser for the Alliance for American Quilts. "Crazy Cow Polarity" was one of the quilts offered in the first week of the eBay auction (which I was outbid on). I did successfully bid on this quilt:

"A Little Fairy Tale"

by Lisa Ann DuCoing, from Carson City, Nevada

Lisa's artist statement: Fairies are 1920's postcards printed to fabric and embellished with wings to make fairies. The wings are all freehand. These are my wayward fairies. This is my way of honoring women who have been forced into an unpleasant life, throughout the world, just because they happened to be born female.

The second week is currently underway with many quilts available, including this fun one:

"Crazy for Ewes"
by Sheila Rauen of Knoxville, Tennessee
Honorable Mention Winner

Classic crazy quilts are also featured, such as this lovely one by Ruth Ann Mundy.

"Victorian Rose"
by Ruth Ann Mundy of Elkton, Michigan

Join the fun of eBay bidding and support the Alliance for American Quilts at the same time (but don't bid against me!)

"One Crazy Hot Mama"
by Pamela Allen of Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Fear not as many great quilts will be 'up for grabs' in the last week of the eBay auction too (on eBay, search for "Alliance for American Quilts fundraiser"). The following will be on the auction block next week:

"Rose Song"
by Betty Pillsbury of Middleburgh, New York



"Whoooo's There?"
by Christie Eckardt of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emerates



"Folly Flash"
by Yvonne Porcella of Modesto, California

Click here to access the lists of each week's featured quilts, then bid on one -- help raise money for the Alliance of American Quilts.
In their official words: The Alliance for American Quilts, a national nonprofit organization founded in 1993, supports and develops projects to document, preserve, and share the history of quilts and quiltmakers. The AAQ brings together groups and individuals from the creative, scholarly and business worlds of quiltmaking to advance the recognition of quilts and their makers in American culture.

Visit www.AllianceforAmericanQuilts.org for more information.

Solar Power

As a child, I thought that wind energy and solar energy were not utilized to their potential. As an adult, I believe this to be true. Are today's inventors thinking outside the box and looking into these potential energy providers? Where is the innovative thought that was once a forte of our great country? Can we not get away from the classic energy sources of coal and oil?

It is my great pleasure to share the news that Tessera Solar, an American company, has designed an efficient solar power system that effectively harvests the sun's energy. If intrigued, watch this and learn more about the Sun-Catcher ...



YouTube by tesserasolar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDBFdbKcl84

Living in a large metropolitan area, I spend too much time in my car, too much time in traffic. Time spent dreaming of a life in the countryside with a perfectly comfortable climate year-round with the pleasure of having four distinct seasons each year. One day .... may we learn to harvest energy from new sources and live in peace and harmony .... always.

I love the grace and simplicity with which the Sun-Catchers move, as well as the bright sparkle from the reflected sunlight. Hmmm, future quilt designs are dancing into my head. Seem to be circular in nature .... imagine that ....

Camping and Knitting

Inspired by the quirky hand-knit socks that are everywhere (or so it seems), I have wanted to learn the secrets of knitting for eons. During the recent Quilt Festival, I persuaded Danielle and Wanda to teach me how to knit, even though I am a leftie and they are both expert right-handed knitters. Undaunted, they simply taught me to knit as a righty. However, it was not so easy (at least for me). So they showed me how to Continental Knit (work is done with the right needle while the yarn comes off the left-hand). This I love! I knit a few sampler squares during Festival, and have started a bonafide project. While it is not a pair of socks .....


it is the beginnings of my first knit scarf. The pattern is the Easy Ribbed Scarf by Graywood Designs. I love the soft variegated colors in the wool yarn, Lanaloft (Coral Reef) by Brown Sheep Company in Nebraska.


I began this over the week-end while camping with the Scouts at Camp Strake. The weather was absolutely gorgeous! Perfect for camping and canoeing.

My tent is nestled among the trees, early Saturday morning. Misty fog is rising from the lake. A chilly, nippy morning it was, too.

Here are half the Scouts, as they gear up for a canoeing relay race. Meanwhile, I'm on the shore, happily knitting away.

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P.S. There are loads of websites and YouTube videos teaching how to knit, just as Danielle and Wanda promised. Enjoy this post by another lefty-knitter or this site (by knittinghelp.com), which has video-teaching demos of both "ways" of knitting and much more.

Hoffman Dolls

Every year, Hoffman Fabric Company holds a contest open to quilters, doll-makers, and garment makers. It is called the Hoffman Challenge and began (over 20 years ago!) when one booth vendor at a quilt show challenged another to make a quilt out of that "awful fabric." Word spread and quilters from all over joined in on the fun. The rules were simple: Use no more than two yards of the specified fabric (identified as the Hoffman Challenge fabric), keep the quilt within a specific size range and submit it by a stated deadline.

Since those humble beginnings, the Challenge is now run by the Hoffman Fabric Company and includes dolls, garments, and quilts (pieced, applique, mixed). I was entranced by this year's doll entries featured in an exhibit during the recent International Quilt Festival.

Princess Padideh's Flying Carpet
by Doris Moore of Granbury, Texas, USA
Winner of the Curator's Choice in the Doll Division

Bella by Deanna L. Hogan of Astoria, Oregon, USA
2nd Place Winner in the Dolls category

The quilt is Dragonflight by Kathy Goetz of Willamina, Oregon, USA

This collection of Hoffman dolls includes Simplicity by Daria Cash of Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA (far left) and The Paisley Pasha by Mary Kaplan of Atwater, California, USA (far right). The lovely quilt Paisley Fantasia is by Frances Alford of Grafton, Vermont, USA. Note: If you can help me identify the other two dolls, please email or leave a note in the comments below.

My favorite is the frolicking dancers, Let's Dance Together Forever by Priscilla McDonald Duffy, of AC Australia, and the pineapple Hoffman quilt, Old-Fashioned Rose by Patti Kupferer of Mesa, Arizona, USA. I especially admire the intricate and minuscule piecing!

The new Challenge fabric for the 2010 competition has already been selected, and featured on placards in the Hoffman Challenge exhibit area at IQF. See it below and watch for it to appear in your local quilt shop soon.
Click here for more information on the current challenge or click here to see photos of the winning entries for this year, and past years.


Speaking of years ago.... Once upon a time, I made a Hoffman Challenge quilt that spent a year traveling in one of the Hoffman exhibits. It did not come to the Quilt Festival in Houston, but instead it traveled to Paducah and to the national Sewing Expo where an internet friend took her photo in front of my quilt and sent the photo to me .... hmmm, I wonder where that photo is .... Can't find it at the moment, so I will share this one instead ...

The quilt you see is American All-Stars, my first Hoffman Challenge quilt, home after a year of traveling. Leftover fabric was used to make the outfits for my boys to wear to their first wedding on July 3rd. The patriotic flavor of the Hoffman fabric was perfect for their wedding attire.

A Japanese favorite

The quilters in Japan are meticulous in their art, creating wonderful works often crafted by hand. Today's featured quilt from is from the IQF exhibit of Prize Winning Quilts from International Quilt Week Yokohama 2008, sponsored by The Quilt Week Executive Committee. This quilter, Shiori Yamada, is from Shimane, Japan.

Flower Calendar
by Shiori Yamada

It is a sampler quilt -- each block is different -- and features both pieced and appliqued components. I believe it is hand-quilted. In fact, I am wondering if this quilt is all stitched by hand, as several Japanese quilts are entirely hand-sewn.

Here is a detail of two blocks. Note the finely pieced sashing and borders. These pieces are quite minute in size, perhaps that is why I admire this quilt..... it is a large quilt made of many miniature ones.


Another detail photo. I love the tilted basket filled with embroidered flowers. The quilter has added beading with the embroidery for additional texture and detail.



One last view of her block of spools and flowers.
In her Artist Statement, Shiori lists her design source as being "Basket and spool blocks" adding further:

Seeing the basket and spool blocks I made before,
I decided to make a quilt with them.
I added flowers in baskets to get warmth.
Beads gave this quilt unity and a cheerful look."

I find Flower Calendar to be quite delightful. The more I look, the more I see, and the more I see, the more I want to look!

Antique Folk Art Quilt

Along with the acclaimed juried IQA Quilt Competition, the International Quilt Festival has many other special exhibits featuring a variety of other quilts. Today I am featuring one of my favorite quilts from the Quilt Festival Antique Quilts display.



This Folk Art quilt is a classic antique quilt in that we do not know who the original quilter was, so we must credit an unknown maker. What an excellent reminder to today's quilt artists to sign & date your work!



Dating to the 19th century (c. 1800), this quilt was made with hand-stitched piecing and applique. It features a wide variety of natural dyed fabrics and measures 81" by 84 1/2".


I especially love the baskets and the manner in which the brown border frames the center of quilt. I can only wonder what the original coloration must have been, as colors dating back 200 years have faded long ago from their original brilliance.


On another note ...

Have you ever seen a better looking group of sisters?

What a delightful surprise and treat it was when they showed up in the booth today! I have had great fun meeting so many new people/new friends during the show, as well as running into my quilting and fiber art friends (some new and some old). But my family is the best!




Wonder who will pop by the Graywood Designs booth or the Thangles booth tomorrow? Only time will tell .....

or I will ... later....

IQF Detail shots ...

Last week, I worked as a Quilt Angel hanging quilts to convert the cavernous George R. Brown Convention Center to Quilt Fantasy Land. One of my absolute favorite quilts spied while working that day is this one by Karen Stone.

Clam Session
by Karen Stone of Beaumont, Texas, USA

I was so pleased to discover that she won the prize for Mastery Award for Innovative Artistry, sponsored by Maywood Studios.


Today, I am looking closely at the minute details of the biggest prize winners, including detail shots of their quilt art below.

The detail below is from the World of Beauty award-winning quilt.

Hearts and Garlands
by LIZ JONES
of LEOMINSTER, HEREFORDSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM

Garden of Dream
by FUSAKO TAKIDO
of SHIZUOKA SHI, SHIZUOKA KEN, JAPAN

The quilt above won the Founder's Award.

Best of all are the two detail shots from the Best of Show quilt:

On the Wings of a Dream
by CARYL BRYER FALLERT
of PADUCAH, KENTUCKY

I love the quilting through-out this piece. See how her quilting alone continues the flow of fabric waves across the leg.

Sorry to be sharing the same quilts as yesterday ... I will try to broaden myself by taking photos of other quilts tomorrow!