Tumbling

I love participating in Kate North's "Another Little Quilt Swap" as it challenges me to finish a cute quilt to send away and in return I get to treasure someone else's lovely work.  Yes, it really is a little quilt swap.  This year's swap, the seventh one, has a required size of 12" x 12".  Anyone can join in -- no pressure other than to finish your quilt and send digital photos to Kate by the announced deadline.  Everyone who gets their digital photos sent by the deadline is then eligible to make a "wish list" from the posted quilts.  Kate has the fun task - first of posting all of our photos and descriptions, then of sorting out all the wish-lists and figuring out who will get which quilt.  Of course she also must send us each the name and address of who our quilt is going to (we like to make it a surprise reveal!).  She monitors that all quilts are mailed and received (a few have taken very circuitous routes to their new homes - perhaps traveling around the world on a slow mail-boat), then posts the "grand reveal" on the ALQS blog.  That post won't be up for sometime as we are all busy wrapping and packing our little quilts to send off now.

Without further ado, here is "Tumbling" - my little quilt made specially for the ALQS7 swap this year.

Tumbling was made in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness.  Think Pink campaigns are everywhere (in the USA) and I hope to encourage everyone to have annual mammograms as well as to do monthly self-breast exams.  Early detection (gulp) leads to a tumbling of emotions but also has a higher cure rate!  This piece began as a design exercise, inspired by directions given in Color and Composition for the Creative Quilter by Katie Pasquini Masopust.  The addition of borders helped the piece grow to the required 12" x 12" size.

In the detail view, you can see that the quilting is very geometric and linear in the background, but gets funky and twisty in the tumbling blocks.  Additional twisting and turning ribbon-thread embellishment is couched on top, adding to the tumbling sensation of the entire piece.  Rather than binding it off in traditional quilt fashion, a slip-cover pocket was sewn to the back which converts the quilt into a pillow.

I am packaging up my little Tumbling quilt/pillow and will soon be mailing it to its new home .... to be revealed later!  Hopefully someone will be very pleased to discover this in their mailbox....

Click here to see the original post about Tumbling in the ALQS blog.

New fabric lines

Quilt Festival is filled with eye candy of all kinds and even though I am there every year, year after year, I seem to miss things.  For example, this year for the first time, I noticed Marcia Derse and her gorgeous fabrics during Market.  Her booth at Market was simplicity in excellence or is that excellence in simplicity?

 One wall -- the full side wall.

The long back wall (or a portion of it - both above and below).

A small sampling of her wares

I also enjoyed the joyous rainbow of color at the In The Beginning fabric company booth.

One more - but is their name really Blumenthallans?

 

 Can anyone help me out with this identification?

I loved their colorful display of blooms on the front wall and small button-kites on the exterior side wall.

but who were they?  really?

Dye it! Stitch it! Wear it!

This year's International Quilt Festival (IQF) featured something new -- artists demo'ing their work in mini-studios.  This new feature was called "Open Studios" and was located at the entrance to the Food Court on the first floor.

My friend Sara Hochhauser, gave a presentation on Thursday from 12:00noon to 2:00p.m. called it  Dye it, Stitch it, Wear it!

Sara showed several ways to use Color Hue dyes with silk scarves - above is the reveal of one method.  Notice the lady helping to hold the scarf looking at her hand.  She is amazed that the freshly-dyed-and-still-wet scarf has left no stain on her fingers!  Color Hue dyes are amazing in that they dive deep into the silk fibers, leaving nothing for your finger tips.

Sara is sewing two of the scarves Marlene dyed for her on Tuesday.  During her Studio time, she shows different ways to piece two scarves together, modeling how they look below.

See the stenciled designs in the scarf on the left?  This is another technique she showed during her Studio Session.  Recognize the scarf on the right?  She added two layers of silk chiffon to lengthen the blouse (click here to see the scarf in an earlier stage).

In this last photo, Sara is wearing another of her many silk garments, made using her fast and easy method.  Notice the beads dangling from the corners?  These help give a touch of weight to the garment, rather like keeping the blouse anchored.

Knitting practice

I'm busy practicing my knitting skills -- but I have difficulty remembering the order of knits and pearls when doing a simple pattern.  How will I ever master doing cables or other fancy knit designs?  Fret not, just keep practicing....

Rather than knitting more scarves for everyone I know, I'm now knitting 8" squares.  They will be pieced together into larger patchwork knit blankets and given to SEARCH Homeless Services here in Houston.  Eventually my simple practice squares will help warm someone struggling to get back on their feet.  Think I'll get prettier yarns for my next batch of knit squares ....

SEARCH Homeless Services works to engage, stabilize, educate, employ and house individuals and families who are homeless. Our essential services are highly effective in transforming lives because we meet individuals where they are and provide what they need to get off the streets and back on their feet.
Learn how you can help by looking at the SEARCH website at http://www.searchhomeless.org/

Or start by knitting some 8" squares ....

2012 IQA Group Quilts

For years I have been fascinated by the wonderful work displayed in the Group Quilts category of the International Quilt Association's show (IQA) which is the mainstay at the International Quilt Festival (IQF).  Below are four of my favorites.  I've included the information displayed with each quilt (Name of quilt; IQA member entering the quilt along with names of others who participated in the making of this particular quilt; their home town, state/country; their description of their quilt; techniques used; materials incorporated; and design source).  Enjoy!  

 

This quilt won Honorable Mention in the Group Quilts category this year.

 The Jennings Homestead

Suzanne Mouton Riggio

and 26 members of the Milwaukee Art Quilters

Wauwatosa, Wisconsin

The Milwaukee Art Quilters, a group of 40 artists, have been meeting for over ten years in the business space at Plank Road Publishing owned by Teresa and Paul Jennings.  In gratitude for the Jennings' generosity, the group made a slice quilt of their Victorian home.

Techniques:  Machine piecing; hand, machine, reverse, and raw-edge applique'; fusing; bleach discharge; inking; machine quilting; machine and hand embroidery

Materials:  Commercial and hand-dyed cottons, cord, paint, fabric markers, ink, thin batting, threads

Design source:  Inspired by a photograph by Teresa Jennings

Guitar Blues

by Julie Poirier-Mathur

and the Beaconsfield Quilter's Guild

Beaconsfield, Quebec, Canada

The puzzle quilt begins with an image divided into pieces.  Each artist is assigned a piece of the puzzle and constructs a quilt block independently, as accurately as possible, following specific instructions.  Once assembled, the blocks divulte the original image.  The rule for this particular quilt was to construct the block in blue.  The guitar strings were added after the quilt was assembled.  

Techniques: Hand, machine, and fused applique'; had and machine piecing; machine quilting, couching, embellishments.

Materials:  Cotton, fusible web, buttons, embroidery thread

Design source: Original design adapted from a photo at MusicRadar.com

This quilt is the First Place Award winner of the Group Quilts category.

 Ms. MacDonald Had a Farm

by Lynn Czaban

and members of the Hanging by a Thread group

Vancouver, Washington

The topic is appropriate for these ladies whose lives are rooted in the colorful farming community in Boisfort Valley, Washington.

Techniques:  Piecing, fusing, machine applique', thread painting, inking, machine quilting

 

Materials:  Tsukineko inks, Quilters Cotton, Thermore batting, Steam-A-Seam 2 

Design source:  Designed by Bonnie Keller

 Balancing Act

Sherri McCauley

Frances Holliday Alford, Barb Forrister, Connie Hudson, Leslie Tucker Jenison, Susan Lewis Story, and Kathy York

Lakeway, Texas

Group dynamics are complicated.  Working together is a balancing act.  With our mutual fascination with cairns and balanced rock sculptures, we independently created our rocks and worked on the rock placement together.  As a group, we were able to form the balanced stacks, and as a group, we balance.

Techniques:  Machine pieced, machine and hand quilted, hand embroidered, applique'd with fusible and by hand; background pieces are individually machine quilted and joined with zigzag; shadows are hand painted.

 

Materials:  Hand-dyed cottons, felts, velvet, silk organza, and batiks; metallic foils; fabric paint; ink; commercial fabrics, embroidery floss, batting, fusible 

Design source:  Original design



If you'd like to see more of the award-winning quilts from Festival this year, go to  http://www.quilts.org/winners.html

International Quilt Festival winners!

This year's International Quilt Festival was filled with lovely quilts.  Here are close-up details of my three favorite top prize-winners:

The Founder's Award (prize of $7,500.00) goes to

 ElaTED
by TED STORM
of 'S-GRAVENZANDE, THE NETHERLAND 

Sponsored by International Quilt Festival (includes transportation to and hotel accommodations at International Quilt Festival/Houston).

Click here for a direct link to Ted Storm's website.

 http://www.tedstorm.eu/eng/

The World of Beauty Award (also $7,500.00) goes to

 Hot Africa
by JANNEKE DE VRIES-BODZINGA
of KOLLUMERZWAAG, FRIESLAND, THE NETHERLANDS 

Sponsored by e-Quilter.com (includes transportation to and hotel accommodations at International Quilt Festival/Houston).

Click here for a direct link to Janneke De Vries-Bodzinga's website.

http://jannekequiltstudio.com/

The Fairfield Mastery Award for Contemporary Artistry ($5,000.00) goes to

Prairie Fire
by RUTH POWERS
of CARBONDALE, KANSAS

Sponsored by Fairfield Processing Corporation (includes transportation to and hotel accommodations at International Quilt Festival/Houston).

Click here for a direct link to Ruth Powers' website.

http://ruthpowersartquilts.com/

These are merely a slice of the entire quilt.  Be sure to look at them on the International Quilt Festival website and also look at the award winners own websites too.  There were many more award winning quilts and others that were simply favorites of mine.  I will share more photos soon ... that's the plan!

Fairfield

What else can you do with batting (besides slipping it between two layers of fabric and quilting it)? 

I know that pondering over this has kept you up late at night.  Well, fret no more!  There are 1,000 and 1 things on display in the Fairfield booth at this year's International Quilt Market and Festival.  I know, I saw them -- and counted nearly every single one!

I love this shady tree with the lovely flowers -- there is also a waterfall and more flowers and trees and .... even a brick wall!

Be sure to stop by their booth and see for yourself!


P.S.  I do miss the ol' Fairfield Fashion Show ..... the last one was held in November 2000 (seems like just yesterday)....