Cows in Chicago = ChiCOWgo

     I enjoy whimsical quilts and I saw a fabulous display of whimsy while attending the International Quilt Festival in Chicago last June.  Here are three quilts from that fun exhibit:

 

Vino Cow by Sandy Thompson 

 

 COWmen Miranda by Sue Cresse

 

Van Gogh’s Cow by Mary MacNeil

     Other quilts that appeared in the exhibit were Purple Cow, the Cow Jumped Over the Moon, and Cowculator (a mathematical genius of a cow, of course!). 

 

     The quilters made their quilts using The Purple Cow pattern from Mary Lou Weidman's and Melanie Bautista McFarland's book Out of the Box with Easy Blocks then added their own whimsical twists for this creative ChiCOWgo quilt exhibit.

Aren't they fun?  

Makes you want to drink a glass of milk....

.... maybe grab a cookie too.

Football?

Do you want to play a little game of football?

Houston Center for Contemporary Craft

My friend Susan Fletcher King will be returning to the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft in June as one of their Artists in Residence.  The artists' studio doors are open and visitors are welcome to pop in for a chat and to see what they are creating.

I can hardly wait to visit Susan there in her new studio.   Be sure to drop by and visit her too.  Tell her that I sent you! 

Hello there!

Where does the time fly too?  I cannot believe so many days, weeks (OK - months!) have passed since my last post.  Do you wonder what I have been up to?

It is rather simple - I've been consumed with many busy days with my Toddler class.  Here are three favorites from this year's fun projects:

Our classroom sukkah was decorated with toddler fruit last fall.

Twelve toddler interpretations of turkeys are from Thanksgiving time.

I love the variety of their vision.  By the way, the upside-down turkey is in the original orientation as chosen by its artist.

Rodeo season includes cow-branding onto bandanas and marble-rolling to create faux-leather cowboy boots.

Canon by Keiko Hasegawa

Every year I am intrigued, amazed and in awe of the quilts created and shown by Japanese quilters.  This year was no exception.  The quilt featured here is titled "Canon" and was made by Keiko Hasegawa.

This quilt was in the exhibit "Prize Winning Quilts from International Quilt Week Yokohama 2011", an exhibit sponsored by the International Quilt Week Executive Committee.  For another close-up of this spectacular quilt, click here.  Scroll down to the photo of a dime being held up to the quilt.  The hexagons are smaller than the dime! 

 Canon

by Keiko Hasegawa

of Ikoma, Nara, Japan

This quilt uses pieced, appliqued and quilted techniques with a design source listed as simply "Hexagon".

Keiko states:  "I've made a series of hexagon quilts.  We had a baby named Canon in 2011 and this is for her.  Listening to music, canons and singing along, I sewed this quilt."




Keiko Hasegawa hails from Ikoma, Nara, Japan.  The city of Ikoma was founded on November 1, 1971.  The Takayama district in the far northern section of the city is known for its bamboo products, including tea whisks, tea utensils, and knitting needles (knitting needles!  I love my bamboo knitting needles!). For more information on the city and its folklore and culture (including the culture of bamboo), click here or try  http://www.city.ikoma.lg.jp/en/

IQA: Embellished

More prize winners from the International Quilt Festival of last month.  These quilts are from the Embellished category.

 

detail of Une Belle Amitie

 Une Belle Amitie

by Cynthia Williford and Harold Williford

of Houston, Texas

"This quilt pays homage to the Presentation Quilt attributed to Mary Simon and currently housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (occ.#197424).  My son, Harold, reinterpreted and redrew the original blocks with my hand applique and embellishment techniques in mind.  We worked together for seven years on this quilt."  For more of Cynthia's beautiful quilts, look at her website:  http://www.cynthiawilliford.com/cynthiawillifordgallery.html

Techniques:  needleturn applique, hand embroidery, silk ribbon work, beading, stump work, hand quilting.

Design source:  designed by Harold Williford, inspired by Baltimore Friendship Album by Mary Simon.

Materials:  cotton, velvet, silk, new and antique lace, wool batting, cotton backing, silk ribbon, silk floss, buttons, beads, charms.

 detail of Naturally Crazy

 Naturally Crazy

by Linda Steele 

of Park Orchards, Victoria, Australia

 Linda stated "I designed this quilt to represent the joy of Crazy quilting, which is enjoyed all over the world."  Linda has both a website:  http://www.lindasteelequilts.com/   and a blog:  http://lindasteelequilts.blogspot.com/  Click on either to follow her spectacular work.

Techniques:  Crazy quilting embroidery, silk ribbon embroidery, hand applique, beading, machine quilting.

Materials:  cotton fabric with wool/poly batting

An original design by Linda Steele

Winner of Third Place in Embellished division.

detail of Coeurs de la Soie

"When I saw the beautiful heart designs Barbara was working on, I began looking forward to machine quilting the beautiful work she had done.  Having always wanted to quilt on silk, it was a pure pleasure."

 Coeurs de la Soie

by Patricia Kerko and Barbara Goodman

of Sunset, South Carolina

Techniques:  machine embroidery, free-motion machine quilting.

Materials:  silk dupioni, Aurifil thread, Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 batting, Hobbs Tuscany wool batting under the hearts, cotton backing.

Design source:  Sarah Vedder's Silk Hearts embroidery designs.

 detail of Red Letter Daze

 Red Letter Daze

by Janet Stone

of Overland Park, Kansas

"This quilt was inspired by Quaker cross stitch samplers.  Each block was pieced or appliqued, bound, and then appliqued to the background.  The red letters and scrolls were drawn freehand and then free-motion embroidered.   And, of course, I had to add embellishments."  For more on Janet Stone, click here for a direct link to her profile page on the Quilt Show.

Techniques:  Machine piecing and applique, free-motion machine embroidery, machine quilting, hand couching, embellishing.

Materials:  cotton fabrics; poly, silk, cotton, and metallic threads; metal, glass, shell, and crystal embellishments; wool batting.

An original design by Janet Stone.

Winner of Second Place of Embellished category.

Another Honorable Mention goes to....

Could it be that my new favorite award is the Honorable Mention?  This year, many quilts receiving this honor happen to be in my top favorites from the entire IQA show!

In the Art-Abstract, Small division, one Honorable Mention went to Elizabeth Camping for her quilt Fantasy Seedpods.  I like this piece, from the title to the interesting background and best of all are the seeds rolling out of their pods.

Fantasy Seedpods

by Elizabeth Camping

of McLaren Vale, S. Australia, Australia

In her statement, Elizabeth explains:  "The words of the title started the creative process for this quilt, and drawings of imaginary seedpods followed.  The background colorwash effect is shaded to enhance and draw the eye to the seedpods.  I like to embellish with beads, yarns, and embroidery to add depth to my quilts."

Techniques:  Needle-turn hand applique, hand embroidery, machine quilting

Materials: Cotton fabrics, beads, sequins, yarns

An original design by Elizabeth Camping

I've been emailing Elizabeth -- she's in Australia (cool!), in South Australia, specifically in McLaren Vale.  I wonder how close that is to Adelaide?  and whether she knows my friend Kathleen???  Could be a small world, right?

Be sure to look at her blog, http://elizabethcamping.blogspot.com/  to see some of her other quilts.  They are quite pleasing to the eye!