Quilt Show!

Wow!  I made it to the NQA show last Thursday in Columbus, Ohio with my sister-in-law Betty, my niece  Heather,  (Betty's Daughter) and  my grand niece Jorjia, (Heather's Daughter).  It was a fun day to be with family and quilts!  Also saw and visited with some guild friends!  The Show as very good this year. 

The quilts that made the winner's circle were exceptional.  Sharon Schamber's  'Once Upon a Time' and  Mary S. Buvia's quilt 'Once Upon a Time' were out standing.  There was a good mix of traditional quilts and art quilts,  Wall hangings and bed quilts.  Some of the quilts made political statements.  The Power Suits Quilt exhibit was displayed.  Over 100 quilters took material from mens suits and made a small quilt on the theme of "Power Suits".  These were very thought provoking and many different techiques were used in the creating the quilts.

Sue Gruber from my guild had 2 quilts entered in the show.  In this quilt, Sue hand dyed all the fabric  (see picture below) which is remarkable because she is color blind.  She had help from her hubby picking out thread to match each color for the quilting.   This picture makes the colors look primary but they were a richer color in person.  I have some scrap triangles from the edges to "play" with!

 I was looking for quilting motifs and ideas for quilting.  Here are some of the ideas I though were pretty ingenious.  Densely quilting a triangle in a plain border and then not quilting the next triangle.  It made it look pieced that way!  (Oh no,  I didn't take a picture of that!!)

 This Zig-Zag quilting in a leaf or melon shape was nice.














This heart motif was Beautiful and so detailed with crosshatching, pearls and a smaller heart in the middle.







These are some of the best Daffodils I have seen appliqued or pieced.  The ruching for the top of the trumpet just made them look real.












  I also liked how the quilter did the lily of the valleys, but I am not sure how they were done.  (Sorry for the poor picture)










Here is a picture of the entire quilt.  It was a spring garden for sure!

 I saw some really nice edge finishes. This one was hearts appliqued and then on the under side, flat cord made from fabric knotted and tacked to the heart points.

 This edging was very striking.  It consisted of  semi-circles with little prairie points  between.  There was no binding like most quilts so the edge shone and framed the quilt.  Sorry I didn't get a picture of the entire quilt. ;-(

I finished the show out with some shopping.  (Boring stuff like needles & thread.) But I did go a little, well maybe very crazy.  On an impulse,  I bought a new sewing machine.  It is the Janome Horizon machine 7700.  I am going to love it,  I loved my 6500 Janome but this one had some great new features that will make free motion quilting easier for sure.  I picked the machine up at The Red Rooster Quilt Shoppe in Dublin Ohio Saturday  morning.  I know I am kinda crazy to buy a machine in Dublin and live in BG, but I couldn't help myself. :-)


Hope many of you are able to get to a quilt show this summer.  They are so full of inspiration!

Joyfully,

Marsha

It's time to get back to some sewing!  I have puttered the last few days up in the sewing room but didn't get much done.   Mom was not a quilter, but she did sew clothes and curtains.  I  brought home  2 boxes of "stuff".  There is lots of bias tape, hem tape and even some double-knit!  (Double knit does make easy to care for tablecloths as they wash up nice, and no iron!)  I did find about 6 aprons she had cut out in the "wonderful country prints from the 1980s" and then she was going to put premade bias tape around the edges.  ugh!  I will finish the one she almost has basted, but the others will be cut into scraps via Bonnie Hunter's method.  :-)

 I am going to start back with A Lovely Year of Finishes this month.  In April, I was doing a challenge quilt for my guild which was due on April 11th  and I got it done.  Then I had to get the taxes done and on Monday the 15th, I went to take care of Mom and Dad, I never even started on the project I chose for April.  So o o o o.  I am going to make that my quilt to finish this month!  (See post of April 7th for move quilt details)

May we all joyfully finish our June projects!

Marsha

A Tribute to my Gentle-man Father

         It has been 2 months since I have written on the blog or sewed.  April was a daze of a month.  My Dad died.  He was a true gentleman.  Holding the door open for Mom and me at Wendys until the end.  He found out he had a tumor on/in his stomach/esophagus on Friday the 12th and on April 28th in the morning he left this world to be with Jesus in Heaven.
         Dad grew up during the depression and lost his father when he was 9 years old.  Fought in World War II and came home and married his sweetheart (67 years they celebrated). He started his family (3 children), and he provided for us and build a house which became a home that developed into a great neighborhood to grow up in.  Family get-togethers were many and he loved to celebrate Christmas!   He made sure we were involved in church, 4-H and  scouts.  That we played (or tried to) a musical instrument.  
          When he was 47 years old he quit his job and started a manufacturing company that made metal parts for many other companies.  Just two years ago he turned the company over to his sons.       
           Dad adored Mom.  In later years as Mom's memory failed, he became her caregiver.  When he found out about the tumor, he told the doctors,  "I have to get well to take care of my wife."  Even though he also had bone cancer, they were willing to try to see if they could give him more time with Mom.  I have to think that he was taking care of  Mom until the end. He was moved from the hospital to skilled nursing in a community home that had respite care for Mom in the  assisted living wing.  Now she is living there and doing well. 
            Dad lived 89 years on this planet and he lived it well.  His love will live on in each of his children and grandchildren.  Love you Dad!

Marsha

        Here I am down to the wire in posting my goal for April in  "A Lovely Year of Finishes".  This first week has been a busy one.

        A great thing happened today.  The temps outside hit 70 degrees!!! and one daffodil bloomed today in our garden which I can see from the kitchen sink window!! Tomorrow there should be more blooms!  I love daffodils and their yellow color.  They make me happy!

        The project I picked for this month is another layering, basting, quilting and binding of a quilt top I did last summer.  I wanted to sew a lasagna quilt (Also know as the 1600 inch quilt or a jelly roll quilt)  I went into my box of strips and found some I thought would 'play' together nicely. 

            Some were the width of the fabric and some were 22" and some were longer.  I collected what I guesstimated as 1600" and started sewing.  ( really think there are more that 1600" inches)

This is a super fast way to make a quilt! 

 I put a border of white and them some extra scraps and white for the outer boarder.   I think, I will bind with the white.   

I enjoy looking at projects everyone posts.  May we all finish our projects with Joy this month.

Marsha

       It is Done!  I made my goal for March to  "A Lovely Year of Finishes" with the dishes, wash and housework put on hold! 

I wasn't home 18 days this month and during that time I got sick too, so not much was done while I was gone.  So the last week I was sewing at lunch, sewing waiting for dentist appointment, sewing each evening and sewing at Easter family dinner and I got it done!

I put my own spin on the pattern.   I left out the "Liberty Garden"  at the top.  Wool leaves were added at the bottom instead of just stitched leaves.  I used buttonhole stitch around the "daisy" flower stems and a running stitch around the tulip leaves.  I also used 2 shades of green when I was doing the stems and the lazy daisy stitches. 

The blue flowers had to be cut out with sissors, because the hole punch I had wouldn't cut the wool.  It went fast though. 

On the tulips I added stitching to add a bit of detail.  You and see the V shape I stitched in the tulips.

I just have french knots to stitch in the center of the "daisy" flowers. Then to layer and bind!  I plan to finish that this week along with doing our taxes, (ugh!)

Wishing all a joyful finish to March which is going out like a Lamb here. 


Marsha

I have been away from my sewing machine this month and away from home too!  I have been taking care of our son in Florida after he had foot surgery on the 8th.  I took my project for this month's finish but didn't work on it much.  He is getting along very well and he 'sent' me home this past Saturday! 

I think why this project hasn't been done is that I didn't know how to place the appliques on the background and mark all the stems and leaves.  One day, after I had cut out all the items, and was placing them on the back ground, if I pinned them, the pins would stick me which didn't seem like fun ;-0.  So  I remembered tailor tacks. I used these years ago to mark the circles on my garment sewing pieces . The tailor tacks worked great!  I could stitch down each flower without getting poked! and pull out the 'tack' once I was finished. I  have  all the tulips sewed down and now on to the white flowers! 

I tried to take a picture, but the tailor tack thread was white and so wasn't the flower and it didn't show!  I will try later to get some pictures to show what I am talking about!

Marsha

On to March!  We had sunshine Sunday afternoon and all day yesterday!  It was a glorious gift as we haven't seen the sun in Northwest Ohio for weeks!

 I have chosen a hand sewing project for this month's A Lovely Year of  Finishes hosted by Sew BitterSweet Designs and Fiber of All Sorts. This pattern is so sweet and patriotic too!

 I just love the pattern and saw that it had stood the test of time by being published again in 2008  in the "Better Homes and Garden Fast and Fabulous Quilting Ideas".


 I purchased the wool in kit from a local quilt store over 8 years ago.  Back then I couldn't figure out how to mark the wool and there wasn't much info on how-to and blogs and surfing the computer for info never occurred to me back then! Lol! What a shame!


My goal is to get the entire top appliqued and embroider.  If I get it backed I will be happy.









 I have a busy month ahead and will be out of town most of the month.

Look for the Joy of Living!
Marsha