Monthly Archives: August 2017

A Little Quilt Show

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Quiltfest, in Jonesborough, Tennessee, is accompanied by a little quilt show of things done by the teachers and the shop owners.  Naturally, I took a few pictures 🙂  Here are some of my favorites:

Quiltfest

Clam Shell, a Judy Niemeyer pattern made by Louise Amos

Scrap quilt

 Detail shot.  This quit was at least queen size, and the little HST squares finish less than an inch!

Cinco de Mayo, made by Renny Jaeger; pattern by Karen K Stone

Quiltfest

Quilt by Shannon Shirley. The blocks are TINY and the baskets have tiny chain-stitched handles. See detail view below

Detail of quilt by Shannon Shirley

Lobster Stew, by Nancy Mahoney

Quiltfest is 3 days of classes and other programs held in Jonesborough, TN every July.  So, who’s coming to Quiltfest with me next year?

Judge’s Choice! Woo!

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My entry in this year’s Quilt Alliance contest was chosen by judge Linda Pumphrey for her Judge’s Choice Award! Here’s the quilt:

quilt alliance contest

For Quilt Alliance contest 2017, 16″ x 16″

And here’s Linda’s comment:

I love the graphic abstract and bold colors of this little quilt. The quilt is beautifully executed with strong visual impact.

Of course I am thrilled to be chosen!

All quilts entered in the contest will be displayed at QA’s “Quilters Take Manhattan” event as well as at International Quilt Festival in Houston. They will then be auctioned to raise money to support the Quilt Alliance’s many projects.

Here’s the link to the auction site, where you can see all quilts entered in the contest:

Quilt Alliance Auction 2017

Another Good Quiltfest

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Quiltfest, in Jonesborough, TN, is put on each July by Jonesborough’s destination quilt shop, Tennessee Quilts. I usually go (work schedule permitting) and enjoy the nationally-known teachers, meeting other quilters, and SALE at the shop! I usually take a class that will allow me to try something new.  So this year…

I took a class to learn Esterita Austin‘s monoprinting technique.  Here’s the photo I used as my source:

Unfortunately, it quickly became apparent that I have taken classes in photography and ceramics but not painting! Esterita generously came over and did some of the shading for me, but basically I was hopeless at doing the shading to make this look three dimensional.  As Esterita commented, “You can’t learn it in 2 days”.

I did learn the process, and since the point was to learn something new, the class was a success.  Here’s the print I made in class. And yes, it really is that shiny, because of the media Esterita uses.

Esterita has many tips and tricks to solve potential problems with the technique, so if you want to do monoprints for quilts, those would be very useful.

And the rest of Quiltfest was as fun, too.  Nancy Mahoney did a very nice lecture on her two-block quilts during lunch one day, and of course I made a few trips to the shop during the sale.  My goody bag contained a yard of pretty red Christmas fabric that I have already made into a pillowcase for one of my grandsons.  So the entire trip was a nice break 🙂

Christmas pillowcase

The print I made will be sandwiched with batting and backing, and quilted.  There are just a few projects ahead of that, but I’ll post a picture when it’s finally done.

Gypsy Wife Sneaked In!

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When I visited Tennessee Quilts recently, I had just run across the 2017 sew-along for Jen Kingwell’s Gypsy Wife quilt. So when I saw the pattern at Tennessee Quilts it just sneaked into my shopping basket! Here’s a picture of my copy of the pattern, in case you’re the only quilter in the world who hasn’t seen 2 dozen versions of it on Pinterest:

I like the combination of color and complexity that makes up this quilt. Here’s the link to the Sew-Along on Angie’s blog, Gnome Angel. She’s in Australia, which is fitting, since Jen Kingwell is, too.

Angie had some useful tips on getting ready to make the quilt, which is fairly complex. Just for comparison, it is nowhere near as complex as preparing to make a Judy Niemeyer quilt.  On the other hand, Jen Kingwell’s instructions aren’t nearly as precise as Judy Niemeyer’s, so it is helpful that Angie has links to several resources that help with preparing to make the quilt.  Check it out if you’re interested.

Angie has helpful suggestions about fabric selection, but I recently bought a layer cake of Jen Kingwell’s “Just A Speck” fabric that was just too cute to leave in the shop.  I’m combining that with some fat quarters from Moda’s “grunge” line to make up my palate for the quilt:

Gypsy Wife fabric selection

Fabrics for Gypsy Wife Quilt

Here are the blocks I’ve made so far. Most of these are “filler” blocks placed in various positions around the quilt.  The “card trick” variation block near the middle is the first of the focus blocks for the quilt.  This is NOT the way the blocks are arranged in the quilt, just the way I have them grouped on my design wall for picture-taking.  

Those cute little people in the center of a couple of the blocks are left over from another project.  I thought a few of them scattered around would add interest 🙂

And by the way, the little 4-patch blocks are not part of the pattern.  I just said “no” to making pinwheel blocks that finish 3″ square, so I’ve substituted 4-patches!  It’s not the first time I’ve deviated from a pattern!

I’ll let you know how this goes.  And if you’ve been inspired to sew along, check out Angie’s blog.