Fortunate

I'm fortunate to not only have good friends to share my hobby with, but to share sewing days with these fine people as well. I'm thankful for the long weekend quilting retreat that starts tomorrow and that I am able to attend.
I'm also fortunate to have loved ones who truly understand that I have an (obsession) interest in fabric and quilting and encourage me to pursue that interest. They were even kind enough to shower me with fabric this year to celebrate an important milestone in my life. Now that's love and support!

Indebted

I am truly grateful for the friends I've made in this virtual quilt world. For each and every one of you that have ever commented on one of my posts, befriended me on Flickr, emailed me, sent me goodies to brighten my day as my swap partner, or visited my etsy shop. Each contact brightens my day and gives me motivation to keep creating and keep posting even on my darkest days. I am indebted to you all.

So, thank you.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN...

...a little late, I'm afraid. I thought I had posted about my Halloween quilt I finished just before Halloween 2007, but could not find it in my blog archives, so I wanted to be sure and show it this year.This is loosely adapted from a 2004 (I think?) Fons & Porter cover quilt, but I changed the inner border(s) around the jack-o-lantern medallion, and the candy corn border is my own addition. The candy corns are strip pieced and appliqued onto the quilt..and there is one cute little ghost hiding amidst the candy. The bats and the spider web outer border are made from a felted sheer fabric intended for costume construction. You can see here how the orange polka-dot fabric shows through the sheer material:The spiderwebs on the black fabric I used in the jack-o-lantern's face glow in the dark...which adds an extra element of fun!So, here's hoping you had a great Halloween weekend, from our batty house to yours!

Grateful

November. Thanksgiving Month. A time for being grateful. Something that I, for one, often fail to be. My four-year-old-nephew asks everyone around his dinner table to name two things they are thankful for. He's done this the last three or four times I have dined at my brother's home. What a great example set from "the mouth's of babes". So, I'm grateful for the children in my life, and their childhood innocence, that remind me, without even trying, to be grateful for the little blessings in my life.

Are you a member of a Virtual Quilting Bee? Or wish you were? Well...head on over to Block Party Quilts and check out the exciting changes...you may even win this:
Don't forget to be grateful, today!

Just another Wednesday....

...HARDLY! It was day ONE of the American Quilter's Society Des Moines 2009 Show, and I spent the day in QUILT HEAVEN! (Warning: this is an image-laden post, dear readers! Click on images to enlarge for better details.) Some detail shots from a few of the quilts that KNOCKED MY SOCKS OFF--full shots to come in another post...My personal fave, done by a member of my guild, Leigh Lussie, and shown in the AQS juried portion of the show...an applique bed quilt of a pattern by Kim McLean.
An amazing wall quilt of life-like sunflowers and grapes...STUNNING...I have to double check who made this one...
A detail shot of the BEST IN SHOW quilt, and yes, it truly was. Very hard to photograph (it's HUGE) and I did my best, but my photos will not even begin to show the beauty and craftsmanship of this quilt...
Cynthia England is one of my quilt idols, and this is a shot of her shoreline pictorial quilt, One Fine Day, which BLOWS MY MIND. I'd love to know how many thousands of pieces go into one of these quilts of hers.
And a hand quilted, hand appliqued Broderie Perse style quilt done with older Amy Butler lines, Ginger Bliss and some Charm pieces. It is a beautifully done modern take on an age old technique. Artist is Jean Clark from Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin.
Okay, maybe this goldfish and water lily quilt was my fave...and could have been my vote for "Best in Show", lifelike, gorgeous, and mouth-dropping. The artist is Sherrie Coppenbarger from Morton, Illinois. I'm going to have to reassess my vote for fave when I go back tomorrow... And, I have only seen about half the vendor booths, but I seriously doubt I will find one that tickled my fancy like this one did:
The display and vendor booth for Handbehg Felts, a supplier of felting tools, wool roving, hand-felted wool balls, jewelry kits, accessories, etc...They had a corner booth with this awesome dress form adorned with a wool ball kits and toilet paper roll skirt, and this great "bouquet" bursting from the neck:What initally drew my eye to the booth (I was in a daze at this point, and saw into the booth before I saw the dress form...yeah, really tired and in a daze....) were these fun stockings in the Christmas fabrics I have in my stash! How cute! I haven't checked out their website yet, but I'm betting it's awesome, too!

Our Des Moines Area Quilting Guild is fortunate enough to have our Annual Guild Quilt Show in association with this AQS show. In exchange, we provide them A LOT of volunteer hours to man the show, assistance in planning and set-up, etc. I entered three quilts in the Guild Show this year, and nothing beats seeing them hanging amongst other lovely quilts in a large space... my Gertrude and Friends growth chart and my Canoe Crossing quilt...
Well, okay, nothing beats that feeling except maybe rounding the corner and seeing your quilt hanging amongst other lovely quilts in a large space with a RIBBON DANGLING FROM IT!That's right, my Gypsy Django quilt earned a Third Place ribbon in the Non-Traditional Wall Quilt category. I was thrilled to say the least, and since I was alone at the time, I whipped out the cell phone and started calling people...three phone calls and NOT ONE ANSWER later, I ran to the nearest table being manned by a friend and mine to delightedly declare "I won a Ribbon!" She obliged me with the appropriate amount of enthuiasm and took a quick break from her duties to run over and view it with me. Gotta love quilt friends. (And seriously, loved ones, where are you when I need you to answer your phone?!?)

In the afternoon, I took a class with Frieda Anderson, called "Fast & Fun Freemotion", and guess what?!? I think I finally get freemotion quilting! She's a very thorough, no nonsense teacher and we all concurred it was a fabulous class. Here are shots of my four "sandwiches" of doodles I made:
stippling, square meanders, and M & E's...
Sticks and twigs & shooting stars....
and there are even some hearts, McTavishing style echos, and feathers in there, that don't look too bad for a first time attempt! Now, I need to find time to practice in the near future at home, lest I forget everything I learned...

And last but not least, there had to be some shopping...my booty:
a Supreme Slider and Magic Genie Washers, recommended by Leah, some fun Michael Miller and Monoluna FQs, a piece of Kaffe Fassett Aboriginal Dots in a color I didn't have!, a new Clover thimble...two Minnesota fabric FQs for my sweetie who hails from St Paul, a stack of Art Gallery Blenders (yum!), and of course, some LOVE...Stay tuned for additional AQS Des Moines posts...good things are happening in our Capital city!

Happy sewing,

Doris

All Hallow's Eve...

It's no secret I love Halloween... love the decorations, love the color combinations, love the fabrics...

Yet, I lament for the Halloween's of my childhood, trick-or-treating door to door with just my siblings and some neighbor kids, unaccompanied by an adult, roaming the dark streets (because, yes, it was after dark, not over before nightfall like it is most places these days, and yes, it was safe for kids to run around outside after dark in the 1970s). It makes me sad that some kids today only know trick-or-treating as going to planned events, or shopping malls, and having to go to only the homes of people you know, often by car (where's the fun in that?! It was always an extra adventure to knock on the door of the creepy neighbor's house, as a thrill, an adventure, a dare...) Also, I don't live in a new sub-division neighborhood, where people in the Midwest tend to drive there kids to trick-or-treat in a "safe" neighborhood, so I don't even get the thrill of passing out candy as an adult and seeing the creative costumes. I'm not dressing up this year, nor have I dressed up in the past several years...but I'd gladly attend a grown-up Halloween party if invited. Instead, this year I will be attending the AQS show in Des Moines on Halloween, and working extra hours at the shop. I will however, be donning my newest Halloween shirt, one I made with a Baby Lock Ellisimo embroidery sewing machine (not mine!), a few scraps of fabric, and a borrowed Bejeweler...
We made these at the shop one evening last week, after we closed up. They were made from this Lunch Box Design pattern. Can't wait to wear it this weekend!I've also carved five jack-o-lanterns so far...three that I did with my nephew, and these two, that my sweetie and I made Sunday evening:Complete with curious black cat in the background!

Happy Haunting!

Pow!Pow!Pow!

As in "Sis Boom Pow!", the block gather I joined, to sew a few blocks for a charity quilt being assembled by Miss V, of Bumble Beans fame. I also contributed blocks to her Nothing But Kisses charity quilt that raised funds for Love Without Boundaries. And a recent Pixie Dust Gather quilt that will also be sold to raise funds for another worthy cause.
My first block is a flower, a single gorgeous bloom, reminiscent of a stained glass Rose Window...
Inspired by a sudden glimpse of the Rowen Pillow in a recent Crate & Barrel catalog that landed in my mailbox. Love this block and will have a hard time parting with it... Both blocks are done in raw-edge applique, on fused pieces of fabric. The fabric from these are from Jennifer Paganelli's Sis Boom collection for freespirit. She donated them to our group of thirty International quilters to create this quilt for charity.
The design for my second block grew from the decoration on the cloak of my Jim Shore "Love at First Bite" dracula...it sort of jumped out at me one morning shortly after I received the fabric from V, while I was eating my cereal at the table and mindlessly scanning the items decorating the table...
That's what I like about creating my own patterns and designs, you never know when inspiration will strike...I hope you like them, Victoria! I look forward to seeing the quilts assembled!