Little Birches

Little Birches is finished and ready for the Hayward Quilt Show auction the end of July. The binding is perfect, and the trees really have a 3-d effect. I've added some crystals in the sky. They represent fire flies to me, but could also be stars in the night sky.

One Step Closer

The mini birch wall hanging is almost finished. It's quilted, the hanging dowel is covered with the same fabric as the back and the label will be fused on. I plan to add a few diamond crystals to replicate fire flies. 

The larger version is on the machine for quilting. The quilting will be knocking the black background down and some stitch in the ditch for the birches with swirled knots in some of the patches.

The mini is for the Hayward Piecemakers small quilt auction, and the larger for a permanent exhibit in the local library. However, I have a goal of having it finished in time for the end of July quilt show, so it can be displayed.

MN Quilt Show Zen

Nothing warms the heart of a fiber addict more than a quilt show shopping spree. I paid my respects to the Minnesota Quilt Show this past weekend and came away feeling very satisfied. The vendor numbers seemed a bit light and the 3 arena's not as full as I remembered it from past shows there, but it did the job. 

I'm totally in love with the Wicked exhibit hosted by Cherrywood Fabrics. And, the Northern Lights Machine Quilters exhibit in the lobby was impressive. 

On average I could make it down an isle 5 or 10 feet and I had a friend to chat with. That is part of the shows I love. Being able to connect with like minded addicts, networking, being inspired by the riot of color and texture puts me in a perfect Zen.

Shows are always too far apart, but in the meantime, I'll console myself with the treasures that came home with me and put in a bit of sewing time.

Library Project Phase 2

The top panel will be hung on the left and the bottom on the right for a 10 foot hanging

Leslie sewing the strips and Jean marking the fusible for the trillium's.

Deb pressed everything perfectly.

I drew petals for the trillium's for Jean to mark on fusible and cut out of batiks,

Leslie manning the machine.

Bed creating the trillium clusters on parchment paper. She loves parchment paper now.

The panels are growing quickly.

It came together as I planned

We are happy to say that the Weiss Library permanent exhibit project is ready for the last stages of quilting. Leslie, Jean, Deb and I worked for another 3 1/2 hours to finish the two panels. These are birch trees and trillium's at night and there will be some dragonflies on the upper right hand corner that I plan to make with bobbin work. This is a beautiful collaboration and we are hoping for a dedication ceremony at the library after our quilt show in July. 

Now my next job is to quilt these before the show and have it on display for the Hayward Piecemakers Quilt Show the last weekend in July. I've also made a smaller version that needs to be finished for the quilt show auction. 

The two panels will total 120 inches and will be finished as 2 five foot quilts and approximately 28 inches tall. The trillium's will have a little bit of yellow embellishments for the stamens.

Yes there is no picture of me working. I cut the fabric and prepped for the group. They trusted me and followed my plan perfectly. We make a great team and we still had plenty of time to visit.

Hayward Piecemakers Library Exhibit Project

This morning I had three Piecemaker quilting friends over to work on a permanent exhibit for our local library. We chose a northwoods themed project of birch trees, trillium, and dragonflies. After three hours we had strip pieced scrappy fabric sections. Next meeting we will create the 2 tops to span the space we have to work with. The 2 panels will be each 5 feet long and about 28 inches tall. After the friends had left, I cut the birch tree strips for the next round of stitching. By doing this, I had scrap sections that I pieced into a mini of the project that will be quilted and donated for our annual quilt show auction. The mini is about 18 x 22. 

A New Cloth

I just finished marking a silk wholecloth that I started in a class taught by Karen McTavish this past weekend. This is my 2nd time to take this class by Karen. The first time was in 2004 and both my skills and Karens skills have grown and changed in 11 years. By retaking this class I've learned to add complexity in both design and execution. 

Another challenge for myself was to use a piece of dupioni silk for the fabric. Dupioni has flaws and small slubs, but with it's imperfection lays it's charm. It is a rich cream that was easy to mark, but doesn't photograph well. Silk refracts light so easily that no matter the different lighting I've tried, I can't get a clean clear picture. After it's quilted I should be able to get a better photo with subtle side lighting to create more shadows.

Karen is a very talented quilter and teacher and I highly recommend her. She is also opening a new store front in Duluth with 5 machines set up to teach on and for you to rent to sew your own quilts. Check her out.

http://mctavishquilting.com/

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