Friends Visiting

It has been a fun and busy start to September... and here we are looking at the first day of fall. Where has the summer gone?

I had a friend, Laetitia, from South Africa visiting and she brought along one of her friends, Ilette, as

well. Laetitia and I were in the Jacaranda Quilt Guild together and were members of a home group (bee) that met just about every week in the evenings. I collected them at O'Hare on Saturday and from there we visited a Quilt Shop. Quiltfabric.com, one of my favorites when I lived there, and I always try to stop in for a visit when in town. I love the huge selection of batiks!! We made a stop at a retailer for some necessities and then dinner at Portillos, burgers and beer long what could be better after a long flight? Does Laetitia look happy and excited?

The following day we did Chicago. We did a lot of walking. Navy Pier, caught a lake tour boat, and we saw one of the tall ships sailing about as well.


We then took a friends suggestion and made our way to the Chicago Cultural Center, which had escaped my notice ... when I lived here. There are 2 dome rooms, one on the north end of the building and the one we wanted to see the Preston Bradley Hall with the Tiffany Dome is on the south end. The Mosaic is absolutely stunning and worth the few minutes it takes to visit it. My photos are not the best. I had the zoom lens and it does not do so well in low light, but this will give you an idea....  those tiles are about 1/2 inch square, so there are millions of them.... and many of them glitter too.

We next walked across the street and spent a few minutes under the trees listening to the Jazz Festival music and viewing some of the artists on our way to 'Cloudgate' otherwise known as the BEAN. I have never seen so many people at the bean. I have even  been there when, the only reflection has been us, no other people on the square!!! It was very very busy... and I forgot to mention HOT in Chicago.

Our next stop was the Buckingham Fountain, which was under renovation when I came in the past and you would think I would take a picture of it.... nope... We continued our walking tour... on down to the Field Museum and then along the waterfront back to the car.

It was a long day, and we packed a lot into it.

I will share more in the next few days.... More for sure Beth

Quilting Spaces

I have not been idle in the sewing departments.... Just not able to show too much of what I was working on. But I can share now.

In April a friend dropped in and brought along a Charity Quilt top I offered to quilt. I did and it is done!!! I should have rotated the picture.... This quilt is Kaffe Fasset fabrics and a blue batik. It is really quite colorful and bright. And it goes along with the Challenge (below)... as it is also a 'String Pieced Quilt'!

One of the the guilds I belong to issued a challenge in February. "Strings" and I immediately thought of a Zebra. The rules were 50% of the quilt had to be strings, the strings had to be less than 2.5 inches in width, and it did not have to be quilted. Due in June.

I had so much fun making the Zebra that I had to do another one. The Giraffe.

I hope to do a few more of these.... because they were fun and as I was doing them they made me remember some of the things from daily living in South Africa that I had not thought about in a long while. I created a label on the reverse of the zebra that talks about many of the things I remembered about wildlife in South Africa. The Giraffe label will talk about shopping in South Africa.

Still More Later!!!  Beth

Samples

I was asked if I would share some Thread Play again this year. A few years ago I threw this Hibiscus Flower together for a class I would be taking, "The Open Threadbar" with Cindy Needham. In the class we were going to have the opportunity to play with all the Superior threads that were available at the time. I had not had my 
Janome 6600 for long and there was lots of talk about many of the newer machines did not like many of the new threads. I thought it was a great way to try all the Superior threads without having to purchase any. As it turns out the Janome.... liked them all! Most of the class played on a white/muslin sandwich... and did the stitch outs using the fancy stitches on their machines. I wanted to see how the thread would behave on an actual project.
The fabrics are batiks and backed with fusible, so there were some rather thick areas where the fabric stacked up. But I didn't have time to cut away fusible as I really did throw this together in the last hour....

I had to create a patter for the hibiscus since the original was

supposed to be a one off. I spent December working on that and then thought that after painting a hibiscus last year at the guild, we might want a different flower, and created the Echinacea. This yellow one is a test... for the pattern and is small. I will leave it unfinished for now. Although it just needs a little more quilting and the binding. I did add some beads tho. If you click on the photo you should be able to see the details.


Once I had the test all worked out, I made one that is full size, too.  The first picture is the detail, I added a few beads to give it some sparkle and dimension. The yellow and the orange are the same pattern just oriented differently on the background.











The instructions for both of them are the same, so the fabric choices and the number of pieces are different, I will let participants choose the one they want to do.

2016 Quilty Wrap UP!

In the few minutes of quiet this morning... (new Puppy, introductions coming soon), I want to share the last couple of quilts... 

I made and quilted another QOV (Quilt of Valor), very similar to the first one. I just have to put the label on it and it is done.

One of the guilds I belong to had a newsletter mystery. All the clues were delivered in the newsletter  over 8 or 9 months and we were able to work on it at our own pace. I chose to make the throw. It would look so much better if I had read the first clue correctly. It suggested to cut the scraps from medium and dark fabrics. I let some lights slip in which muddied up the look a bit. But it will make a nice top to practice longarm quilting on!

And lastly.... a Sparkly Chickens Quilt. It was pulled together from blocks we swapped in 2009. The label tells who made which block and the rules for the swap. I set the block in South Africa... and would certainly made some different choices for fabrics and the chicken arrangement. I did share with the others that they should either quilt it themselves or be prepared to loose their longarmer over the beads. Oh, my... they did pose a problem.... in some places. I won't pretend that the quilting is perfect, but from 30 paces on a galloping horse it looks fabulous!!! It is hanging over the balcony... in the family room on display.

Next up news on the puppy... name, size and color.... antics and all the particulars. A teaser picture... perhaps?

More Later-  Beth

Quitography!

Are we tired of it yet? Last post, on this I think.... Exhibit comes down in January.

I did go to the opening of the exhibit and stayed for an hour or so. Met a few of the other artists too. I promised full views of my pieces and the inspiration photos. Warning, this is picture heavy... 1st will be the inspiration photo and photographer credit, my quilt and then if I have it, a photo of it hanging with some of its counter parts. I think if you click on the image, you will get a larger size for a more detail.

Leopard photo by Charlie Zehnder, Kambaku Game Reserve, South Africa 

 ‘Wheel’ photo by  Darrell Gilbert, Barren River

‘Vineyard’ photo by  Jeff Lackey 

‘Mountain Landscape’ photo by Carol Rice Cain, Arcadia Jordon Pond 

‘Raindrops’ photo by Judith Lesnaw

‘Jeep’ photo by Marty Betts

‘Bridge’ photo by Steve Bromley, Newport Bridge

‘Red Lamps’ photo by Helen MaClatchy

So many of the others were absolutely captivating! 

If you have gotten this far, Happy Thanksgiving.

More Later- Beth

Quilt Artists of Kentucky

Today is the opening of the Quiltography Challenge in Lexington Kentucky. It is a collaborative project between the Quilt Artists of Kentucky, a sub group of the Kentucky Heritage Quilt Society and the Lexington Creative Camera Club.

There will be over 100 little quilts, each one 12 inches square, along with the inspiration photograph. The Emotions Challenge Quilts are also being displayed, which I did not participate in.

This evening there will be a reception.... and hopefully many of the quilters will be in attendance along with the photographers! 

I am excited to see all the quilts hung together, to see them in person and all the different takes on the same photograph! It will be interesting!

Doing this little project has inspired me to pull out a couple of my own photographs... and turn them into small quilts.

More later -Beth

Classes

I took a workshop, in September. Actually 3 days worth of workshops.... I think I have missed workshops where we really learn!!!!  Where the instructor is prepared, knows her topic and shares her knowledge with ease and abandon.

I took the class at Quilted Joy (an APQS dealer) in Louisville KY. It was 3 days with Bethanne Nemesh, learning how to feather her way... 5 classes in all. Not that I am any where near good enough with the longarm to do much of anything... freehand, before or now after the class, but I did learn some things that will make going forward a little easier or at least a bit more freeing in my abilities to date.

I have had some difficulty .... getting things going on the front side of my machine. I can Panto/Edge to Edge all day, but I don't find that very much fun. Just following a line at the back of the machine doesn't allow me to see any of the surface of the quilt, and am certain, that I would not be able to do that for others for long!!! (if that was my intention with the longarm).

During the classes all were able to have time on a longarm to practice what we were learning on paper. My first machine for practicing was the bottom of the line longarm. I got it by default, as I was the last one out of the tables and it was the only one left. A very frustrating experience to say the least. A very temperamental machine that moved like a stick in very thick mud. But we got through it.... Day 2 I got one more like my machine!!!

One of the things I wanted to do while taking the class, was to compare my LA with another LA. My machine... did not track well... and created a wobble... when stitching. I did not feel it when going a moderate speed or at the back, but when going very s-l-o-w or trying to back track, I did!!! It was not something I could replicate.... or even describe with a reasonable description, but I know it was not right. FINALLY figured it out. My table was NOT level, I spent an afternoon following the classes, on my hands and knees adjusting the leveling feet... and then double checked it with an electronic angle finding level. What a miracle that thing was. I had gotten my table within a .20 of level.... and have no idea of where it started, but it makes me wonder exactly I paid for to have it installed and then rechecked? If it was for building the frame... I could have done that .... part myself!!!! I did quilt up some fabric... for a bag (I will be helping friend construct a bag over the next few weeks), and will make one at the same time so I am a few steps ahead for the bumps in the construction and pattern. There are several!!! It is one of those patterns written by person with a non-construction background.

2 Quilts from the Sampler Smack Down Book
edit (I did not quilt these, Bethanne did for her book)

I also took these classes in lieu of going to the MQX show in Springfield IL. I had plans to go, but the disorganized process of the class sign ups left me feeling let down and did not want to experience a huge difficulty after traveling to the show. I hope everyone had a great time at the show and I will certainly miss the eye candy... and maybe some of the vendors too. Maybe I will try and go next year...

One class was for edge finishing... Devil is in the Details. Here is my sample of the beaded edge.

All in all interesting and fun.

In the Creative Space #2

The due date for these has slipped a little to November 4, (but I will be taking them over next week), the Gallery Hop and Reception is slated for 11/18 5-8 pm and the exhibit will hang until January 1 at Christ Christian Church 166 market St, Lexington KY 40507.... call for hours....859-492-5168. 

I am looking forward to seeing the photographers work hung with the interpretations. It will be fun to hear/see what they think of the interpretations.... we all made.

Here are the last 4.... these are still just little snippets of the whole thing... (whole is only 12 inches square...)

I will share each quilt and the inspiration photos and the photographer info and tell you about all the other little quilts that these were displayed with. 



I have missed working on these!!! 

More later- Beth