Trunk Show

 I was invited to do a Trunk Show for the Willamette Valley Quilters in Dayton, Oregon at their April meeting.  I was very pleased to have been asked, but was a little nervous about it.  I think it went pretty well.  Here are a few pictures (some of the pictures didn't turn out so I am getting them from my coputer).  You have probably seen all of these quilts if you've been visiting my blog over the years, so I'm not going to post all of them.

Me in front of my Cathedral Window quilt - the first quilt that I started,
but not the first one finished.

Friendship Quilt made with Blogging Buddies

Dear Jane's Journey from Texas to Oregon

My last large quilt - needs a name

Uncle Henry's Barn

Leftovers, designed by Jo Morton (17" x 20"º

Spider Web

Pineapple 9-patch

Meg's Four Patch designed by Jo Morton (19" x 25")

Baskets of Blue

The Eagle

Colonial Glory

Cheddar Cheese & Crackers (22" square)

Thanks for visiting! 

STITCHES IN BLOOM QUILT SHOW

Sunday I attended the "Stitches in Bloom Quilt Show" at Oregon Garden in Silverton, OR.  One of these days, I want to go back to the Garden when there are flowers blooming because it looks like it would be gorgeous then.

I didn't include any information about these quilts, unless you can read it from the card which shows up on some of the photos.  These are some of the quilts that I liked best.  There were lots of other ones that I liked too.

This was a small quilt - some of the yellow and red squares were about 1/2".

There were several of these wall hangings done in black and white strips with appliqué on top - I think they were challenge quilts from a guild and they were very striking.

This "Vintage Tin" was one of my very favorite quilts at the show (designed by Crabapple Hill).

This forest quilt won the Viewers' Choice for Art quilts.

This flag quilt won Viewers' Choice for Traditional Quilts - it is also one of my favorites from the show.

This one is for Katie, because it looks like some kind of magnified cells.

Here's an enlarged one.

Don't you love the shovels?  Who would have thought?

And here's me with my Baskets of Blue quilt.  

It was a great show!  There wasn't any judging,  just the Viewers' Choice in four categories.   I didn't get pictures of all the winners.  Thanks for visiting!

BLOGGERS' QUILT FESTIVAL - APPLIQUE CATEGORY

Today is the start of the Bloggers' Quilt Festival and I decided to enter my Baskets of Blue in the Applique category.  This is quite a step for me because it is the first all hand appliqué quilt that I have ever made!  

In December of 2012, I went to my favorite quilt shop in Waxahachie, TX, Common Threads, to spend a gift certificate that I had received.  That shop has lots of BOMs and classes, but I had never participated in any.  However, that day I saw this basket quilt hanging as a BOM and I fell fast.  I don't know what possessed me because I had never done much appliqué, but I loved that quilt, and signed up for the BOM (actually BsOM).  Each month I would receive fabric to make 12 little basket blocks and I started out by trying different methods of appliqué that I found on the internet. 

In the past I had taken a class on needle turn appliqué (when I first started quilting) and that convinced me that I didn't want to do it.  But I tried needle turn, I tried back basting and I checked out several youtube videos for different types of appliqué.  I finally settled on the spray starch method.  The prepping was much worse than sewing the baskets on, but I persevered and most months I kept caught up.  I was really excited when I finished it.

If you like it, I hope you will vote for "Baskets of Blue" on the Bloggers' Quilt Festival that starts today with voting starting November 1 until the 7th.

I quilted it on my domestic sewing machine and it measures approximately 65" square.

Please visit Bloggers' Quilt Festival  to see other quilts and to enter one of your own.  All the information on how to do it, when to do it and what prizes can be won is there.  You can enter 2 quilts during the festival.

BASKETS OF BLUE FINISHED!

I finished quilting it yesterday and got all the threads trimmed off today.  I'm naming it "Baskets of Blue" which was suggested to me by Rebecca in AK.  Thanks, Rebecca!  I took a bunch of pictures, but only two of them turned out very good.  I'm not very good at "arranging" photos!  

I'm so happy to have this quilt finished (always feel this way when finishing a quilt).  It took 1 1/2 years from start to finish.  I plan to hang it in the living room of our new house.

I'm glad that I did a whole appliquéd quilt and now I feel that I don't need to avoid all appliqué.  I think someday I might want to do something like a Jan Patek quilt (I already have one of her wall hanging as a UFO).

Thanks for all the encouragement as I went through this process.

Last week I attended a quilters' guild meeting and the speaker was Rachel Greco, from Grandma's Attic Quilt Shop in Dallas, OR.  She presented a lecture concerning Isaac Singer and the Singer Sewing Machine Company.  Very interesting!  Rachel loves history and she makes it come alive.  I plan to visit the quilt shop soon to participate in a shop hop of 13 quilt shops around Oregon.  What better way to get to know the area?