Quilt Show pics

The following pictures were from the Gold Bug Quilt Show in Placerville, CA.  They hold a show every other year.  To see my post recently on the awards won by quilts I own or worked on, click here. Enjoy the show!!

Piecer/Quilter: Barbara Greenlee.  I really enjoyed the colors in her quilt and loved her quilting lines.  They were well executed.

1880’s quilt.  Loved the hand embroidery.  I tried to get a picture of it:

Anyone recognize the quilting style on this early 2006 quilt?

or this one:

Here’s a hint:

Quilt pieced by Teresa Blumbaugh.  She had a computerized quilter do the quilting, I’m not sure which one?

This pretty red quilt above was by Pam Gerkovich.

and a close up:

Quilt by my friend, Linda Van Dyke and quilted by Debbie Joyner.  You might remember I quilted a salmon/green combo quilt just like this one.  The one I did was for Linda’s daughter shown here:

Below is a quilt by kari McDonald.  I really like the colors in this one:

Applique quilt by Bobbie Jarrett

What I like about the quilt above was the folded fabric in the sun/stars which were 3-D.  Quilt created and quilted by Martha Showers.

These lovely church panels were made by Barbara Norman and usually on display at Westminister Presbyterian Church in San Jose, CA

The following 3 Asian quilts were from a group challenge:

Quilt by Suzie Quinnell

pieced and quilted by Riet van Klaveren

The last challenge quilt, above, is titled “Chop Chop,” but I can’t read who it is by.  Enjoy!

Quilt and applique design by Kathy Delaney.   Hand quilted and applique by Sandi Miller.  I thought she did a terrific job!  Say… anyone see what quilt is hanging behind this one???

Here’s the answer.

For some reason, I only took a small fraction of the quilts hanging in the show.   Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed the mini show from this guild.

Happy Quilting!  Carla

What To Do With Leftover Quilt Blocks

I don’t know about you, but I always make more blocks than I can possibly use in my quilt project. In fact, I sometimes make enough for 2-3 quilts. So what to do with leftover blocks??

You could turn them into a quilted garment, make a quilty purse, sew one on a favorite tshirt, make a pincushion, plush toy or turn some into a pillow. I decided to use the last of my blocks on a small wallhanging to hang in my entryway, seen here on an old Artist Trading Card (ATC) project:

Last week, I decided to rotate the quilt that was hanging there and move a new one in. Only problem is that my quilts I have made are too big for the space. That’s when I decided to make a smaller version with the leftover blocks from my autumn leaf quilt just for this space. Here is what I pieced together yesterday, sans border:

Once I add the final border, then it will fit perfectly in this space. I think I’ll start making smaller versions now just for the walls in my home!!

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Next Quilt: Next up is a lovely quilt using Amy Butler fabrics:

I can’t wait to start!! Some quilts just beg to be quilted, y’know?

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Dinner & Books: Last night, Joe took me out to our favorite Japanese food place for sushi (yum!). Then we decided to go across the street and see what new books or magazines were at our local large bookstore. I bought a couple of magazines on jewelry art:

and 3 new books related to sailing and the cruising lifestyle. Thanks to Oreneta, of the blog, Oreneta Aground, (who spent several years cruising with her family in the Bahamas) for a list of which authors to look for.

A year pass my bareboat cruising adventure of last summer, I am still yearning to take up the cruising lifestyle and spend a year or two cruising. This still remains one of my bigger goals which will take several years before I can actually realize this adventure. Smaller goals involve sailing lessons, another bareboat charter next year, and of course, finding the perfect sailboat to meet our needs, desires and budget.

Anyone else want to try their hand at the cruising life? Enjoy your weekend! Carla

Trip to the County Fair

Today, we took time out for Father’s Day to visit the fair. Of course, we had to check up on how my quilts looked and also the crochet pieces. 🙂

**Btw, this is the very first year that machine quilters are recognized on each quilt in the fair and the name displayed prominently. In previous years, even if we won best machine quilting or other awards, the quilter’s name was left off the quilt. I’m glad they are changing with the times…

2 of my quilts entered were in the front first row, right next to each other:

Here are some more:

I had a few others there that people entered, but these were my ribbon winners. My collage purse was behind glass in a nice display space. I went to the crochet section and my freeform scarf was there:

My scarf earned a 2nd place- which surprised me. The head person said the judge liked it. My fabric collage purse also earned a 3rd. I don’t know about you, but I like that frog, don’t you?

County Fairs are pretty fun, we love looking at the 4H animals- the chickens, bunnies, pigs, goats, etc. One cute little girl asked me if I wanted to hold her baby goat….Ahhhhhhhh, that was sweet of her, though I passed.

Hope you are having a nice Father’s Day!! I’m cooking some marinated chicken using Carl’s recipe. Our friend, Carl, who hails from the Caribbean Island of St. Vincent is slowly teaching me how to cook some good and yummy recipes. If you are interested, I’ll share his terrific marinade recipe you you like.

Enjoy your day…. Carla

It’s Raining Ribbons

Yesterday was the quilt judging for the fair. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that quilts I worked on, including my own 2 quilts, did very well. The big showing was from my Oak Leaf Memory quilt, which took a first place and also “Best Use of Color” and was a BOS contender. Wow, I freely admit to being surprised about how well it did.

I am very surprised that the judge “understood” my intentions with this quilt and knew what I was trying to do from a design and color standpoint, particularly my subtle approach to photo transfers technique I’ve been doing for many years now. This quilt has a soft spot in my heart as I made it for my son, who is autistic. It is also a tribute to a similar-yet-different quilt I made back about 4 years ago, which was sold at auction for $5025.00. It hangs on permanent display in a school back east.

The Carolina Lily was also a big winner, winning 1st in the Professional Category and also “Best Machine Quilting.” The lovely Wedding Ring quilt was accidentally entered into the wrong category by the owner (it was placed in group quilts when it would have done better in professionally quilted category), it earned a second place nonetheless. Poppy quilt won a 2nd in a field of about 30. Other client quilts earned a 1st and a 3rd. Oh yes, I also had a quilt that placed 3rd in the professional quilting category.

I don’t know how my 2 crochet pieces did. Oh well… I will learn that when the fair starts. All in all, this has been a positive experience for me.

It was also a learning experience, by the constructive feedback given, I now know where I need to improve, technique wise. I got lots of good comments on my quilting and also my piecing. I am glad I went ahead with my goal to do this.

Happy Weekend! Hugs, Carla

Quilt Bindings

OK, I’ll admit griping about doing my bindings lately. I decided to try a new way to do them, it involves bias binding, measuring and pre-marking the binding to match your quilt exterior, then sewing the mitered corners a certain way before attaching them to the quilt for stitching. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, join the club, I had never heard of it done this way before.

It did give me the most lovely mitered corners, already pre-sewn on both sides! Here’s a picture:

I am pleased to finally be done with the bindings, and thanks to Barb for sending me the how-to sheet on the hanging sleeve. I am pleased to report I made my deadline! Well, minus that gold silk whole cloth quilt I was planning to do. LOL!

Now I can focus on my painting homework. AND another project-in-the-works I will start soon. I am planning to do another goal on my list. More details at a later time… (how’s THAT for a teaser?)

Take care, wherever you live. Carla

Folsom Show Visit

Had a great time last night visiting the opening of the Folsom Guild. Lots of wonderful and beautiful quilts!! The theme was “Wedding,” and they had on display the coolest wedding dresses made out of paper! These dresses were scattered all over the show, and here is a fine example:

As you walked in, the wedding ring quilt I worked on (owned by Jayne) was front and center:

I only had 2 quilts in this show- one judged and one non-judged. Here is the watercolor quilt hanging, the lighting on it really popped that quilting!

It won a ribbon, I think a 3rd. The owner, Barb, was surprised, she really didn’t expect to win anything. In the end, I believe she won a ribbon on every quilt entered! Congrats, Barb!

Now onto spectacular quilts that caught my eye:

Melinda Bula’s quilts were very stunning in person!  I am a fan of her work, including this landscape quilt that won at Houston:

In the miniature category, I loved this small quilt featuring koi:

Later on, I will share some quilt show shopping therapy I took part in!  I found lots of interesting stuff to buy!

Anyway, I had a great time with Barb and chatting with everyone.  I also loved meeting Nathan & Sarah- Jayne’s son and DIL- who will eventually own the wedding ring quilt above.  Cute couple!

Regards, Carla

Finished Wedding Ring Quilt

I am happy to say I finally completed this one. It will go home today to the owner, and I have already pre-marked the next quilt for loading. Here are some pictures:

(click on small thumbnail images for larger pictures)

and, of course, the artsy lighting shot:

I used 2 layers of batting for this quilt. There were some slight fullness issues, so the extra batting helped me to keep it as flat as possible.

Thank you for all your nice comments while this project was underway. Your encouragement helped me to stay on task and get the job finished!

Happy Quilting, Carla