Sunday, April 21, 2013

Accepted!

The sanctuary quilt and the funeral pall were both accepted in the Sacred Threads Quilt show. I am beyond thrilled, and am so happy for those who worked so hard to bring these projects to life.
The show is in Herndon, VA, a suburb of Washington DC, July 10-28. It’s an opportunity for quilters who create quilts with sacred themes to share their work as well as the inspiration behind it. This quote from the Sacred Threads website gives the story behind the show.
“In 1999 a small group of women gathered together with a vision of a "new" type of quilt exhibit. At that time topics such as spirituality and inspiration were not always understood or welcomed at traditional quilt shows, and all-medium liturgical art exhibits generally featured few if any quilts. There was no "safe" or welcoming venue for quilters who saw their works as a connection to the sacred and/or as an expression of their own spiritual journey. Often the meaning behind these works was missed or misunderstood because the artist did not have the opportunity to share their sources of inspiration with the viewer. The show does not emphasize any particular religion or theology but conveys the spirituality, healing and inspirational messages that transcend all people.
For the exhibit, quilts are divided into categories based on theme. These are Expressions of Joy, Spirituality, Inspiration, Grief, Healing and Peace/Brotherhood.  The artwork themes provide thought-provoking insights, encouragement, inspiration and healing responses to grief and human hardships. It has attracted a wide array of visitors and has proved appropriate for all ages from young teens to seniors. The exhibit is a positive influence on the human spirit, giving joy as well as addressing concerns of the soul and mind.”
The sanctuary quilt was submitted in the category Peace/Brotherhood, and the funeral pall was submitted in the category Grief.
sanctuary quilt
pall
I am beyond thrilled, and am so happy for those who worked so hard to bring these projects to life.

Saturday, April 13, 2013

The Journey Continues

Remember this?
laying out pieces














The top is completed!
finished top
It measures 64X86. I do not plan to add borders, and at this point, I’m letting it rest while I think about how to quilt it.
Cross hatch is always an easy safe choice
a more complex variation of cross hatching is orange peel

Swirling waters is a design that is new to me, but I like the way it looks. It’s going to take some practice before I put it on a whole quilt.
swirling waters
Spirals is a design I’m accustomed to doing
swirls
Its a busy quilt, and I don’t want to overquilt it. I’m leaning toward orange peel. Any suggestions?
I’m using wool batting, so whatever design I choose will definitely puff.

Friday, April 12, 2013

New York Times Haiku

I have a new favorite blog, the New York Times Haiku.  The NY Times developed an algorithm that scans the front page articles for syllables. Then those syllables are presented by the algorithm as a haiku. Human editors select the best one for the daily blog.

And another

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Free Motion Fillers Craftsy Class

I’ve been having fun with Leah Day’s Craftsy class, Free Motion Fillers, Volume 1. I’ve been doing free motion quilting for years, but I was stuck with the same designs and was looking for some inspiration.
I had four baby quilt tops to quilt and used them to practice the various designs Leah introduced. Great class, I highly recommend the class.
 another version of the class quilt
Here are some close ups of the various designs
kidney stones swirls
 swirling waters soap bubbles
The class introduced 50 designs, but I only chose 24, and added another from Angela Walters Quilting Negative Spaces, another Craftsy class.
sticks and stones
Here are the finished baby quilts
finished baby quilts