Rising Sun

The last few days have been consumed getting my latest quilt top ready to enter in the Rising Sun Quilt Fest.  I delivered it this morning at 11 a.m. - the last day to deliver completed quilts.  And it was close!  It was a gorgeous drive to Rising Sun, a very picturesque town on the Ohio River.  The redbud trees were in full bloom and added a wonderful touch of color to the woods that are starting to leaf out this time of year.

BIQR Star - finished at last!

 I had completed the quilt top at last September's Beaver Island Quilt Retreat (BIQR) so named the quilt BIQR Star.  I'm not terribly creative in the naming of my quilts, am I?  I struggled for months trying to decide how to quilt it.  I was really thinking about more elaborate quilting on the black around the star but when I was practicing (yes - I practiced before loading the real quilt!), it turned out there wasn't as much space as I pictured in my mind's eye and - probably more to the point - my quilting is not yet good enough to do the smaller feathers in a manner that would be pleasing to the eye.  I debated about using black thread in the black areas or a contrasting thread.  Contrasting thread won out.  But I may try this design again and use black thread next time.  Other suggestions?

My first ever attempt at piping.  Turned out very nicely, if I do say so myself.

This was also the first time I've ever added piping to any quilt.  I used Susan Cleveland's Groovin' Piping Trimming Tool.  I watched one of the free programs on The Quilt Show last weekend and thought I could try this out.  I found the Piping Trimming Tool as well as her booklet Piping Hot Binding that I had purchased last year and it is a terrific tool - well worth the money.  It took quite a long time and this is a rather small wall quilt (47 x 47) so on a larger quilt it would add quite a bit of time.  Of course, the time I spent on this included doing a practice run of adding the piping and binding on my practice quilting piece, too.

I love the effect of piping so perhaps more of my quilts in the future will include this distinctive technique.

Cheers!
Margaret

International Quilting Day

I've enjoyed a sewing and quilting day today, working on some applique for a quilt top using a technique learned from Sue Nickels last year at IHQS and making pillowcases for the Columbus Star Quilters upcoming Quilt Show.  No rush on the pillowcases since the show isn't until October but I thought I'd get a jump on them and use up some of the bright fabrics I've had laying around.

Dinosaurs and outer space fabrics - a delightful mix!

After working on those items, I went outside and enjoyed the beautiful summery weather we're having here - rode my bicycle and enjoyed seeing all of the families out along the People Trail that winds through the city of Columbus.  Wonderful day.

Cheers!
Margaret

The Everchanging River

Deb and I went to the Indiana Heritage Quilt Show this year.  Kathy would have gone with us but she managed to injure her foot earlier in the week so missed the trip.  We missed her.

The Everchanging River was a special exhibit that was the result of a challenge by Warren Carpenter, owner of "The Gallery" at the Arts Company in Seneca, S.C.  The challenge was to make a quilt that would flow around the walls of the gallery.  Each participating quilt artist was given the common fabric and told the size that the river would enter the quilt on the left side and exit on the right side.  The width of each panel was the same but the length could be from 14" - 23".  It is this variation in length as well as the placement of the entrance and exit of the river on each individual piece that creates the undulating flow of the river.

Deb's looking at a section of the river.

 This exhibit was also shown at the NQA June 2009 show.  I wonder how many other quilt shows have been honored with this exhibit.

Each piece was unique in its composition and the embellishments.  I loved this froggie hanging from a limb over the river with the moon in the sky.  Wish I'd take more pictures of the individual pieces.  There was an area with a rocky shoals, a waterfall, and several other unique treatments.  What a great way to exhibit the variety of talents in a group.

Now, if I could only get my quilt guild interested in this type of challenge.  Somehow, the idea of using State Route 46 from Batesville to Nashville as our unifying theme just doesn't excite people.  But think of how unique it would be!

Cheers!
Margaret