QuiltFest

Each summer, Tennessee Quilts has a weekend of wonderful quilting classes and just a good time at QuiltFest in Jonesboro, Tennessee. I went last year and had a ball--and this year, they have asked me to be one of the teachers! And I'm really looking forward to it. Here are the classes that I will be teaching July 29-31.

The first class will be on Thursday and we will be making these small mirrors (about 10" square). They are a project that can definitely be finished in one day and can hang on the wall with a plate hanger or rest against the wall of a fireplace mantle, etc. The design possibilities are endless.

On Friday, we will be doing Snow Family, a pattern that is based on a Christmas card. There are several techniques that will be taught in this class, especially fusible applique, the use of a teflon pressing sheet and piecing curved seams. And on Saturday, the class will be Natural Fibers. This class will again work with fusible applique and also accurate piecing techniques with the log cabin blocks. I think this can be a really nice all season wall hanging or a small table topper.

So . . .check out Tennessee Quilts website for the complete details of the weekend (tennessequilts.com). There are a lot of other classes, also. You can mix and match!

The other thing I want to talk about is the shop Tennessee Quilts in Johnson City, Tennessee. If you are within driving distance and haven't visited it already, do yourself a favor and GO. They have such beautiful fabrics--lots and lots of them--and the shop itself is so welcoming. There are lots of samples to give you ideas for new quilts and notions galore. (I think I need to go there myself!)

Arabian Mystery

I have finally finished my most recent quilt, Arabian Mystery. It has taken so long to complete that I don't even remember when I started it! It is an original pattern that features whimsical flowers and floating flying geese. And here is also a closeup shot of some of the quilting details. As with most of my quilts, the journey to completion has been an adventure. As I've made more original quilts, I've learned to slow down and to wait for the quilt to tell me where it wants to go and what colors it wants to use. My only hope is that I am able to really listen to what it has to say.
So, come Monday, I will be shipping it off to Charleston for the Cobblestone Quilt Show during the first weekend of March. If you can, please come. I know you'll enjoy it. I understand that there are many beautiful quilts entered this year and the vendors, of course, will be great. The Show Chairman, Karen Kendo, has worked tirelessly for this show to be the best ever and she has a hard-working show committee that will make that happen. I can hardly wait to be there!

Focusing on Art

Today was the monthly meeting of the art group that I belong to--Focus. We all live in different areas of the upstate of South Carolina and closeby North Carolina. That means that each month as we meet in one of our homes, some people will drive a long way and others not so far. This was a far day for me. We met in the home of Dixie Heywood in Pendleton, SC. And here is a picture of Dixie who is a charming, humorous and, above all, quilter par excellance. You may have seen some of her books on Foundation Piecing that she has co-authored with Jane Hall over the years. When I say that she is an expert on foundation piecing, that is almost an understatement.

For me, the main challenge of today was finding Dixie's house--which was two hours away from mine. Most people who know me know that my sense of direction is less than average and when I got into my car this morning, I blithely typed her address into my navigation system--which seemed to believe that no one lived at that address. Well, I DID have her directions and my husband's map so off I went.

The thing about being directionally challenged is that you're never really sure that you're headed in the right direction--almost a similar feeling of those with dyslexia I guess. I rode and rode and rode on a back country road, hoping for the best. However, I stopped many times to consult the map (I CAN read maps) and reassure myself that I was on the right track and finally ended up there only 10 minutes late.

"O.K.," you say, "Surely you can reverse this process going home. Right?" Wrong. I took a wrong turn right away. Now, you might ask why I didn't type my own address into the the navigation system so it could guide me there. Well, I did. Guess what? It told me it wasn't a valid address. So, finally, I found somewhere to pull over, called my husband and asked him to look up the beauty parlor I go to so I could try their address in the navigation. Bingo! I could get my hair done, but I couldn't go home.

Anyway, it was a great day. We are comment on each other's quilts and works in progress. Rather than criticism it is more like we are challenging each other to find the maximum potential in our creations. And it helps us to see our work in a different way. So, yes, it was a long distance for me today with many anxious moments on the road BUT well worth it.

I didn't get any pictures of the quilts we discussed today, but here are a few of Dixie's that she had hanging in her house. I'm sorry that some of the shots aren't well-focused but I did it quickly as I left. (She had a entire closet-full that I would have loved to have shown, but that is for another day.

For A Good Cause

Once again, I haven't written in a long time but, honestly, just how many snow pictures do you really want to see? We have had snow on the ground since December 15th. Like so many other areas, this has been a really weird winter and one that many of us will remember for quite a while. So far, we've only lost power for 2 1/2 days but I don't think anyone will be breathing sighs of relief until March has come and come. In the meantime, I am living each day as it comes--not wishing away the time until perfection arrives.

Anyway, what I'm writing about today is Tote Tuesday, an internet auction connected with Fiberart For A Cause that is raising monty for the Amercan Cancer Society. This is the logo for the auction: And the website for this week's auction (and next week's auction is: http://www.virginiaspiegel.com/ToteTuesdayFeb16.html At this site you will see all of the items that are up for auction.

Marilyn Wall from South Carolina and I have put together a Tote for auction that we are calling Color Me Bright. And here is a picture of the items along with the description:

COLOR ME BRIGHT TOTE

This tote is designed for those fiber artists who love bright colors. Yards and Yards of hand-dyed ribbon and trim, as well as hand-dyed fabric to inspire your creative spirit. Altered Photo Artistry
By Beth Wheeler, patterns by award winning Judith Heyward and an 11 x 11 art quilt by Marilyn Wall.
This tote contains:
Altered Photo Artistry by Beth Wheeler
Patterns: A Taste of the Low Country and Natural Fibers by Judith Heyward
Note Cards by Judith Heyward
70 yards of ribbon and trim
l box of (24) chalk pastels
Hand-dyed fabric in sizes as follows:
26” x 33”
19” x 28”
36” x 38”
26” x 14”
29” x 38”
19” x 20”
Six fat quarters

Since it isn't listed on this week's auction I guess it will be on the next one. In the meantime, have a look at all of the items this week up for auction. There are some really great ones you might want to bid on and just think . . .It's all for a good cause.

Appraising Quilts

For the past several years, I have had most of my original quilts appraised. It serves several purposes. First of all, it gives me an idea of what they are worth in case I wanted to sell one of them (although my husband says I would have a very difficult time doing just that!). Also, if you're entering quilts shows with these quilts if offers monetary protection if, God forbid, something should happen to them--theft, lost in the mail, etc.

I had a friend once who said she didn't really care if her quilts got lost in the mail because then the insurance she bought at UPS would recompense her for her loss. This is not necessarily so. They WILL pay you for the loss of your materials but that may be all. Unless, of course, you have a written appraisal from a certified appraiser.

It also allows you to put a rider on your home insurance for a fairly nominal fee to cover your loss in other situations. And if your quilts are insured on your home insurance, you really don't need to purchase insurance each time from UPS or FedEx. At least, this is what I've been told. Thankfully, I've never had to find out.

Yesterday, I went to the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway to meet with Connie Brown who appraised two of my quilts. She has just recently been certified by NQA and I feel fortunate that I live near enough to her that getting my quilts appraised is no longer such a big issue (I used to drive to Raleigh from Charleston before and it also involved an overnight stay).

Connie is so knowledgable about the quilting process and the materials of construction because she is quite a good quilter herself. And it was really interesting hearing her discuss the quilts from that perspective. Here she is measuring the quilt--not just the perimeter, but also the width of the borders and size of the interior. And when she was totally finished, she photographed the quilt for her records. The same photo will be on the written appraisal that I receive. And inbetween the measuring and the photographing, there was much discussion about the types of stitches used in the quilting, the kind of batting used, were the fabrics batiks or handdyes and other details that I hadn't even considered. For instance, she asked me if in this particular quilt was it being viewed from the inside of a window . I really hadn't thought about that at all and it made me really look at from someone else's perspective.

So, the bottom line here is this: If you don't presently get your quilts appraised and you feel they might benefit from it, then go ahead and do it. You can sometimes get them appraised at quilt shows and you can also go to NQA website and check the list of qualified appraisers in your area. AND, if you're fortunate enough to live within travelling distance to Asheville, you can contact Connie for a friendly, bright and thorough quilt appraisal experience. Her email is: mail2thebrowns@juno.com

The Weather Outside Is Frightful, But The Fire Is So Delightful

Like many parts of the United States, our neck of the woods has been frigid--breaking a 25 year record of continuous days with the high temperatures under freezing. And it doesn't look as if it's going to get much warmer in the next few days.

When I came down into my studio the other morning, the temperature in the room was 45 degrees! That was too cold to even think about working. And this is the kind of thing that can happen when you buy an old house (55 years old) in the summer. It was nice and cool in the house then (we're in the mountains, after all), but it held no hint of what the furnace would or wouldn't do once winter hit.

BUT, now I'm a very happy camper. We have had a set of sealed gas logs installed in the fireplace opening (it's another long story as to why the 2 fireplaces can't be used) and my room is almost toasty. I am greatful, ecstatic and just plain happy. And while we were at it, we also had them installed in the upstairs fireplace and a pellet stove in the garage/workshop. So now I can say, "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!"

I have begun to quilt my Summer Beauties wallhanging. I was really at a loss about just how to quilt the background for the basket of flowers. I love the gradated fabric and didn't want to lose that in the quilting process. I did find thread that matched the three main shades of the background and started quilting it that way, but I hated it almost right away. (Thank goodness, because that meant a LOT fewer stitches to pick out). So, I decided to go with a color that matched the darkest part ( poly thread instead of cotton) and I am very happy with the result. It's one of those things that you're not really sure about until you go ahead and try it--and that's why I'm probably one of the Queen's of the "Pick-Out" Club!

Keep warm everyone.

Just A Little Addendum

For those who are interested inn learning more about molas and their cultural history, the following website has lots of interesting information. For instance, I now know they were made as fronts and backs of blouses for the women and they were usually made in pairs (although not perfectly matching pairs.)

http://www.quiltersmuse.com/a-history-of-molas.htm

I hope you enjoy it.