With Scottish blood in my veins, I cannot throw away parts and pieces. The last post, Modern Towers, was made up of leftovers from another quilt. It was so satisfying, so I'm trying another. This time the leftovers are from K-5, a kaleidoscope using Ricky Tim's method. (Click on K-5 to see it.) You make strata and cut out mirror-image pieces. It is great fun, but leaves many triangles of strata. I sat down with a sketchbook and came up with a way to use them.
First, I cut them all the same size with the lines going parallel to one right-angle edge. Then went to the local fabric store and found a complementary color for the background. From this, I cut pieces to join the bias edges, and strips to attach them to the rectangular pieces (also leftovers).
This picture is the leftovers up on the wall with the background pinned to it. The strip is actually 12 triangles, so about 52" long x 6" wide. I decided the quilt size - it will be narrower on the left, wider on the right. Next task is to cut those pieces, sew them, then get a backing/batting and put it on the machine. I'm going to use a modern, angular panto to quilt it. More photos soon!
P.S. Kali's Cherry Tree also got a "Viewers' Choice" - I am so blessed!!
The Edmonton & District Quilt Guild held their biannual show last weekend. Nearly 300 quilts were on display, in about 7 categories. They allow only one prize per person, consisting of a beautiful ribbon and money.
I entered four quilts: Kali's Cherry Tree, Horseplay, Layers, and Lord of the Rings. Here is the result:
Someone brought the judge over and introduced us. She told me that she remembered all four of my quilts and apart from the rule of only one prize person, she would have given me four ribbons. I thought she was just being nice until someone told me she would not say that without meaning it. Talk about a confidence booster!
Also, last week I finished "Modern Towers" and really like the results. It is quilted in vertical parallel rows using the channel locks on my Avante. They look like mini bicycle clips we used to use to keep our pant legs from getting caught in the chain! Slick tool. I don't know what to do with this one yet, maybe I'll put it on Etsy. Sea Foam went to Quilts of Valour on the weekend, but this one is too small. Those soldiers require bigger quilts to wrap themselves in.
This is "HORSEPLAY"
Finally, I can show you this latest finish. Apologies for the light in the corner but without it, the quilting almost disappears. This piece was for a competition within my local guild. The guidelines were simple. It could be no bigger than 36" on the longest side, and the theme was "DOT." My immediate thought was Bob Coonts who gave me permission in 2009 to use his art as inspiration for quilts. I had to make one of his spotted horses.
This one called for a variety of techniques, piecing, foundation paper piecing, hand applique, machine applique, sweat and laughter. What fun.
The annual guild banquet and award ceremony was last night. There were about six prize categories plus two honorable mentions. "Horseplay" won the prize for "Most Effective Visual Impact" and I was purring! But then they announced the plum - the Viewer's Choice, and my dotty horse won that too, and I was over the top!
The Viewer's Choice award is sponsored by the Canadian Quilt Guild. Both prizes came with a cash award too. (Note: In Canada, a first ribbon is red, not the blue of the USA. Our guild uses green/pink for first place in this annual contest because it is called "The Prairie Rose" competition)
Making this spotted horse was a big challenge and I learned much, but it was also so much fun. I'm thankful for the opportunity to try it, and for the encouragement of the judge and my peers in taking home a couple of prizes.
Last night the Edmonton & District Quilt Guild held their wind-up banquet. Good food, fun and lots of laughter. Several people made mo-jo dolls that were used as a fund-raiser. Honors went to former executive and welcomes to new.
The annual challenge competition was also a highlight. Seventy-five Kaffe Fassett fat quarters went out, forty-eight 12" square quilts came back. Each must contain 25% of the challenge fabric. They were exhibited last weekend at the show (held every two years) and wow, what a display. No one quilt looked like any other, even at the same size and using that mustard-colored flower fabric.
The prizes were awarded last night.I'm so excited because my little effort won Judge's Choice! How can that be? The others were so good and so creative. A nice surprise and a nice ribbon! Very encouraging too.
I had to edit this for the "artist's statement" but here is what this one is about:
Volvox is one of the most beautiful microscopical sights known. Those who study such tiny wonders have claimed that “nothing compares to the grandeur of a perfect specimen with daughter colonies inside, free-swimming in pond water.” As these cells develop these new colonies, the parent eventually bursts and the daughter colonies evert, escaping to grow into their own expression of being a lovely orb in the pond.
Even though Millifiore looks like the blown glass of the same name, I could not help but notice that this Kaffe Fassett fabric looks much like Volvox. Did he see these tiny, 1000-celled globular algae and decide to change the form to floral? The possibility motivated me to mimic the shape and activity of the Volvox Tertius. My imagination saw it beginning to reproduce itself. Then, as it gazed at the garden around its home, it suddenly decided it was tired of living in ponds and going unnoticed. It was tired of surrounding flowers basking in everyone’s attention. So why not become one with them? So the microscopic cell simply burst with new life and escaped to the garden. It took on the appearance of the flora and began to send out daughter colonies to the envy of all the garden plants who now are unable to eclipse its dazzling beauty.
Grad Club, the group that meets every month at my LQS, had the "Paint Chip Challenge" windup yesterday with everyone displaying their creations. What fun. Every size of quilt on display, plus a hat and a basket made in the colors each selected to match the initials of their name.
After we oohed and awed over them, we were given voting slips so each one in the group could pick their favorite.
I was really surprised when the winner was announced... my Paint Chip Pony! On the right is a picture of the prize for the challenge (after I took everything out of the fancy wrapping). The group that meets in the evening repeated the process so there is two winners, but I've not seen the second one yet. This was a lot of fun and the quilts were fabulous.
