Quilts and Books

I should be doing a TBR Day post. But once again.... total fail.  So. How about some gorgeous quilts? I attended the American Quilters Society Chattanooga show on Saturday and here are a bunch of photos that I took. First up, several quilts from a special exhibit called "Stitch Like an Egyptian." AQS is licensed to exhibit and sell artwork by the Tentmakers of Cairo. In addition to the exhibit, a member of the Tentmakers was there to demonstrate his technique. These quilts are very interesting. A design is sketched on a background fabric and the background fabric is attached to a lightweight canvas. Then the artist stitches the applique pieces into place. The artist we saw uses a large needle and stitches so quickly! I was amazed. Here's a close-up: Next up was a special exhibit by quilt artist Melody Johnson . Go take a look at the galleries on her website. Her exhibit here was called "All Color, All the Time." I got to hear a lecture b...

My June UFO project was a big one. I had pieced the central portion of this quilt in February at my guild's retreat . And by the terms of the UFO contest at my local quilt shop, I only needed to finish piecing the top. Then I made the rather insane decision to enter it in the June NQA show . That meant it had to be fully finished by the 20th of June in order to have it to the show on time. I didn't want to take the easy way out by doing an all-over (i.e. boring) quilting pattern. I wanted the quilting to reflect the themes of the Asian fabrics. So each large panel across the quilt is quilted differently. From top to bottom I quilted small flowers, water, leaves, chrysanthemums, and ginkgo leaves fallen among pebbles. The border fabric is printed bamboo, so I quilted long, skinny leaves--they kind of look like grass. Oh my, was that a ton of work. But I am so pleased with how it turned out: This picture shows a little more detail of the quilting: Here's a shot...

So, if you can stand more nonsense about my vacation, here are some pictures specifically from last Saturday, July 14. As part of our Pacific NW vacation I dragged my DH and Teen to Sisters, Oregon for the day to attend their annual outdoor show . I got to be there four years ago and had a wonderful time. I couldn't wait to get back and it was a treat to be able to do so. One day when I'm retired, I'm going out for the whole week (there are classes and lectures and other events prior to the day of the show). Lately I've become fascinated by what is being called the modern quilt movement. There's a wonderful definition of modern quilting here . The quilts here seem to me to meet the definition of modern quilting and are among my favorites of what I saw. I absolutely fell in love with these pineapples below. My picture doesn't do this quilt justice. Both of these appear rather straightforward in construction so what shines is the use of color and s...

Sisters, Oregon, USA--home of the premier outdoor quilt show in the country. Set in the high desert of central Oregon, Sisters is a quaint little town that pulls out all the stops to make thousands of quilt lovers feel at home for one day each year in July. And this year I got to go!