WHILE I'M AWAY

As this posts, I am at my Joyful Journey Retreat, #5, at Red Rooster Retreat Center in Crane Hill, AL.

My attendance there is a SECRET--only my friend and co-conspirator Kathy R knows I am going to arrive two days late. From February 29-March 7, 2024 I was teaching FULL CIRCLE at Empty Spools Seminar at Asilomar Conference Center in CA. There will be a BIG post about that next week.

So today I am encouraging you to look at this previous post from 11 years ago about the LESSONS TO LEARN FROM AN OLD QUILT--click on this LINK to find it: 

Antique Ohio Star Christmas Quilt in my collection

AND I would LOVE TO HAVE YOU JOIN ME  at the local class ANTELOPE CANYON DIT DOT EVOLUTION at Southern Charm Quilting in Huntsville, AL, March 19 and April 2, 2024. The fee covers two full days of class instruction full of tips to keep you straight AND THE KIT WITH ALL THE FABRIC! Don't miss this class if you love the design as I do--it will not be offered again. REGISTER ONLINE TODAY:

Let's quilt.

Barbara

INTERNATIONAL QUILT FESTIVAL 2023 -- PART 2

 There was so much to say about my 8 days in Houston for Quilt Market and Quilt Festival, I broke it into two posts, Find the first post here: Houston Part 1

Fall Quilt Market is a trade show, open to those with Industry credentials, that preceeds Quilt Festival. I arrived for Market so I could keep up with what is happening. First stop was the RNK booth where I could see my friend, Alex Anderson. It was a joyful reunion:

This was the only time I would have to see the quilts because once I started teaching, there wouldn't be time for the show floor. The winners are spectacular as always and you can find many photos of them online. On Instagram search for #quiltfestival to see so many images.

Best of Show, you have to see it to believe it: 

Master Artistry Award to Janet Stone for her incredible work Filigree Calligraphy:

To see all the winners and watch a few short videos with some of them go here: Festival 2023 Winners

There were many special exhibits. One of the most amazing was Honey, I Shrunk the Quilts, featuring the work of Kumiko Frydl. You cannot imagine how small these are, some less than 12" square:

Another captivating piece is this huge quilt by Helen Godden, entitled My Australia. It is 22 feet long:

I enjoyed looking for quilts that spoke to me. Here are a few:

Sue Garman pattern Afternoon Delight--makers info below 

A quilt at the top of my Bucket List, Antelope Canyon:

This one just because it pulled me in from across the room. I love asymmetrical quilts:

My Antelope Canyon will look like this and will be a local class in mid-2024:

Tuesday was a down day, Market was over, Festival opened Wednesday evening, so it was the perfect time to take a day trip to the Texas Quilt Museum in La Grange, TX. I love Texas and it is great to get out of the big city and see the countryside. The first stop was one of the Painted Churches famous in that area. The tour guide attends this church so was able to give us detailed information on its history:

The Texas Quilt Museum is well worth the visit--this was my third time there. The antiques from the Mary Koval Collection were my favorite this trip and gave me a new Bucket List quilt:

Added to the Bucket List, now to figure out what colors I want to use

The Museum Store

Next door to the museum is The Quilted Skein. There may have been a purchase. It is a beautiful shop:

We walked around town, there are lots of antique boutique shops to see. The Fayette County courthouse on the town square is beautiful. I got to spend the day with two friends who used to go on the post-show tours with me, Glennis and Donna, and we had a great day together. I was thankful for their company:

Fayette County Courthouse

Everything about this week was wonderful for me, but the BEST part is getting to see special people: Here are a few photos:

Karen K Stone early one morning before we both taught classes

My beloved friend Ricky Tims, a must find person on the Saturday we both taught

Elaine Poplin, aka Messygoat, working the Cherrywood booth. A member of my home guild, she is going places in this industry

Linda Collins from Australia, she had a new English paper piecing template for sale and it took a bit of connecting but I got them 

I regret not getting photos of some of my Education buddies from years gone by--it was so good to see them, and they know who they are. Next year we'll get those photos.

Yes, I will apply to teach next year. It is the 50th anniversary of Quilt Festival and promises to be HUGE. Red, white and blue quilts will be featured so I better get busy! 

Let's quilt.

Barbara

My Favorite Quilts # 1

 Pieces of the Past--Circa 1875 is one of my most favorite quilts:

Made in 1995, when I had ten years under my belt as a quiltmaker. It is 82" square. I hand quilted it and used wool batt for the first time. It is so cuddly, soft, warm and reminds me of the generations of women quiltmakers who came before me. It spends the winter on our bed as a topper, for those chilly nights when one quilt isn't enough.

THE STORY:

I moved to Alabama from Virginia in 1988 when my husband retired from the United States Marine Corps. He grew up 40 miles south of Huntsville so we came "home". I was sad to leave my small quilt guild, the Virginia Star Quilters of Fredericksburg, but knew there was a guild in Huntsville where I would be welcome. 

Less than a week after we arrived I went to a neighbor's yard sale and found an old top for $5.00. It was brown, my least favorite color. There was one other, it was blue, but a man got to it ahead of me and bought it. I chased him to his car, offered him $10 to let me have it, but he refused, saying "What's the big deal? You got one." He wouldn't have understood brown vs blue so I didn't try but I did beg him not to use it as  a drop cloth, to respect the work it represented.

I spent all day in a slump, unhappy with the top I got. Finally, I was struck on the head with the realization: I had a TREASURE and all I could think about was the one that got away. I studied the top intently and realized it was a really old quilt top.  

It is fragile so rarely leaves the house now. The border fabric is brittle and torn. It just needs to be cared for in its' current condition.

I had only been a quiltmaker for 3 years then and thought all tops had to be quilted. That was why I bought it. But I quickly realized that was not to be. It would never hold up to the stress and time it would take me to quilt it. So I decided to replicate it.

A few years after I bought the top, my guild had a program with Merikay Waldvogel. A noted quilt historian, she asked us to bring any old quilts we had and she put them in date order. There was only one small quilt she dated earlier than mine, it was circa 1865. My top is Circa 1875. 

It is a fabric treasure for those of us who love old fabrics. Hand pieced, it was well made but the fragile fabrics just haven't held up. Fortunately, it wasn't used, so it survived. It probably spent all this time packed away, waiting for the right time to quilt it. 

The large print in the original has a design I believe to be cotton bolls. In the early 1990's I found a similar fabric and immediately bought 3 yards so I could get started on my reproduction. I hand quilted it with triple diagonal lines, appropriate to the time period the top was made. And easy to mark with 1/4" tape:

Close up of the original:

One more FUNNY part to this story. After it was done, my guild had a program with Liz Porter. We were making new quilts that were meant to look old. During the lunch break I showed her my top. She looked at it closely and said "You know, this brown fabric used to be purple.". The whole room broke out laughing--she didn't get it. My FAVORITE COLOR is purple! She showed us the seam allowances on the back--the large central fabric that looks like cotton bolls was definitely purple when it was new. So this quilt top really was meant to be mine.

Now I have to replicate it one more time---I have the perfect purple fabric just waiting for this next quilt.

The most valuable lesson I learned from this quilt? Appreciate what you have, not what you don't.

Let's quilt.

Barbara

Christmas Quilts

 Decorating for holidays, any holiday, just isn't something that thrills me. It means I have to stop quilting, dig stuff out of deep closet storage, and rearrange my house. Then a few weeks later I have to reverse it all. I know, bah, humbug! Those who love to decorate in a big way just don't get it, and that's fine.

I dug out my Christmas quilts and will get them up in the next few days. That always makes the house look festive and if I don't put out any other decorations, I am fine with that.

Here are the quilts for your enjoyment.

1. The Stack: 

2. The Littles:

 3. The 12 Days of Christmas--I love this quilt and have made several as gifts over the years. Each 3" block has 1-12 pieces in it. The pattern is from Temecula Quilt Company and is still available free:

I even hand quilted it: 

4. The chair. An old Morris chair I took from my parents attic when I left home--it had been up there my whole life. It had old horsehair cushions that were scratchy. My husband refinished it in the early 1980's and I had new cushions made--they were mauve/pink, to go with the colors of the day. When a friend, Bonnie Spencer, came to help me decorate this new home years later, she suggested we cover the chair with a quilt, did I have anything that would work? You bet--this twin size quilt I made from blocks received in a swap was perfect. I had machine quilted it not so well but it covers the cushions and I think of Bonnie frequently because she knew just how to solve this problem. And at this time of year it looks like Christmas:

5. The Antique Ohio Star.  My best find ever! I got this at a Trade Day, like a Flea Market, some years ago. I loved it the instant I saw it and the price was incredibly low. I had it appraised--for 30 times what I paid for it. Hand quilted beautifully and with some of my favorite motifs, feathered heart wreaths and large cables, often seen on old Amish quilts. Upon closer inspection at home, I found two motifs quilted in two corners--a "W" and a dragonfly. This quilt was truly meant to be mine. My husband's last name begins with a W and I adore dragonflies and decorate with them frequently.  Enjoy:

The lighting is overdone here but you can see the entire quilt:

Funny/scary story about this quilt. When showing it to someone who knows nothing about quilts, she said, "Look at those spots. I would throw that right in the washer!"  My holler of "OH, NO!" startled her. As the green appears to be home dyed fabric, a few places of blue appear, washing this would likely ruin it. As is often said, if you ever get a notion to wash an antique quilt, lie down until the urge passes. I love it just the way it is, spots and all. If you were this old, you would have a few spots too.

When I do put up a small tree, it is covered with quilt-y ornaments, many gifts from friends over the years. And this quilt I designed and made in 1997, sets the mood. This quilt was featured on the cover of McCall's Quilting magazine, December 1997 issue, and the pattern is in that issue:

For my friends who decorate to the nines--have at it! I will enjoy your efforts from afar. As for me, I have quilts to make right now, and some cakes and cookies to bake. And grandchildren to love on. 

Happy holidays to you and yours, let's quilt.

Barbara